Diario las Américas., 1958-01-29
Know thv
Nei9hbor.
By ANTONIO RUIZ


francisco de Orellana was placed
in command of the expedition
and, with a small group of men,
was sent ahead in the ship to find
and bring back food. They sailed
into the mighty Napo River, and
were swept into de Amazon, which
they followed down its $500 mile
course to the Atlantic, leaving
Pizarro and his men to make their
way back to Quito overland.
Though Orellana found neither
the land of cinnamon nor the
"Gilded Man." his momentouS dis
covery of the worlds greatest riv-
er brought him rich rewards from
the Court of Spain. The river was
named AmazonaS, although not
by its discoverer, because Orella-
ma reported an encounter along its
banks with a band of tall, strong
women warriors, whom he called
Las AmaZ0ndS.
Exploration, colonization and
implanting of Spanish civilization
went forward. Guayaquil was
founded in 1885 by Orellana, and
Cuenca twenty years later. Quito,
capital of the colony, grew and
prospered. Its jurisdiction extend
ed beyond the territorial limits of
modern Ecuador; it was respon-
sible to the Viceroyalty of Peru,
of which it formed part until 1918,
and thereafter to the Viceroyalty
of New Granada - present-day
Colombia - with its seat in b.
gotta. Later the colony was elevat-
ed to the rank of Presidency.
During the XVIII century, Ecua-
dor matured into a center of liber-
al political thought. The yoke of
the mother country was beginning
to chafe, and talk of independence
grew holder. During this period,
one of Ecuador's greatest heroes
gained prominence championing
the cause for independence in
his prolific and inspired writings.
His name was Eugenio Espejo, af-
fectionately called eel Indio Espe-
jo" because he was partly of In
dian blood.
Several revolts failed before
Ecuador was to become an in
dependent nation. The first open
revolt took place on August 9, 49,
%, and was short-lived, but it is
noted as being the first revolu-
tionary movement of Latin Anne
ricans against Spain. Finally, in
1922, Simon Bolivar sent his able
and young commander, Antonio
Jose de Sucre, into Ecuador to
lead what proved to be a decisive
campaign against the Spaniards.
Sucre's army, reinforced by troops
sent by Argentine General Jose de
San Martin from Peru, met the
Spanish forces in a fierce battle
on the slopes of Mount Pichincha,
not far from Quito, on May "a,
1922, and won the great victory
that liberated Ecuador forever
from the Spanish rule. The battle
of Pichincha ranks with those of
Boyaca and Carabobo as the vic
tories which gained freedom for
Northern South America.
For eight years Ecuador was
part of the Republic of Gran Co.
lombia, founded and headed by ST.
mon Bolivar as President. In 49,
30, both Venezuela and Ecuador
withdrew from that union, and be-
came separte nations. The Repub-
lie of Ecuador began its separate
existence with the adoption of a
constitution on September II, 49,
30. General Juan Jose Flores, a
Venezuelan, was elected first Pre-
sident.
The Constitution adopted the
name of Ecuador for the country
and established a presidential sy-
stem of government similar to that
of the United States, with a divi-
sion of powers between the execu-
tive, the legislative and the judi
cial branches. Although the first
constitution provided for a con.
federation of three departments,
subsequent ones established a cen.
tralized, unitarian system.
Spanish Version Page 8