1500's - 1800's
- (1532) Pizarro expedition discovered Ecuador
- (1535) Galapagos Islands discovered by Bishop Tomas de Berlanga
- (1810) King of Spain overthrown by Napoleon
- (1820) Coastal Ecuador declared independence from Spain
- (1822) Battle of Pichincha ended Spanish rule; Ecuador became part of independent Gran Columbia
- (1830) Ecuador left Gran Columbia, became fully independent
1900's
- (1941) Peru and Ecuador went to war over border conflict
- (1945) Peru, Paraguay, Chile, Ecuador joined United Nations
- (1948) Growth of banana trade brought prosperity
- (1952) US signed military aid pact
- (1959) Ecuador turned 97% of the Galapagos Islands into national park
- (1963) Ecuador under military rule
- (1970) Oil exporting became major economic factor
- (1979) New constitution restored democracy
- (1995) War with Peru over 1941 border dispute
- (1998) Special law passed to protect Galapagos Islands; peace treaty signed with Peru ended 50-year dispute over Amazon region
- (1999) Ecuador economy in financial crisis; US dollar became official currency
2000's
- (2001) Luis Maldonado, sworn in as minister social welfare, first Indian to hold cabinet post
- (2002) Indigenous people protested oil production; Lucio Gutierrez elected president
- (2003) Anti-drug agents seized three tons of cocaine
- (2004) Columbia, Ecuador, Peru opened negotiations for free trade accord with US
- (2005) New Supreme Court sworn in
- (2006) Nationwide protest over proposed free trade agreement with US; Rafael Correa won presidential election
- (2007) President Correa decided not to re-new 1993 bilateral investment treaty with US
- (2008) Ecuador renewed low-level diplomatic relations with Columbia
- (2009) President Correa won second term; government refused to extend US military's use of air base for drug surveillance flights
