Ecuador Travel

Cultures that had become more defined had settlements that were highly developed and complex. A class system emerged, and agricultural processes became more intricate. Animals such as llama, alpacas and vicuñas were domesticated, pastoral life gave way to territorial life, as groups abandoned their migratory lifestyle. The sedentary nature of Andean groups lead to territorial borders. Social order came to the groups; trade grew between groups, and there was a division of labor and a hierarchy, all consolidated around common religion, language, politics and economy. This period of prosperity was followed by the arrival of the Inca.

Not all indigenous groups in the central Andes were at the same stages of development around the time of the arrival of the Inca.  Many indigenous groups fell easily to the Inca, but many resisted as well; the Inca, moving north from Cusco met resistance when they hit the Shyris-Cañari defenses, and they warred with them for years. The Inca eventually defeated and assimilated the central Andean groups, imposing Inca culture, including their language, Quechua, while still allowing groups to practice their beliefs. The Inca also introduced new crops, improved irrigation and built a mass of infrastructure, including roads connecting Quito with Cusco. The fusion of ethnicities led to collective festivals, as well.

When the Spanish arrived and assumed control of the region in the 1530s, one of the major changes was that privately owned land that had become the property of the Inca emperor during Inca rule fell under the Spaniards feudal system of social organization. The ruling, landholding elite took over the central Andean land and the indigenous who lived there. The indigenous were forced to work the land and were made the property of the conquistadores. This was known as the encomienda system of land ownership.

Spanish settlers on indigenous lands in the central Andes defended the territory and indoctrinated the native population, who were poorly paid for their work. Indigenous labor was further exploited under the Mita system, under which they were required to spend a year working for public or private concerns, constructing churches, roads, public buildings, or working in a textile mill. At the time of the Spanish conquest the native population of Ecuador was around 750,000. However, Spanish diseases such as measles and smallpox decimated the Sierra indigenous population during the 16th century. Years after Ecuador achieved independence the indigenous were eventually freed from slavery.

Though Ecuador was predominantly a rural society, central Andes cities such as Quito grew in administrative and bureaucratic power. Today, the majority of Ecuador's indigenous population continues to live in the central Andes, Ecuador's most populous region. Many indigenous groups still reside in small rural communal settlements, growing crops, raising cattle and producing handicrafts, though there is a great deal of migration to cities.

Back to "Central Andes Human History, part 1"