ECUADOR: AREA, HISTORY, GOVERNMENT, POPULATION, ETC.
South of Colombia, fortunate in its Atlantic and Pacific Coast lines,
are three exclusively Pacific countries, unless we count a rearward
communication, so to speak, with the Atlantic by the Amazon for the
first two, or note that the coast line of the third runs at the south
quite to that ocean. Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, in the order named, now
occupy the remaining Pacific coast line for the several thousand miles
from Colombia to the Horn. In the group of West Coast States, however,
Bolivia may be counted, for though nearly forty years ago she lost her
small strip of coast line, her communication with the outside world
is chiefly by way of the Pacific, and with these Republics she has
characteristics in common.
AREA, POPULATION, BOUNDARY
=Area.= First of the West Coast countries from the north, Ecuador has
an uncertain area on account of boundary disputes. That with Colombia
is lately settled, but not the one with Peru. With approximately
116,000 square miles now in her possession, she is usually ranked as
next to the smallest South American Republic, Uruguay. The country
extends from about 2° North Lat. to 6° South.
=Population.= As no official census of Ecuador has ever been taken, the
population is variously stated. A liberal estimate places the figures
at 2,000,000.
=Boundary.= Ecuador’s boundary is uncertain as to the matter of
touching Brazil. However, she has Colombia on the north and northeast,
Peru on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west; most maps give
Peru a section on the southeast as well, shutting Ecuador off from
Brazil.
HISTORY
From the remote past, Ecuador has been inhabited by many tribes
of Indians; one of these held sway at Quito for a thousand years
before their subjugation by the Peruvian Incas. Less than a century
later Pizarro arrived with the Spaniards. Hardly had these conquered
Peru, when in 1534, the year following the overthrow of Atahuallpa,
Pizarro dispatched Diego de Almagro and Sebastian de Benalcazar for
the conquest of Ecuador, after which a few settlements were made. In
1538, Gonzalo Pizarro, brother of the conqueror, became Governor. In
1540, with Francisco de Orellana and a large expedition, he went east,
descending through the forests to the Napo River. There a boat was
built in which Orellana with others sailed down to the Amazon, then on
to the Atlantic Ocean, thus first exploring the greatest river on the
globe to which he gave its present name.
For almost three centuries Ecuador was ruled by Spain, most of the time
under the authority of the Viceroy at Lima, until in 1822 occurred
the decisive battle of Pichincha, which assured the independence of
Ecuador. Soon after, the country joined New Granada and Venezuela in
the Colombian Federation, but in 1830 set up for itself a separate
republic. Many difficulties, insurrections, and revolutions have
occurred quite up to the present time, 11 changes of the constitution
since 1830; but settled conditions favorable to the country’s
development are now hoped for.
GOVERNMENT
Ecuador is a centralized rather than a federal republic, with the usual
three departments. The President, elected for four years by direct
vote, is ineligible for the consecutive term. Congress consists of a
Senate with 32 members and a Chamber of Deputies with 48. Suffrage
is limited to males over 21 years of age, who can read and write.
The Judiciary consists of a Supreme Court at Quito, and six others
in as many large towns, municipal and civil courts, and justices of
the peace. The Provinces are administered by Governors named by the
Executive, the Departments or Cantons by _jefes politicos_, political
chiefs, the Parishes by political lieutenants, and the municipalities
by presidents.
The Republic, the capital of which is Quito, has 15 Provinces and
two Territories. Of the former, five are along the coast, and ten
are inland occupying the mountainous section. The coastal Provinces
from the north are Esmeraldas, Manabí, Guayas, and El Oro. Los Rios,
although not touching the coast, may be counted with them, as occupying
a part of the lowlands, it shares most of their characteristics. The
mountain Provinces, beginning at the north are Carchi, Imbabura,
Pichincha, León, Tungurahua, Chimborazo, Bolívar, Cañar, Azuay, Loja.
Of the two Territories, Oriente is of course the section at the east,
which belongs to the Amazon Basin, the other is the Galápagos Islands,
nearly 600 miles from the main land.
These divisions, with approximate area and population, their capitals
with population and altitude follow:
POPULATION
The population of Ecuador, approximately 2,000,000, as in all of these
tropical countries is in three principal classes: the whites, the pure
Indians, and the mestizos, those of mixed blood, here Spanish and
Indian. There are also some negroes, mulattoes, and _zambos_, the last
of negro and Indian blood. Those who in these tropical countries are
called white in most cases no doubt have a slight Indian strain, as
few women were among the earliest settlers; but no prejudice exists on
this account. Even when the Indian strain is apparent, having money
and education they enjoy the same social standing and occupy the
highest positions. Those of pure Spanish blood in most of the countries
must be few. The whites with some of the mestizos form a cultured
class with the manners and customs for the most part of such society
anywhere. The sons of wealthy families are often educated abroad and
many have traveled in Europe. Paris fashions in dress are followed and
continental customs generally. Courtesy is a marked characteristic,
possibly carried to excess.
-------------+---------+----------+----------+----------+----------
| AREA, | | | | ALTITUDE,
PROVINCES |in square|POPULATION| CAPITALS |Population| in feet
| miles | | | |
-------------+---------+----------+----------+----------+----------
Esmeraldas | 5,465 | 20,000 |Esmeraldas| 6,000 | [5]
Manabí | 7,892 | 100,000 |Portoviejo| 8,000 | [5]
Guayas | 8,330 | 120,000 |Guayaquil | 94,000 | [5]
Los Rios | 2,296 | 32,800 |Babahoya | 7,000 | [5]
El Oro | 2,340 | 35,000 |Machala | 6,000 | [5]
Carchi | 1,495 | 36,000 |Tulcán | 8,000 | 9,765
Imbabura | 2,415 | 70,000 |Ibarra | 10,000 | 7,298
Pichincha | 6,217 | 200,000 |Quito | 100,000 | 9,348
León | 2,595 | 110,000 |Latacunga | 15,000 | 9,187
Tungurahua | 1,686 | 107,000 |Ambato | 14,000 | 8,554
Chimborazo | 2,989 | 125,000 |Riobamba | 20,000 | 9,177
Bolívar | 1,160 | 45,000 |Guaranda | 8,000 | 8,751
Cañar | 1,520 | 74,000 |Azogues | 10,000 | 8,321
Azuay | 3,874 | 150,000 |Cuenca | 40,000 | 8,465
Loja | 3,706 | 100,000 |Loja | 15,000 | 7,281
| | | | |
TERRITORIES | | | | |
El Oriente |80,000 | 200,000 |Archidona | 1,000 | unknown
Galápagos | 2,868 | 1,000 | | |
-------------+---------+----------+----------+----------+----------
[5] These capitals are at or near sea level.
The bulk of the population is frankly mestizo and Indian. The mestizos
may be more than one half of the population, the Indians perhaps one
quarter. The Indian population may be regarded as in three principal
classes of widely different character: those of the coast, of the
highlands, and of the Amazon Basin. The Indians of the coast region
were of various tribes speaking different languages. Superficially
christianized, most of them have become more or less amalgamated with
the whites or with negroes, but in the forests of Esmeraldas where
the Indians, living under similar conditions, closely resemble those
of the Napo district, the Cayapas retain their language and customs,
continuing to live apart from and to avoid the whites. If not molested
they are hospitable and affable with strangers.
The Indians on the uplands are similar to those on the Peruvian
Plateau, timid and distrustful of foreigners, including the native
whites. They constitute the greater part of the laboring class and
while not slaves in name they are forced to work for a pittance, and
they live as a rule in extreme poverty and ignorance. Laws for their
protection are generally ignored, and throughout the entire Andine
region they are undoubtedly in a far lower condition than when the
Spaniards invaded the country. The mestizos, instead of sympathizing
with them, generally treat them worse than do the whites, some of
whom recognize the abuses to which the Indians are subject and desire
to improve their condition. The Indians are strong and vigorous,
especially as to carrying heavy burdens for great distances. Like
many other persons they have an unfortunate weakness for alcohol. The
men wear short loose trousers or drawers of linen or cotton, a shirt,
and most important, a woolen poncho. They go much with bare feet, but
usually have sandals made of maguey fibre or rawhide. The women wear a
skirt, a cloth covering the body, and a _manta_ or shawl in which the
baby (there usually is one) or some other object is carried. With a
little education, kind, just treatment, and decent wages, these people
would be converted into a working class of far greater value than at
present, highly serviceable for the development and progress of the
various countries.
Totally dissimilar are the Indians of the Amazonian forest, of whom
there are 46 tribes north of the Marañón, though the differences among
them are ascribed to environment, rather than to diversity of race.
These wear no clothing or a loin cloth. Many are fairly light colored
and in general they are well formed. Their weapons are bows and arrows,
and the blowpipe used also by the Cayapas. Some of the tribes are
especially savage, as the Jíbaros and the Huambisa Indians. The former
in early times destroyed the Spanish colonies on the Amazon affluents,
while the latter in 1599 seized the Spanish women after sacking Sevilla
de Oro. Both of these tribes have a considerable admixture of Spanish
blood and are sometimes fair skinned. They have a reputation for
treachery and cruelty, but it is said that their savage deeds are in
retaliation for countless wrongs previously inflicted by white men, as
in the case of recent atrocities.
The mestizos who live among the whites and intermarry with them class
themselves with them whenever their economic position permits. Dwelling
in remote regions and in villages among the Indians they tend to revert
to the Indian type. Until they acquire wealth they form the artisan
element, the traders, and the shopkeepers.
EDUCATION
Primary education is free and obligatory, but the number of schools is
insufficient, and a large part of the people are indifferent. Eighty
thousand pupils are in attendance, and 4500 more in the secondary
schools. There are universities at Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca; six
Schools of Arts and Trades, also Schools of Agriculture, and other
institutions of a technical or professional character. The machinery
of education is equal to that of its neighbors if not in advance, but
too many professional men are found in all the countries.
PRESS, RELIGION, ETC.
=Press.= Excellent newspapers exist, notably in Guayaquil and Quito,
influencing civic progress.
=Religion.= In 1904 the Church was placed under the control of the
State, and all religions were made equal before the law. The women are
devoted to the Catholic Church, as in all the South American countries,
but the educated men are largely materialists. Civil marriage and
divorce were established in 1904.
=Telegraph.= There are several thousand telephones, mostly in
Guayaquil, and about 6000 miles of telegraph wire. The rates are
10 cents for 10 words, and 5 cents for 10 words additional. Cable
connection is made at Santa Elena on the Pacific, which has also a
wireless station.
=Money.= A condor is a gold coin equal to an English pound, and to 10
sucres. A sucre is therefore 48.6 cents. The sucre equals 100 centavos.
The sucres and some smaller coins are silver. The coinage of Peru is
similar. It is easy to remember that a sucre or a Peruvian sol is about
half a dollar, a centavo half a cent.
The =Metric System= is legal, but the old Spanish weights and measures,
as in Colombia, are much used.