History And Geography

History

Advanced native cultures prospered in Ecuador way before the Inca Empire subjugated the area during the 15th century. By marriage, the region of Quito became a division of the Inca-neglia Empire. One of the sons of the Incan monarch, Atahuallpa was born in Quito. But, he could not become the successor to the crown because the monarch had another son, Huascar who was born in Cuzco, the capital. As a result, the Empire was separated into two parts: Atahuallpa obtained the north, with his capital in Quito, and Huascar obtained the south with its capital in Cuzco.

In 1531, the Spanish conquistadors, under the rule of Francisco Pizarro, came to the Inca Empire, which was under the turmoil of civil war. Atahuallpa wanted to support the Spanish to defeat Huascar and gain control over the entire Incan empire. The Spanish established themselves in a fortress in Cajamarca, captured Atahuallpa and held him for ransom. A room was packed with gold to secure his release. During this period, Atahuallpa made arrangements for the assassination of his half-brother Huascar in Cuzco. This set the base for the Spaniards to invade the Incan empire. In spite of being surrounded and greatly outnumbered, the Spanish killed Atahuallpa. To run away from the precincts of the fort, the Spaniards fired all their cannons and broke through the lines of the bewildered Incans. In the following years, the Spanish settlers became the new leaders, establishing their control over Peru.

The original population of the country was devastated by disease in the first decade of Spanish rule, a period when the natives also were compelled into the ‘encomienda' labor system of Spanish landlords. In 1563, Quito became the seat of an imperial ‘audiencia' (administrative district) of Spain and part of the Peruvian Viceroyalty with its capital in Lima. After almost 300 years of Spanish colonization, the population of Quito grew to around 10,000 residents. In 1822, Ecuador merged with Simon Bolivar's Republic of Gran Colombia, but separated again in become a separate republic in 1830.

The 19th century began on a volatile note, with a rapid succession of monarchs. The conformist Gabriel Garcia Moreno united the country in the 1860s with the help of the Roman Catholic Church. A coastal-based laissez-faire revolt in 1895 under Eloy Alfaro compacted the power of the clergy, and this liberal wing maintained its power until the military coup of 1925. The 1930s and 40s saw populist politicians such as five-time President José María Velasco Ibarra.

Power to control the Amazon region led towards a long-term clash between Ecuador and Peru. In 1941, mounting tensions between the two countries led to a war. Peru asserted that Ecuador's military existence in Peruvian-claimed territory was an attack while Ecuador, on the other hand, claimed Peru invaded their territory. In July 1941, troops were deployed by Peru. Peru had a military strength of about 11,700 troops, against an inadequately supplied and poorly armed Ecuadorian force of 5,300 soldiers, of which a little over 1,300 were set up in the southern provinces of the country. War broke out on July 5, 1941, when Peruvian armed forces crossed the Zarumilla River, testing the power and disposition of the Ecuadorian border troops. Ultimately, on July 23, 1941, the Peruvians began moving forward into the Ecuadorian province of El Oro. During the war, Peru got control over all the disputed territories and occupied the Ecuadorian territory (El Oro and some sections of the province of Loja, about 6% of the country), demanding the Ecuadorian government to surrender their territorial claims. The Peruvian Navy obstructed the port of Guayaquil; discontinuing supplies to the Ecuadorian troops. After a few weeks of war and under force by the U.S and several Latin American countries, all hostility came to a stop. Ecuador and Peru came to an agreement formalized in the Rio Protocol, signed on January 29, 1942. As a result of its success, Peru was given the disputed territory.

Depression and conflict led to a come back of populist politics and domestic military involvements in the 1960s, whereas foreign companies developed oil resources in the Ecuadorian Amazon. In 1972, the building of the Andean pipeline, which brought oil from the east to the coast, was completed, resulting in Ecuador being South America's second largest oil producer. In the same year, an autonomist military junta deposed the government and remained in power till 1979, when more democratic lawful measures were executed. By 1982, the government experienced a financial emergency, characterized by high price rises, budget deficits, a falling currency, increasing debt service, and uncompetitive industries, leading to constant government instability.

Several years of mismanagement, beginning with the mistreatment of the country's debt during the 1970s military rule, left the country ungovernable. The mid 90s witnessed the government of Ecuador being characterized by a weak administrative branch that struggled to pacify the ruling classes, represented in the legislative and judiciary. Among the most significant factors in the democratic instability was the appearance of the native population as an active community. Their progress, along with the long-lasting destabilizing efforts by the Elite and Leftist movements, led to a deterioration of the executive office.

The community and the other branches of government give the president very little political capital to function with, as was the case in April 2005 when Ecuador's Congress overthrew President Lucio Gutiérrez. The vice president, Alfredo Palacio, occupied his position and is likely to be in control until the next scheduled election.

Geography

Situated at 9300 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains, Ecuador is a small nation on the northwestern coast of South America and it is surrounded by Columbia on its northern border and Peru on its southern border. The southern and eastern parts of Ecuador consist of tropical rainforest and jungle. The Pacific Ocean coastline borders the western side of Ecuador.

Ecuador comprises of three major geographical regions, and an insular area in the Pacific Ocean.

1. The Costa includes the low-lying littoral region in the western part of the country. Its shorelines are on the Pacific.

2. The Sierra area is the hilly, high-altitude vertical belt running along the center of the country. This region's landscape is a consequence of the Andes mountain range running along it.

3. The Oriente (literally ‘East') encompasses the Amazon rainforest regions in the eastern part of the country. It accounts for just under half of the country's total surface area, although it is inhabited by under 5% of the population.

4. The Region Insular is the area that includes the Galapagos Islands, which are around 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) towards the west of the mainland in the Pacific Ocean.

Ecuador's capital, Quito, is situated in a valley in the Andes Mountains (also referred to as the Sierra). It lies 9000 feet (2850m) above sea level and wraps around the eastern slopes of Pichincha. Ecuador's largest city, Guayaquil, is situated in the province of Guayas in the Costa.