Ecuador

An Introduction to Ecuador

The Republic of Ecuador is a democratic state located in the equatorial region of South America. It shares borders with Columbia on the north and Peru on the south-east, and has a large coastal region on its west. Ecuador also encompasses Pacific island territories, including the famous Galapagos Islands.

As a tourist destination, Ecuador has something for everyone. Among its many attractions are surf beaches, craft markets, World Heritage listed colonial cities, active volcanoes, tropical rain forests, mountain trails, and the aforementioned Galapagos Islands.

There is evidence that Ecuador has been inhabited since at least 3500 BC. More recently, however, Ecuador was an important part of the Incan Empire. When Spanish Conquistadors arrived in the 16th Century, though, they had little trouble subjugating the war-torn Incan population of Ecuador, and turning many of its inhabitants into servants or slaves. Many other natives died from diseases introduced by the Europeans, who ruled the country for over 300 years.

Ecuador remained a colony of Spain into the 19th Century, until it became a republic in 1830. A series of miltary coups in the mid-to-late 20th Century has resulted in Ecuador's relatively stable, representative democracy.