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Ecuador History Timeline

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

Ecuador's Information

Flag of Ecuador
Land Area 276,841 km2
Water Area 6,720 km2
Total Area 283,561km2 (#73)
Population 16,080,778 (#67)
Population Density 58.09/km2
Government Type Presidential Republic
GDP (PPP) $182.00 Billion
GDP Per Capita $11,000
Currency Dollar (USD)
More Information Ecuador

See Also

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This page was last updated on April 7, 2017.