The group managed to take Quito and install a government, which lasted only 24 days before royalist troops (loyal to Spain) regained control. In the Sierra, the Spaniards established a colony of large estates worked by Indian peons. May 24, 1822, is celebrated as the first Independence Day for Ecuador against its independence from Spain. Each government collapsed quickly, and sometimes violently. Instead of looking for a solution to Ecuador’s economic plight, the then leader of the union President Bolivar focused his attention on the expensive war with Peru. Other underlying problems faced by Ecuador were the nation’s underrepresentation in the administration of Gran Colombia. The war ended with the defeat of the Spanish forces. Historically, Spanish colonization of Ecuador began in 1563 Quito. Independence The first serious attempt to liberate Ecuador from Spanish rule was by a partisan group led by Juan Pío Montúfar on August 10, 1809. The colony would later be embroiled in another armed conflict with its colonial master, Spain, between 1820 and 1822 in what was to be known as the Ecuadorian War of Independence. The war was one of the numerous wars Spain engaged in the earl… Quito became independent from Spain after the legendary Battle of Pichincha on the volcano above Quito on May 24, 1822. In 1875, the church-backed, conservative dictator President García Moreno (who attempted to make Catholicism a requisite for citizenship) was hacked to death with a machete outside Quito ’s presidential palace. The war ended with the defeat of the Spanish forces. It was there, on August 10, 1809 that the first call for independence from Spain was made in Latin America ("Luz de América "), under the leadership of the city's criollos, including Carlos Montúfar, Eugenio Espejo and Bishop Cuero y Caicedo. It was ruled by the Spanish. At the same time the Spanish colonial economy began to fail, messages of the Enlightenment being wrought in Europe penetrated Quito’s cultural isolation and began to be disseminated throughout the country on the backs of missionaries. On this day in 1809, notable patriots who had formed a group called Junta Soberana de Quito informed the president of the Real Audiencia de Quito (the administrative unit set up by the Spanish colonizers) that he was relieved of his duties. Bolívar and San Martín heeded Olmedo’s call for help, sending him significant contingents of troops and a number of skilled offers. Ecuador - Ecuador - The colonial period: During much of the colonial period, what is now Ecuador was under the direct jurisdiction of the law court (audiencia) of Quito and ultimately under the rule of the Spanish crown. The weak economy hurt the “haves” more than the “have-nots”; by some accounts, the situation actually improved for Ecuador’s native population during the colony’s economic decline. // */. Celebration\ Observance People celebrate this day by attending parades, dances, carnivals, outside get togethers, with much patriotism and pride about their countries independence. This battle completed Ecuador’s independence from Spain. This event is now celebrated with its own national holiday. Ecuador's capital Quito was a city of around ten thousand inhabitants. The four other provinces were Panama, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela. var google_conversion_label = "ZD6sCIbvvgQQ0rnY1gM"; On this page: Spanish Economic Decline | Enlightenment Ideals, the Seed of Independence | Identification With the South American Independence Movement | Heeding the Call for Help |. The war ended with the defeat of the Spanish forces. Festivities are being held throughout the country. Ecuador’s criollo population tried several times to take control of the Quito Audencia in the decade that followed Napoleon’s invasion of Spain, but it was not until 1820 that the criollos had enough force to realize emancipation from Spanish colonial rule. Peru claimed that Ecuador's military presence in Peruvian-claimed territory was an invasion; Ecuador, for its part, claimed that Peru had recently invaded Ecuador around the Zarumilla River and that Peru since Ecuador's independence from Spain has systematically occupied Tumbez, Jaen, and most of the disputed territories in the Amazonian Basin between the Putomayo and Marañon Rivers. On Monday Ecuador celebrated the 106th anniversary of its declaration of independence from Spain. (function() { Within hours of his victory on the slopes the volcano outside of Quito, Sucre received the formal surrender of the Quito Audiencia. Ecuador declares independence from Spain (National Day) More Notable Events on August 10: 1996 Bob Dole picks Jack Kemp as his Republican Vice Presidential running mate 1990 U.S.'s Magellan spacecraft lands on Venus 1986 Billy Martin Day, his uniform number 1 retired 1972 1 million kg heavy meteorite grazes atmosphere above Canada Ecuador Table of Contents. August 10th is National public holiday. Ecuador suffered a severe depression throughout most of the eighteenth century. var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; . Ecuadorian War of Independence: | | | Ecuadorian War of Independence | | | ... World Heritage Encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; The central figure of the war of independence was Simón Bolívar, who first liberated the province of Venezuela in 1813. The eighteenth century brought hardship to Spain, and consequently, to its colonies. Spain’s forces were led by Melchor Aymerich whose war tactics were renowned in the entire Spanish Empire. The Ecuadorian War of Independence brought together armed forces from all over northern South America. It took nine more years to liberate Ecuador, which became formally independent from Spain on May 24, 1822. Ecuador’s identification with the wider South American independence movement – led principally by Venezuelan Simón Bolívar Palacios and the Argentinean José de San Martín – was ultimately what permitted it to throw of the shackles of Spanish domination as early as it did. Ecuador was part of a region called the Royal Audience of Quito. The war ended in May 1822 after Spanish forces were defeated in the Battle of Pichincha, resulting in the liberation of Ecuador. Ecuadorians celebrate independence from Spain on August 10, 1809. By 1534, Pizarro managed to overcome the Incan Empire (which extended from present day Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Chile) and claimed the territory for Spain. August 10th, 1830, is celebrated as the Independence Day in Ecuador. Criollo elites struggled to control Ecuador after Spanish independence. In Ecuador, on 9 October 1820, Guayaquil became the first city to gain its independence from Spain. This battle completed Ecuador’s independence from Spain. Unlike Spain’s other colonies, it enjoyed relative autonomy, as the colony’s long-distance from the Kingdom of Spain made direct administration problematic. Without help from Bolívar and San Martín, Ecuador likely would have languished under colonial rule for at least a few more decades. })(); /*