Ecuador

sovereign state in South America

34 dated entries naming Ecuador, drawn from 32 separate years between 550 CE and 2016 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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6th century

550The last known eruption of Chimborazo (modern Ecuador) occurs.source

16th century

1531April – Battle of Puná: Francisco Pizarro defeats the native inhabitants of the island of Puná, off of the coast of what is now the South American nation of Ecuador.source
1534December 6 – Over 200 Spanish settlers, led by conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar, found what becomes Quito, Ecuador.source
1538July 25 – The city of Guayaquil, now the largest city in the South American nation of Ecuador is founded by Spanish conqueror Francisco de Orellana in the location of a Quechua native village of the same name. Orellana names the city "Santiago de Guayaquil".source
1541March 28 – In what is now the capital of Ecuador, San Francisco de Quito is declared a city by the decree of King Charles I of Spain and the Viceroyalty of Peru.source
1579March 1 – Off of the coast of what is now Ecuador, the English galleon Golden Hind, captained by Francis Drake, captures the Spanish freighter Nuestra Señora de la Concepción (unofficially called "Cagafuego") and its cargo, including 26 tons of silver and 1,000 pounds of gold.source
1594July 1 – Anglo-Spanish War: Action of Atacames Bay – English privateer Richard Hawkins in the Dainty is attacked and captured by a Spanish squadron off Esmeraldas (now in Ecuador).source

17th century

1638August 15 – The Portuguese expedition led by Pedro Teixeira completes the first ascent of the Amazon River, crossing the Quijos River and arriving at Quito in Ecuador soon after (the same trip had been made in the opposite direction, in 1541).source

18th century

1717May 27 – Spain creates the Viceroyalty of New Granada in South America from the northern section of the Viceroyalty of Peru. The viceroyalty, with a capital at Bogotá, later declares independence and splits up into what become the nations of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.source
1736Charles Marie de La Condamine, with François Fresneau Gataudière, makes the first scientific observations of rubber, in Ecuador.source
1736October 3 – French scientist Charles Marie de La Condamine and a team of surveyors begin the first measurements at the Equator to determine the exact meridian arc measurement of distance between points separated by one degree of longitude in order to make a precise calculation of the Earth's circumference. The initial measurements of this French Geodesic Mission to the Equator, made in what is now Ecuador, last until November 3. The same year the French Geodesic Mission to Lapland took place. Both confirm Isaac Newton's prediction that the Figure of the Earth is flattened at the poles.source
1739Ecuador, part of Real Audiencia of Quito, becomes a part of New Granada, instead of Peru.source
1743December 3 – Ecuadorian scientist Pedro Vicente Maldonado departs from Brazil in order to purchase the most state-of-the-art equipment for the French Geodesic Missionsource
1766September 1 – The revolt in Quito (at this time part of Spain's Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada; the modern-day capital of Ecuador) is ended peacefully as royal forces enter the city under the command of Guayaquil Governor Pedro Zelaya. Rather than seeking retribution from the Quito citizens over their insurrection that has broken the monopoly over the sale of the liquor aguardiente, Zeleaya oversees a program of reconciliation.source
1768April 4 – The Cotopaxi volcano erupts in what is now Ecuador, at the time part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada, covering the towns of Hambato and Tacunga with ash, but not causing fatalities.source

19th century

1809August 10 – Ecuador declares independence from Spain.source
1822July 26 – Guayaquil Conference: José de San Martín arrives in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to meet Simón Bolívar.source
1830May 13 – Ecuador separates from Gran Colombia.source
1831November 17 – Ecuador and Venezuela are separated from Gran Colombia.source
1832February 12 – Ecuador annexes the Galápagos Islands.source
1860September 24 – Battle of Guayaquil: Ecuadorian forces, led by Juan José Flores and Gabriel García Moreno, take the port of Guayaquil from Supreme Chief Guillermo Franco, who is backed by Peruvian forces.source
1874March 25 – The Republic of Ecuador is consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, carried out by President Gabriel García Moreno and supported, blessed and specified by Pope Pius IX.source
1877June 26 – The eruption of the volcano Cotopaxi in Ecuador causes severe mudflows that wipe out surrounding cities and valleys, killing 1,000.source
1895June 5 – The Liberal Revolution begins in Ecuador, making the civil war more intense in the country.source

20th century

1922November 15 – 1922 Guayaquil general strike: During a 3-day strike action in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, police and military fire into a crowd, killing at least 300.source
1949August 5 – In Ecuador, the 6.8 Ambato earthquake kills more than 5,000, and destroys a number of villages.source
1956January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are killed for trespassing by the Waorani people of Ecuador, shortly after making contact with them.source
1972February 15 – President of Ecuador José María Velasco Ibarra is deposed for the fourth time.source
1979December 12 – The 8.2 Tumaco earthquake shakes Colombia and Ecuador with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 300–600, and generating a large tsunami.source
1987March 6 – A 6.9 magnitude earthquake occurs in Napo Province in northeast Ecuador, killing roughly 1,000 people.source
2000March 13 – The United States dollar becomes the official currency of Ecuador, replacing the Ecuadorian sucre.source

21st century

2008April 19 – The Quito Ultratumba nightclub fire in Quito, Ecuador, kills 19 people and injures at least 24 more.source
2008March 2 – Venezuela and Ecuador move troops to the Colombian border, following a Colombian raid against FARC guerrillas inside Ecuadorian territory, in which senior commander Raúl Reyes is killed.source
2016April 16 – An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 strikes northwestern Ecuador killing 676 people and injuring over 6,000. Widespread damage was caused across Manabí Province, with structures hundreds of kilometres away from the epicenter collapsing.source