Ecuadorian History

  • Oct 12, 1492

    1492: Spanish Conquest of America

    1492: Spanish Conquest of America
    On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus arrived to the Americas for the first time. This event was of such great importance that it forever changed the development of both worlds.
    Christopher Columbus never realized in his lifetime that he had not arrived to the East Indies, from which the erroneous term Indian in reference to indigenous Americans comes.
  • Period: Jan 1, 1493 to Jan 1, 1527

    Huayna Capac

    Huayna Capac expands north to Ecuador and Colombia; dies in small pox epidemic which launches a civil war between his two sons Huascar (Peru).
  • Period: Jan 1, 1509 to Jan 1, 1520

    Spanish colonized

    The Spanish colonized the area of Nueva Granada (modern Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela).
  • Jan 1, 1532

    Atahualpa wins civil war

    Atahualpa wins civil war
    1532: Atahualpa wins civil war and becomes the leader of Tawantinsuyu.
  • Jan 1, 1532

    Francisco Pizarro

    1532: Francisco Pizarro captures Atahualpa, ending the Inca Empire.
  • Aug 29, 1533

    Francisco Pizarro captured Cuzco

    Francisco Pizarro captured Cuzco
    Aug 29, Francisco Pizarro captured Cuzco and completed his conquest of Peru. He ordered the imprisonment and murder of Atahualpa, the last ruler of the Inca Empire. Ruminahui (Rumanahui), a general of Atahualpa, led 15,000 soldiers into the mountains north of Quito, after Pizarro killed the Inca emperor Atahualpa. His forces carried an estimated 70,000 man-loads of gold.
  • Jan 1, 1534

    Spanish conquer Ecuador

    Spanish conquer Ecuador, which becomes part of the Spanish Vice-royalty of Peru.
  • Dec 6, 1534

    Quito

    Quito
    Dec 6, Quito, Ecuador, was founded by Spanish.
  • Mar 10, 1535

    discovered of the Galapagos

    discovered of the Galapagos
    Mar 10, Bishop Tomas de Berlanga discovered the Galapagos Islands.
  • Period: Aug 29, 1563 to

    Royal Audiencia of Quito

    was an administrative unit in the Spanish Empire which had political, military, and religious jurisdiction over territories that today include Ecuador, parts of northern Peru, parts of southern Colombia and parts of northern Brazil. It was created by Royal Decree on 29 August 1563 by Philip II of Spain in the city of Guadalajara (Law X of Title XV of Book II of the Recopilación de Leyes de Indias).[1] It ended in 1822 with the incorporation of the area into the Republic of Gran Colombia.
  • PAINTING

    In Ecuador Andres Sanchez Gallque painted the New World’s first signed and dated portrait: “Don Francisco de la Robe and His sons Pedro and Domingo” (The Mulatto Gentlemen of Esmeraldas).
  • Period: to

    Church of the Society of Jesus

    Over the 160 years of its construction, the architects of La Compañía incorporated elements of four architectural styles, although the Baroque is the most prominent. Mudejar (Moorish) influence is seen in the geometrical figures on the pillars; the Churrigueresque characterizes much of the ornate decoration, especially in the interior walls; finally the Neoclassical style adorns the Chapel of Saint Mariana de Jesús (in early years a winery).
  • introduction of platinum

    A French expedition to South America was led by Charles-Marie de la Condamine. It produced the earliest maps of the northern part of the continent and led to the introduction of platinum and rubber to Europe. In 2004 Robert Whitaker authored “The Mapmaker’s Wife: A True Tale of Love, Murder, and Survival in the Amazon.” It was an account of Jean Godin (d.1792), the expedition’s mapmaker, and his wife, Isabel Grameson. The couple married in Quito in 1741.
  • A True Tale of Love

    Mar, Jean Godin, French geographer, left Quito, part of the Viceroyalty of Peru (later Ecuador), in an attempt to reach France to settle his family estate. He traveled by an eastern route across South America and became stranded in French Guiana for over 20 years. In 2004 Robert Whitaker authored “The Mapmaker’s Wife: A True Tale of Love, Murder, and Survival in the Amazon.” It was an account of Jean Godin (d.1792), French mapmaker, and his wife, Isabel Godin. They managed to reunite in 1770.
  • Isabel Godin

    Isabel Godin
    Oct 1, Isabel Godin, the wife of French surveyor Jean Godin, departed Riobamba, Ecuador, with an escort of 31 Indians in an effort to reach her husband in French Guiana.
  • Isabel Godin,

    Isabel Godin,
    Jul 18, Isabel Godin, having traveled from Ecuador the length of the Amazon, reunited with her husband Jean Godin in French Guiana.
  • Period: to

    Simon Bolivar,

    Simon Bolivar, called "the Liberator," was a leader in Venezuela for struggles of national independence in South America. He formed a Gran Columbia that lasted 8 years but broke apart into Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador.
  • Earthquake in Quito

    Feb 4, Earthquake in Quito, Ecuador, some killed 40,000 people. Riobamba was destroyed.
  • Independence from Spain.

    Independence from Spain.
    Aug 10, Ecuador struck its first blow for independence from Spain.
  • Period: to

    Gran Colombia

    is a name used today for the state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1831. This short-lived republic included the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru, western Guyana and northwest Brazil.
  • A truce was signed at Trujillo

    Nov 25, A truce was signed at Trujillo. Gen. Antonio Jose de Sucre arranged the 6-month armistice on behalf of Bolivar. It was not recognized by the Spanish president of Quito.