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Dateline
10,000-3600 B.C. Pre-ceramic Period. First hunter-gatherer societies in Ecuador.
3600-1800 B.C. Early Formative Period. First signs of agriculture in Ecuador.
1800-1500 B.C. Middle Formative Period. Further development of agricultural practices.
1500-500 B.C. Late Formative Period. Economy becomes almost completely dependent on agriculture as advanced crop-raising techniques develop.
500 B.C.-A.D. 500 Regional Development Period. Growth and development of urban areas.
500-1500 Integration Period. Strengthening of regional, political, and economic structures.
1438-71 Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui expands kingdom of Cusco into a wide area of the Andes, including part of what is now Ecuador. Machu Picchu built in what is now Peru.
1471-85 Tupac Inca Yupanqui expands Inca control of Ecuador, conquers rival Chimor Kingdom, and rebuilds Quito with architects from Cusco.
1525 Huayna-Cápac dies, dividing the Inca kingdom between his sons Atahualpa and Huáscar.
1532 Expedition, led by Francisco Pizzaro, "discovers" what is today Ecuador.
1534 Sebastián de Benalcázar begins the conquest of Quito.
* 1539 Spanish explorers set out from Quito and find the mouth of the Amazon River.
1563 By royal decree from Spanish King Felipe II, the Real Audiencia de San Francisco de Quito is created.
1809-10 Aristocrats in Quito declare independence, but their revolution is eventually suppressed by the Spanish crown. Many leading intellectuals are killed.
1820 Ecuador again declares independence from Spain; this time they are ultimately successful.
1822 Spanish rule ends. Quito becomes part of Gran Colombia, ruled by Simón Bolívar.
1830 Gran Colombia dissolves. The Republic of Ecuador is formed. General Juan José Flores becomes civilian and military ruler, convoking the first Ecuadorian Congress in the city of Riobamba in August 1830.
1832 Ecuador annexes the Galápagos Islands.
1835 The HMS Beagle, with a young Charles Darwin aboard, reaches the Galápagos.
1860 Under conservative President Gabriel García Moreno, Catholicism becomes the official religion of Ecuador.
1895 Liberal revolution. García Moreno archrival Eloy Alfaro institutes liberal reforms such as freedom of speech, civil marriage, and divorce.
1941 War between Ecuador and Peru. Peru occupies two-thirds of Ecuador, then withdraws after the signing of the Rio de Janeiro Protocol (1942), brokered by the U.S., Chile, Brazil, and Argentina. The border between the nations is only slightly better demarcated, leaving the door open for future conflict.
1948-52 Beginning of the banana boom. Exports of the fruit grow from $2 million to $20 million in 4 years.
1963 Military dictatorship begins.
1979 Pressured by instability in the global oil market, Ecuador returns to democracy. Jaime Roldós Aguilera elected president.
1987 A devastating earthquake strikes. Oil exports are interrupted; the economy suffers.
1995 Cenepa War between Ecuador and Peru. The nations fight once again over the border established in 1942.
1998 Ecuador and Peru sign peace treaty (Montevideo Declaration), ending a half-century of conflict over the Amazon region.
2000 Under President Jamil Mahuad, Ecuador takes steps to adopt the U.S. dollar as its official currency during a severe economic crisis. Widespread popular unrest ensues. Military junta overthrows Mahuad, and Vice President Gustavo Noboa takes control.
1996-2006 Ecuador has seven presidents in 10 years.
2006 Leftist Rafael Correa wins presidential election in runoff against billionaire businessman Alvaro Noboa.
2007 In an April national referendum, the Ecuadorian people voted overwhelmingly for President Correa's measure calling for a Constituent Assembly to rewrite the country's constitution.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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