Ecuador

or EQUADOR, [Sp. equator. ] (ěk-wah'dōr,) a S. American republic, lying, as its name imports, immediately under the equator, or bet. Lat. 1° 35' N. and 50 50' S., and Lon. 68° 20′-81° 12′ W. It is b. N. by New Granada; E. by the last-named State, Peru, and Bolivia; S. by Peru; and W.by the Pacific Ocean. The repub. is divided into the 3 depts. of Quito, A uay, and Guayaquil, which are subdivided into ten provinces; area, 203,000 sq. m. The surface is very mountainous, being intersected by the main chain of the Andes, which here throw off three large spurs. Two of the loftiest Andean peaks are found within its limits - those of Chimb or azo and Cotopaxi. The whole country is of volcanic formation, and in the higher regions po e es a poor, rocky soil; in the plateaux, however, the land is in the highest degree fertile and productive. The climate is, generally, temperate and pleasant; rainfalls are un frequent. E. is watered by numerous feeders of the parent stream the Amazons - and boasts a rich vegetation. Of high roads the republic po e es but few, while railways do not exist. The govt. resembles in all e ential parts that of the Hispaño-American States generally; being on a so-called liberal basis, but perpetually being modified by revolutionary changes. Education is little cared for; the Roman Catholic is the state religion, and a partial degree of toleration of others prevails. E. po e es neither army nor navy. Her exports, comprising cocoa, Panama hats, gums, cotton, quinine, & c., amounted in 1870 to $4,169,409. Chief towns. Quito (the C.), and Guayaquil (chief seaport). Hist. Pizarro established the Spanish rule in E. in 1526, before which time it had formed part of the Peruvian empire of the Incas. The people threw off the Spanish yoke in 1812, and, in 1822, combined with Venezuela and New Granada to form the Colombian republic. In 1831, E. seceded from the union, and set up a petty republic by herself under the present name of Ecuador. Pop. 1,300,000. [s. 316]