IX
ECUADOR
Sebastian  de  Benalcazar,  a  lieutenant  of
Pizarro,  on  December  6,  1534,  was  the  first
European  to  enter  the  Kingdom  of  Quito,  the
seat  of  government  of  the  Caras  Indians.  The
Spaniards  controlled  this  territory  at  different
times  from  Lima,  Peru,  or  from  Bogota,  Colombia, ­
  as  conditions  warranted.
In  1809  the  Ecuadorians  attempted  to  throw
off  the  yoke  of  Spain,  but  were  unsuccessful  in
establishing  their  independence  from  the
Mother  Country  until  May  24,  1822,  when
General  Sucre  defeated  the  Spanish  forces  at
Pichincha,  as  a  result  of  which  Ecuador  entered ­
  a  union,  fathered  by  the  Great  Liberator,
Simon  Bolivar,  and  comprising  as  its  other
states  Colombia  and  Venezuela.  Internal  dissension ­
  which  grew  resulted  in  the  dissolution ­
  of  this  trinity  of  republics,  and  on  Au-106