Ecuador
Ecuador's population is ethnically mixed. A large majority of the
population is mestizo (mixed Indian-Caucasian), followed by smaller
percentages of indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian, and European descendent
criollos. Although Ecuadorians were heavily concentrated in the
mountainous central highland region a few decades ago, today's
population is divided about equally between that area and the
coastal lowlands. Migration toward cities--particularly larger
cities--in all regions has increased the urban population to over
60%. The tropical forest region (or Amazon region) to the east of
the mountains remains sparsely populated and contains only about 3%
of the population. Due to an economic crisis in the late 1990s, more
than 600,000 Ecuadorians emigrated to the U.S. and Europe from 2000
to 2001. According to the 2000 U.S. census there were 323,000
persons who claimed Ecuadorian ancestry. Including undocumented
migrants, it is unofficially estimated that there are approximately
one to two million Ecuadorians currently residing in the U.S. |
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The Inca Empire and Spanish Conquest
Advanced indigenous cultures flourished in Ecuador long before the
area was conquered by the Inca Empire in the 15th century. In 1534,
the Spanish arrived and defeated the Inca armies, and Spanish
colonists became the new elite. The indigenous population was
decimated by disease in the first decades of Spanish rule--a time
when the natives also were forced into the "encomienda" labor system
for Spanish landlords. In 1563, Quito became the seat of a royal "audiencia"
(administrative district) of Spain.
Independence and Historical Developments
After independence forces defeated the royalist army in 1822,
Ecuador joined Simon Bolivar's Republic of Gran Colombia, only to
become a separate republic in 1830. The 19th century was marked by
instability, with a rapid succession of rulers. The conservative
Gabriel Garcia Moreno unified the country in the 1860s with the
support of the Catholic Church. In the late 1800s, world demand for
cocoa tied the economy to commodity exports and led to migrations
from the highlands to the agricultural frontier on the coast.
A coastal-based liberal revolution in 1895 under Eloy Alfaro reduced
the power of the clergy and opened the way for capitalist
development. The end of the cocoa boom produced renewed political
instability and a military coup in 1925. The 1930s and 1940s were
marked by populist politicians, such as five-time President Jose
Velasco Ibarra. In January 1942, Ecuador signed the Rio Protocol to
end a brief war with Peru the year before. Ecuador agreed to a
border that conceded to Peru much territory Ecuador had previously
claimed in the Amazon region. After World War II, a recovery in the
market for agricultural commodities and the growth of the banana
industry helped restore prosperity and political peace. From
1948-60, three presidents--beginning with Galo Plaza--were freely
elected and completed their terms. Political turbulence returned in
the 1960s, followed by a period of military dictatorship between
1972 and 1979. The 1980s and beginning of the 1990s saw a return to
democracy, but instability returned by the middle of the decade. |
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