The History of Ecuador covers human habitation in the region reaching back 8,000 years.
Mortar, Jaguar Valdivia, South Coast (4000 BCE to 1500 BCE).
Ceramic female figurine (2600–1500 BCE).
Tumaco-La Tolita mythological figure in feathered costume. Between 100 BC and 100 AD. Found in Esmeraldas.
Ingapirca Ruins near Cuenca
Viceroyalty of New Granada
The Viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada, also called Viceroyalty of New Granada or Viceroyalty of Santafé, was the name given on 27 May 1717 to the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire in northern South America, corresponding to modern Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela. Created in 1717 by King Felipe V, as part of a new territorial control policy, it was suspended in 1723 for financial problems and was restored in 1739 until the independence movement suspended it again in 1810. The territory corresponding to Panama was incorporated later in 1739, and the provinces of Venezuela were separated from the Viceroyalty and assigned to the Captaincy General of Venezuela in 1777. In addition to those core areas, the territory of the Viceroyalty of New Granada included Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, southwestern Suriname, parts of northwestern Brazil, and northern Peru.
Pedro Messía de la Cerda, Viceroy of New Granada