Archaeological evidence, indicates the presence of indigenous people in Ecuador for many thousands of years before the expansion of the Incas from Peru in the 1400s. It is generally accepted that the earliest inhabitants were Asian nomads who crossed what is now known as the Bering Strait some 25,000 years ago and began reaching the South American continent by about 12,000 BC.

It is believed that several thousand years later, trans-Pacific colonization by the island dwellers of Polynesia added to the population. Although Stone Age tools found in the Quito area have been dated to 9000 BC, the oldest signs of a more developed culture date back to 3200 BC. These belong to the Valdivia period and consist mainly of ceramics, especially small figurines, found in the central coastal area of Ecuador. Examples of these can be seen in the major museums of Quito and Guayaquil.

Early Tribes

The 11 th century AD saw two dominant tribes: Caras in the coastal areas and Quitus in the highlands. Later there was a peaceful expansion and these people became collectively known as the Shyri nation and were the dominant force in the Ecuadorian highlands until about 1300.

The Inca Empire

At the time of the Inca expansion, the Duchicela descendants still dominated the north and the south was in the hands of the Caftari people. The Caftari defended themselves bitterly against the Inca invaders and it was some years before the Inca, Tupac Yupanqui, was able to subdue them and turn his attention to the north. The subjugation of the north took many years, and Huayna Capac grew up in Ecuador. He succeeded his father to the Inca throne and spent years traveling all over his empire, from Bolivia to Ecuador, constantly putting down uprisings from all sides.

The year 1526 is a major one in Ecuadorian history. The Inca Huayna Capac died and left his empire not to one son, as was traditional, but to two: Huascar of Cuzco and Atahualpa of Quito; thus the Inca Empire was divided for the first time. In the same year, on september 21, the first Spaniards landed in northern Ecuador near what is now smeraldas. They were led south by the pilot, Bartolome Ruiz de Andrade, on an exploratory mission for Francisco Pizarro, who himself remained further north. Pizarro returned as conqueror in 1532.

The Spanish Conquest

Pizarro's advance was rapid and dramatic. His horse-riding, armor-wearing, cannonfiring conquistadors were believed to be godlike and, although few in number, spread terror among the Indians. After the death of Atahualpa, his general Rumifiahui fought on against the Spaniards for two more years. Pizarro finally battled his way to Quito in late 1534, only to find the city razed to the ground by Rumifiahui, who preferred destroying the city to leaving it in the hands of the conquistadors. Quito was refounded on December 6, 1534, and Rumifiahui was captured, tortured and executed in January of 1535. The only important Inca site in Ecuador that remains even partially intact today is at Ingapirca, to the north of Cuenca.

The Colonial Era

From 1535 onward, the colonial era proceeded with the usual intrigues among the Spanish conquistadors, but with no major uprisings by the Ecuadorian Indians. Francisco Pizarro named his brother, Gonzalo, the governor of Quito in 1540. Lima, Peru, was the seat of the political administration of Ecuador during the first centuries of colonial rule.

Ecuador remained a peaceful colony during these centuries, and agriculture and the arts flourished. Various new agricultural products were introduced from Europe, including cattle and bananas, which still remain important in Ecuador today. There was prolific construction of churches and monasteries, which were decorated with unique carvings and paintings resulting from the blend of Spanish and Indian art influences. This so-called 'Quito school of art,' still admired by visitors today, has left an indelible stamp on the colonial buildings of the time. Life was comfortable for the ruling colonialists, but the Indians and mestizos were treated abysmally under their rule. A system of forced labor was not only tolerated but encouraged, and it is no surprise that by the 18th century there were several uprisings of the Indians against the Spanish ruling classes. Both poor and rich died in violent fightings.

Independence

The first serious attempt to liberate Ecuador from Spanish rule was by a partisan group led by Juan Pio Montufar on August 10, 1809. The group managed to take Quito and install a government, but this lasted only 24 days before royalist troops (loyal to the king of Spain) were able to regain control.54

Independence was finally achieved by Simon Bolivar, the Venezuelan liberator who marched southward from Caracas, freed Colombia in 1819 and supported the people of Guayaquil when they claimed independence on October 9, 1820. It took almost two years before Ecuador was entirely liberated from Spanish rule. Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador were amalgamated into the independent nation of GranColombia. This lasted only eight years, with Ecuador becoming fully independent in 1830.