During the first millennium, nomadic communities hunting for animals and foraging for food arrived in the rich and fertile valley of Quito. Over time, tribes settled and Quito became an important settlement and major trading center known as 'Tianguez.' Quito evolved into a crossroads of cultures, and the most important economic center in the northern Andes.
During the 16th century the Incas extended their area of influence from Peru and, following various battles, asserted their control over the Quito region. They established Quito as their key administrative center from which to control the territories of their northern Empire.
The Spanish thirst for new land and riches brought them across the oceans to the Americas. The meeting of the two cultures proved cataclysmic. By the time the Spaniards arrived in what is today Quito, they found only ashes and ruins: the Inca general Rumiñahui razed the city rather than let the Inca kingdom fall into Spanish hands.
The city of San Francisco de Quito, formerly established in 1534, blossomed. As the wealth of its citizens grew and the religious orders accrued influence, day-by-day and year-by-year the city acquired more beauty and extravagance, burgeoning into one of the great cities of Spanish America.
However, by the dawn of the 19th century, social unrest and revolution were sweeping across the continent. The blood of civil war fell on Ecuadorian soil. In Ecuador, the struggle for independence began with the liberals' 'cry of freedom' in Quito in 1809, continued with the triumph over the Spanish in 1822 at the Battle of Pichincha on the slopes above the city, and ended with the proclamation of the Republic of Ecuador in 1830.
As the staunchly colonial city of Quito entered the 20th century, it finally outgrew the confines laid out over three hundred years before. The growth of the city was spurred mainly by the Pacific-Andean railway line that linked the coastal city of Guayaquil with the highland capital of Quito. This connection between the coast and sierra unleashed a great internal migration and unprecedented commercial expansion, bringing with it modern infrastructure and fresh styles of architecture complemented by new building materials.
The banana boom of the forties fuelled the city's expansion and opened up the north of the city. The wealthy families established in the colonial center looked to this area for new land and family homes. Ecuador used its newfound prosperity to implement infrastructure projects such as hospitals, schools, universities, prisons and an international airport. The second wave of development came on the coat-tails of the petroleum boom of the seventies, high rise buildings spiking the skyline, new public buildings such as Ministries, courts and a Legislative Palace rising up, and new residential neighborhoods sprouting where once fields and forest ruled. The face of Quito was never the same again.
Today, Quito has also expanded into the eastern valleys of Tumbaco, Cumbaya and Los Chillos (San Rafael), northwards into the valley of Calderón, and southwards towards the looming volcanoes in the distance. Its population is just under two million.
Student COMMENTS
Estimado Eugenio,
Finalmente volví a Inglaterra. Le agradezco por haber organizado mis viajes y mis estudios con mucha paciencia. Las 6 semanas en Ecuador
fueron unas de las más interesantes de mi vida.
I can whole heartedly recommend your language school Instituto Superior de Español. The concept of learning Spanish while travelling
is superb and your organizational talent in working out individual itineraries is admirable! For some spoilt visitors from rich countries
it might be hard to fit in with an Ecuadorian family, but it gives a unique opportunity to learn more about the country than the superficial impressions usually granted to tourists.
Many thanks to you, your team and the host families for the courtesy, patience and good humor which made my trip so enjoyable!
I can also recommend the very friendly and comfortable jungle lodge and rafting or kayaking excursions who's safety standards were better
than some European organizations I have encountered.
Monika Lloyd-Burton
Poole England
monikarcadia@ntlworld.com
Further comments...
