Ecuador's geography, history, natural resources, and political systems

Ecuador is a country full of beauty and culture. It also has an interesting history. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the country of Ecuador as it relates to Geography, Natural Resources, Political and legal System (past & current), Culture, major Trading Partners (past & present), Export, labor forces and Technology. Let us begin the discussion by discussing the history of the country.

History of Ecuador

The history of Ecuador is amongst the most interesting in all the world. Most of the nation that is now known as Ecuador was captured by the Peruvian Incas in the 15th century (Ecuador 2001). The conquest of the Incans is described in more detail by Meggers (1966). The author asserts that the Incan conquest of Ecuador was commenced between 1463 and 1471, when the southern highland basins of Loja and Cuenca were integrated into the Empire by Topa Inca. The author explains that

"His son, Huayna Capac, extended the northern frontier to the present Ecuador -Colombia boundary after his succession to the throne in 1493. The conquest of the Cara is said to have taken 17 years and required a series of bloody battles, in which the Inca armies more than once fled in defeat. Inca resources of manpower were superior, however, and victory was ultimately theirs. To punish the Cara for resistance, Huayna Capac ordered the capture and execution of all who had fought against him. Whole villages of survivors were moved to the region south of Cuzco, their populations replaced by loyal subjects from that area (Meggers 1966).

The Inca's were defeated by the Spanish army in 1533, the same year the last Incan emperor was killed (Ecuador 2001). In 1830, Ecuador gained its independence (Ecuador 2001).

In addition, Ecuador has historically been an extremely religious country. According to Goffin (1994), in the 369 years between the arrival of Spaniards and the Liberal revolution, the foundation of Ecuadorian society embodied the connection between the Catholic Church and the state (Goffin, 1994). The author reports, "Throughout that period religion and history were inseparable." In witnessing the disbanding of the Confederation of the Gran Colombia in 1830, Simon Bolivar observed that "Venezuela would always be a country of the military, Colombia a country of intellectuals, and Ecuador "a convent (Goffin 1994)."

Geography

According to the CIA world factbook Ecuador is a country with a population of 13,212,742 located in the Western part of South America and borders the Pacific Ocean (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). In addition, Ecuador is bordered by Columbia to the north and Peru to the south (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). Ecuador (which is Spanish for equator) actually overlaps the equator (Ecuador 2001) The geographic coordinates of Ecuador are 2-00 S, 77-30 W (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). According to the factbook, Ecuador is about the size of Nevada. The total land boundaries for Ecuador are 2,010 km (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005).

Ecuador boasts a tropical climate along the coasts but the weather is cooler inland

(The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). The terrain of the country includes the inter-Andean central highlands, the coastal plains and flat to rolling eastern jungle (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). The lowest point is the Pacific Ocean and the highest elevation can be found at Chimborazo (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). Ecuador has been impacted by several kinds of natural disasters including droughts landslides, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic activity. In fact the Cotopaxi is the highest active volcano in the entire world (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005).

Meggers (1966) refers to the country as "transitional." The author explains that describing the nation as transitional

"implies the existence within its boundaries of strongly contrasting environments. It is, in fact, one of the most heterogeneous zones of the hemisphere, in which almost all combinations of climate and elevation can be encountered. In general terms, three major segments can be recognized: an eastern and a western lowland separated by the Andean mountain wall. The facts that the Andes are narrower and the coastal plain wider here than elsewhere on the continent, together with an equatorial location, give Ecuador a unique combination of environmental characteristics that certainly contributed as much as its geographical location to the role it has played in New World prehistory (Meggers 1966).

Although the country boasts beautiful landscapes, Ecuador also faces a plethora of environmental problems including soil erosion, deforestation, desertification, and water pollution (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). In addition, the pollution created from the production of oil has adversely effect the Galapagos Islands and Amazon Basin (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005).

Natural Resources

Natural resources in Ecuador include hydropower, petroleum, timber, coffee, cocoa and fish (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). All of these resources with the exception of hydropower are exported to other countries in the region and the world.

Culture

Currently nearly, 65% of the citizens of Ecuador are mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white). Another 25%, are Amerindian 7% are Spanish and 3% are black (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). The official language of Ecuador is Spanish (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). The citizens of Ecuador also speak various Amerindian languages (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). In addition, 95% of Ecuadorians are Roman Catholic (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005).

According to an article found in Geograpical magazine,

"Many indigenous groups maintain their distinct cultural identity. The Shuar are the largest single group and were the last to remain isolated until the discovery of oil in the 1970s. The Indians are pressing for Ecuador to be recognised as a plurinational state, where different communities are seen as distinct nationalities. The result is a strong and largely unified Indian movement which is at the forefront of social protests. Many Amazonian communities are successfully campaigning for their land rights to be recognised in the face of oil exploration and colonization (Ecuador 2001).

A book entitled Culture and Customs of Ecuador asserts that the mix of cultures that are found in Ecuador make it a vibrant country (Handelsman and Standish, 2000). The authors explain that Ecuador is a microcosm of Latin America (Handelsman and Standish, 2000). The authors also insists that inside the borders of Ecuador,

'one encounters the African sounds of the marimba and the bongo drums in the northwest coastal province of Esmeraldas, the Andean flute that evokes Incan times, the Spanish guitar that symbolizes almost 500 years of Hispanic influence, herbal medicinal practices from the Amazon jungle that bring alive a pre-Columbian past, Chinese food (commonly referred to as chifa ), and surnames such as Mahuad, Adoum, and Bucaram that have the ring of faraway places (Handelsman and Standish, 2000)."

The authors also explain that the culture diversity that exists has caused some conflict between the indigenous people groups and the African population (Handelsman and Standish, 2000). The author asserts that most of the conflict concerns land rights (Handelsman and Standish, 2000). In addition, the authors explain that since 1985 activists have forcefully rejected what they call the mestizo myth (Handelsman and Standish, 2000). They assert that instead of a peaceful integration of European and Indian cultures the integration of Indians and Whites has been nothing more than concealment in order to obtain political domination and segregation by self-proclaimed whites (Handelsman and Standish, 2000).

As far as Ecuadorian customs are concerned, Handelsman and Standish (2000), report that these customs are as vast as the people that inhabit the land. At one end of the spectrum, the authors explain that Ecuador has quite a few shopping malls similar to the ones that can be found in any American city (Handelsman and Standish, 2000). However, the authors also insist that mostly middle class and upper middle class Ecuadorians are the segment of the population that frequents such establishments (Handelsman and Standish, 2000). In addition, the authors explain that this segment of the population does not represent the majority of Ecuadorians. The authors also explain that the middle class and upper middle class continue to exclude themselves from others by building posh neighborhoods and country clubs (Handelsman and Standish, 2000). The authors contend 'Class consciousness permeates every facet of life in Ecuador. Surnames, club memberships, enrollment at certain schools, and influential business connections are some of the means Ecuadorians employ to distinguish the elite (or aspiring elite) from the country's "rabble." .. Besides the many injustices that such hierarchical relations have created through the centuries in Ecuador's larger economic and political arenas, they have had a profound effect on the way many people deal with others on a daily basis. Bureaucrats, public servants, and even store clerks are infamous for their lack of courtesy and disdainful attitude to strangers and the public in general ... At some fundamental level, such relations are defined by an underlying tension created by the apparent need to establish one's authority and control (Handelsman and Standish, 2000).

In any case, Ecuador remains as one of the most diverse countries in the region. Regardless of ethnic background, people that live in Ecuador love the country and share in its rich history.

Export and major Trading Partners

Petroleum is one of the natural resources that is abundant in Ecuador (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). According to the world factbook Petroleum composes 40% of Ecuador's export earnings (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). Other exports include flowers, shrimp and bananas (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). Exports for 2003 totaled a little more than $6 billion (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005).

In addition, the factbook reports that petroleum accounted for 'one-fourth of public sector revenues in recent years. Consequently, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. In the late 1990s, Ecuador suffered its worst economic crisis, with natural disasters and sharp declines in world petroleum prices driving Ecuador's economy into free fall in 1999 (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005)."

The factbook also reports that the impact of world market prices on petroleum caused Ecuador's banking system to collapse in 1999. The country was marred with economic problems throughout the nineties.

Ecuador's current major exporting partners include the United States, Columbia and Germany (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). America accounts for nearly 40% of Ecuador's exports (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005).

Labor forces

Prior to the 1970's the Ecuadorian economy was dependent upon agriculture. During the 1970's the Ecuadorian economy shifted to petroleum-based economy (Ecuador 2001). Today a great deal of the labor force works in the Petroleum industry (Ecuador 2001). Although the petroleum industry has become dominant in the country, 30% of the population is still employed in the agricultural industry, as the country exports bananas, coffee and cocoa (Ecuador 2001).

Technology

As with many nations, Ecuador has made a great deal of progress in the area of technology (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). In some Ecuadorian locations, there is general telecommunications infrastructure. According to the World factbook, there were approximately 1.6 million telephones in use in 2003(The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). In addition, there were a little over 2 million cellular phones in operation (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). However, the factbook contends that the local telephone system is unreliable and inadequate (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). In 2001, there were 7 television stations (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005). Additionally, there were 3188 internet hosts in the nation and 569,700 internet users (The World Factbook, Ecuador 2005).