The Spaniards founded San Miguel de Piura on November
17 in Cajamarca and took the Incan ruler, Atahualpa, prisoner. Atahualpa
offered rooms filled with gold in exchange for his freedom.
The Spaniard Diego de Almagro, who financed the conquest
of Peru by Pizarro, upon seeing the rooms filled with gold offered
by Atahualpa for his freedom, decided to eliminate the Incan king
and this way avoid the rebuilding of the empire. Once Atahualpa and
his Incan troops were assassinated, Sebastián de Benalcázar
along with Almagro left Piura to conquer Quito. On December 6, Benalcazar
created the Villa San Francisco de Quito and on July 25, Santiago
de Guayaquil.
Under the rule of Virreinato from Peru, the Real Audiencia de Quito
was established which later formed part of Virreinato de Santa Fe.
The Real Audiencia of Quito, inhabited by Spaniards and indigenous
people, assumed control of the territory and communities that lived
in what is now known as Ecuador.
Independence and Republic life
The movement of independence in Ecuador began on August 10, 1809 in
the city of Quito where an organized group of rebels decided to not
recognize the government of that time. These rebels were squashed
four months later with the imprisonment of almost 70 patriots at the
hands of the military and later with the massacre of these patriots
and more than 300 Quiteños.
Later, with the Independence of Esmeraldas on August 5, 1820, the
rest of the cities began seceding from what formed part of the Real
Audiencia de Quito. On October 9, 1820, the independence of Guayaquil
was won. On the 24th of May of 1822, the mariscal Antonio Jose de
Sucre achieved independence for Quito and all of the territory of
the Audiencia de Quito and thus of Ecuador.
Between the time of achieving independence until 1830, the territories
that were independent joined with Gran Colombia. The proposal by Bolivar
for Gran Colombia, however, failed and allowed the construction of
a republican state called Ecuador. The Republic of Ecuador was characterized
by constant internal political battles and it was difficult for the
different regions to unite because each region was seeking its own
economic independence.
