Ecuador Timeline
Ecuador is one of the smallest countries in South America. It lies between Colombia and Peru in western South America. The equator crosses through Ecuador giving the country its name. View a timeline of the history of Ecuador
1400s Incan Indians conquered Ecuador. The Inca Indians from Peru united the many tribes living in the region.
1534 Spanish explorers overthrew he Incan Empire that they found in Ecuador. Ecuador came under the rule of Spain.
Early 1800s France conquered Spain under the rule of Napoleon. The Spanish colonies of South America took advantage of the weakness of Spain and began to fight for their independence.
1822 Spanish rule in Ecuador ended after the defeat of the Spaniards in the battle of Pichincha. Ecuador joined a confederation called the Gran Colombia. The Confederation consisted of Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela.
1830 Ecuador became an independent country. Many dictators, presidents, and other rulers rose and fell as people tried to control the new independent country. These leaders often ignored the needs of the people.
1859 Charles Darwin published his book Origin of Species after studying a variety of plant and animal life on the Galapagos Islands, which belong to Ecuador.
1861 Gabreial Garcia Moreno became president. He had the support of the Roman Catholic Church. He helped to plan roads and railroads for the country. He also instituted plans to help develop agriculture and industry. He also encourage international trade.
1875 Garcia was assassinated. His successors did not have enough power to continue his plans.
1896General Eloy Alfaro took control of the government. They ended the power of the Roman Catholic church over the government. Under his rule the Liberal Party tried to modernize the country but they did little to help the social problems including the poverty of the Indians.
1925 By this year the government collapsed because the economic and social problems of Ecuador had not been solved.
1925-1948 Ecuador had 22 presidents or chiefs of state. None of them served a complete term.
1941 Ecuador went to war with peru over a border dispute. At that time Peru seized the Amazon Basin, but Ecuador still laid claim to the land. Fighting over the border took place on several occasions.
1948-1960 Ecuador had political calm and progress.
1948 Galo Plaza Lasso, of the Liberal Party, was elected president.
1952 Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra became president.
1956 Camilo Ponce Enriquez was elected president
1960 Velasco was elected again as president. He was forced out of office after he tired to levy new taxes. He was succeeded by Carlos Julio Arosemena Monroy
1963 Arosemena was forced out of office by military leaders. The constitution was suspended. They said they were trying to prevent the Communists from taking over the government.
1966 The people demanded an end to the military rule. Clemente Yerovi Indaburu was made a temporary civilian president. Yerovi called for a constitutional convention. A new constitution was written. Otto Arosemena Gomez was chosen to serve as president until an election could be held.
1968 Velasco was elected president again.
1970 Velasco suspended the constitution and began to govern as dictator.
1972 Velasco was overthrown by military leaders. General Guillermo Rodriguez Lara took power.
1976 Rodriguez Lara was removed from office by the military.
Late 1900s Many people moved to the coastal plain.
1970s Ecuador began exporting petroleum
1979 Ecuador began electing government officials again.
1997 The legislature removed President Abdala Bucaram Ortiz from office. They claimed that he was mentally unfit to serve as president.
1998 Jamil Mahuad was elected president.
1998 Ecuador and Peru signed a treaty which ended the border dispute.
January 2000 Mahuad was removed from office by the military. He was replaced by Gustavo Noboa Bejarano.
March 2000 Ecuador adopted economic reforms including a plan to make the U.S. dollar the official currency of the country.
Works Cited
MacLeod, Murdo J. "Ecuador." Worldbookonline.com