Advanced indigenous cultures such as the Chorrera, Jama Coaque, Bahia, Tolita, Machalilla and Valdivia (The oldest known culture in the Americas), flourished between 10.000 BC and 1.500 AD in the coastal territory of today’s Ecuador. In the highlands, many socially and economically organized tribes such as the Quitus, Cańaris, Puruhaes, Panzaleos and Paltas, wer ... read more

After the Inca Empire’s defeat in 1534, the Spanish colonists established themselves and became the new ruling elite. Almost three centuries of Ecuador’s history correspond to the colonial era and are marked by a continuous mixture of the European and native people and their cultures. This melting of cultures evolved differentent from both the aboriginal and t ... read more

On August 10, 1809, Quito established the first self-governing Junta in the Spanish colonies in America. Guayaquil declared its independence on October 9, 1820. One of Bolivar’s generals and statesmen Antonio José de Sucre led the independence troops into battles against the Spanish Royalist Army and at the foothills of Pichincha; the volcano overlooking the ... read more

In the 1960s, foreign companies began to develop oil resources in the Ecuadorian Amazon region; this brought economic prosperity in the 1970s, as Ecuador became a mayor exporter of oil. In 1972, a nationalist military regime seized power. In a 1978 referendum, the people of Ecuador voted for a new Constitution and in 1979, Ecuador returned to a democratic Government. Jai ... read more