Geographical History of Ecuador's Border

Ecuador is a country of rich culture and history. However, the state as we know it today hasn't always existed. Various incarnations have had an influence on the land that makes up Ecuador and it has had an influence on the political pressures applied to it bordering neighbors. This is an overview of how the Ecuador's border has come to take form.

The Indigenous Population

The land or territory now known as Ecuador once had a very different past. Like most countries dominated by imperialism, an Indigenous group of people lived in the area. These Indigenous territories serve to help complicate matters further in the area as they pre-date current boundary lines and territorial treaties.

Unfortunately, it was difficult to find a working map of the area with these demarcations. However, according to the United States Department of States' website, Ecuador is currently racially made up of five different mixed races. Considering that there were groups that probably weren't large enough to be mentioned, the extinction of cultural groups, and the tribal boundary issues in other states, namely those in Africa, it can be perceived that the many more indigenous races existed before being overtaken by empires.

Inca and Spanish Empires

The Incan Empire came to dominate the area in the sixteenth century through a number of warfare and tribal marriages. At its greatest extent, the empire covered the entire area of modern day Ecuador, along with much of the country's surrounding area in Peru and Colombia.

Due to instability and the introduction of disease to the Incas, the Spanish was able to conquer much of the Incan territory plus most northern South America. Central America and Mexico were also under the empire's control at this time. Most of the conflicts between Ecuador and Peru have stemmed from the geography of viceroyalties established by Spain during the last century of its dominance. The Viceroyalty of New Granada covered the current countries of Colombia, Panama, Venezuela and parts of Peru, Brazil and Ecuador. On the other hand, the Viceroyalty of Peru stretched over the majority of Peru and much of Chile and Argentina by the end of the Spanish Empire.

As can be seen on map, Ecuador straddles between the two Viceroyalties. To muddy the water, the power to control an area that encompassed much of Ecuador and part of northern Peru was passed off between the two Viceroys by the decree of the Spanish king. Before the fall of the Spanish Empire, Ecuador was in the hands of the Viceroyalty of New Granada.

Gran Colombia

A small period of time took place between the fall of the Spanish and the establishment of independence. As one of the causes to the fall, a man named Simòn Bolivar was on a mission to reclaim South America from the Spanish. He created Gran Colombia in the 1820s which covered the entire territories of Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and parts of Peru, Brazil, and Guyana. It was short lived, however, and collapsed in 1830 allowing for the formation of the present day states in South America.