Explore the past and present of Ecuador. (Skills Master 1).By South American standards, Ecuador is a relatively small country. It is sandwiched between Colombia on the north and Peru on the south and east. About 40 percent of its 12,900,000 people are Indians and about 40 percent are mestizo mestizo (māstē`sō) [Span.,=mixture], person of mixed race; particularly, in Mexico and Central and South America, a person of European (Spanish or Portuguese) and indigenous descent. (mixed Indian, European, and African ancestry an·ces·try n. pl. an·ces·tries 1. Ancestral descent or lineage. 2. Ancestors considered as a group. [Middle English auncestrie, alteration (influenced by ). The country's history and culture reflect its Indian and Spanish legacies. Quito, the capital, is of Indian origin. Guayaquil, the largest city, is mostly of Spanish origin. TIME LINE 1487: Quito, the ancient home of the Quito Indian people, becomes the northern capital of the Inca empire “Inca” redirects here. For other uses, see Inca (disambiguation). The Inca Empire (or Inka Empire) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cuzco. . It is located in the Andean highlands, 9,350 feet above sea level. 1534: Spanish conquerors defeat the Inca rulers and take control of Ecuador. The Spaniards set up large haciendas (plantations) and force the Indians to work for them. Spaniards in the coastal lowlands import Africans as slaves. 1536: Ecuador becomes part of the Spanish Viceroyalty Several Spanish viceroyalties existed under the Spanish Empire.
1822: General Jose de Sucre Sucre, city (1992 pop. 131,769), S central Bolivia, constitutional capital of Bolivia and capital of Chuquisaca dept. Since 1898, La Paz has been the administrative capital of Bolivia. defeats the Spanish in a battle near Quito. Ecuador becomes a province of the independent nation of Gran Colombia Gran Colombia Former South American republic (1819–30). Formerly the Viceroyalty of New Granada, it included roughly the modern nations of Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, and Ecuador. . 1830: Ecuador secedes from Gran Colombia and becomes a separate republic. Rival leaders fight for power. 1860: Gabriel Garcia Moreno assumes power and becomes the strongest leader in a series of conservative dictators. His government develops agriculture and industry and builds roads and railroads. He is assassinated as·sas·si·nate tr.v. as·sas·si·nat·ed, as·sas·si·nat·ing, as·sas·si·nates 1. To murder (a prominent person) by surprise attack, as for political reasons. 2. in 1875. 1931-1940: Economic problems lead to political instability. The country has 14 presidents in nine years. 1972: Petroleum becomes one of Ecuador's. major sources of income. 1987: A massive earthquake and flood rupture rupture, in medicine: see hernia. the country's main oil pipeline and leave 20,000 homeless. 2000: To cope with an economic crisis, the basic unit of currency, the sucre, is replaced by the U.S. dollar. Skill Master 1 QUESTIONS 1. Ecuador is a small country sandwiched between what two other countries? 2. Before the Spaniards arrived, Ecuador was part of what large empire? 3. Where is Ecuador's capital located? 4. How did Africans end up in Ecuador? 5. Who defeated the Spanish in a battle near Quito? 6. Ecuador was a province of what country between 1822 and 1830? 7. What Ecuadorian dictator was assassinated in 1875? 8. When did Ecuador experience great instability and a rapid turnover of presidents? 9. What mineral resource boosted Ecuador's economy in the 1970s? 10. What natural disasters damaged Ecuador's economy in 1987? Answers 1. Colombia, Peru 2. Inca 3. Quito 4. Spaniards imported them as slaves. 5. General Jose de Sucre 6. Gran Colombia 7. Gabriel Garcia Moreno 8. 1931-40 9. petroleum 10. earthquake and flood |
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