Ecuador

(ek-wa ˙ -dōr´) ( Republic a Del Ecuador ), a republic of South America, situated under the equator, whence it takes its name, between Peru and Colombia. It is of triangular shape, its base resting on the Pacific, but the boundaries between it and its neighbours are not very definitely fixed; estimated area, about 116,000 sq. miles. The state has still a boundary dispute with Peru, that with Colombia having been settled by treaty in 1917. The country is divided into fifteen provinces, one territory—'El Oriente'—and the Archipelago of Galapagos, officially called 'Colon'. It falls, as regards the surface, into three sections: the comparatively narrow and low-lying coast regions, the mountain region, and the extensive plains on the east. The mountain region is formed by a double range of snow-clad mountains—several of them active volcanoes—which enclose a longitudinal valley or tableland, with a breadth of 20 to 40 miles, and varying in elevation from 8500 to 13,900 feet. The most elevated of these mountains are, in the western range, Chimb or azo, Pichincha, and Cotacachi, Chimb or azo being 20,703 feet high. In the eastern range are Cayambe, Anti san a, and Cotopaxi (19,500 feet). The cultivated land and the population of Ecuador lie chiefly in this elevated region, which extends along between the summits of the Cordillera, and may be considered as divided by transverse ridges or dikes into the valleys of Quito, Hamba to, and Cuenca. The chief towns here are Quito, the capital, with a pop. of 70,000, Riobamba, and Cuenca, all situated at a height of 9000 feet or more above the sea. The chief ports of Ecuador are Guayaquil and Esmeraldas. The most considerable rivers, the Tigre, Napo, Pastaza, ., belong to the basin of the Amazon; and some of them, notably the Napo, are navigable for long distances. On the western slope of the Andes the chief rivers are the Esmeraldas and the Guayaquil. Ecuador is comparatively poor in Mammal i a; although various kinds of deer as well as tapirs and peccaries are found in the forests. Parrots and humming-birds are also numerous, but perhaps the most remarkable of the birds in Ecuador is the condor, which dwells on the slopes of the Andes. Reptiles, including serpents, are numerous. The forests yield cinchona bark, caoutchouc, sarsaparilla, and vegetable ivory. The climate on the plains, both in the east and the west, is moist, hot, and unhealthy. In the higher regions the climate is rough and cold, but in great part the elevated valleys, as that of Quito, enjoy a delightful climate. Here the chief productions are potatoes, barley, wheat, and European fruits. In the lower regions are grown all the food-products of tropical climates, cocoa, coffee, and sugar. The foreign commerce is not large, the exports and imports being annually about £2,700,000 and £1,670,000 respectively. In 1919 the imports from Ecuador to the United Kingdom amounted to £1,257,350, and the exports to Ecuador to £373,346. Cocoa forms three-fourths (or more) of the whole export; the remainder is made up of tagua or ivory-nuts, rubber, straw hats, coffee, and gold. A little gold is mined, and Panama hats are made. The State recognizes no religion, but grants freedom of worship to all. A system of education was organized in 1897 and improved in 1912. There are three universities: the Central University, at Quito; the Guayas University, in Guayaquil; and the Azuay University, in Cuenca. There are schools for higher education and primary schools. The executive government is vested in a President elected for four years, who is a isted by a Council of State. The Congre is the legislative body, and consists of two Houses, one formed of Senators, two for each province, the other of Deputies, one for every 30,000 inhabitants, both elected by universal suffrage. The Congre has extensive privileges, and cannot be di olved by the President. The seat of government is Quito. In 1920 both the revenue and expenditure amounted to nearly £2,000,000. The debt amounts to about £5,620,000. The monetary standard is gold, the gold condor of ten sucres being equivalent to a sovereign. The metric system of weights and measures is the legal one. Railways and telegraphs have made little progre .—Ecuador at the time of the conquest of Peru by the Spaniards formed part of the great empire of the Incas. As the Presidency of Quito it was long included in the Vice-Royalty of Peru. From 1710 it became part of the Presidency of New Granada (or Santa Fé de Bogotá). In the revolutionary war against Spain, Ecuador, along with the neighbouring territories, secured its independence (1822), and was ultimately erected into a separate Republic in 1831. The present Constitution of the Republic was promulgated on 6th May, 1906. Of the present population, the aboriginal red race form more than half; the rest are negroes, mulattoes, mestizoes, a degenerate breed of 156 mixed negro and Indian blood, and Spanish Creoles or whites. The last-named are the chief po e ors of the land, but are deficient in energy. Pop. (estimated) 2,000,000.— Bibliography : F. Garcia-Calderon, Latin America: its Rise and Progre ; C. R. Enock, Ecuador ; T. H. Stabler, Travels in Ecuador .