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Spanish troops led by Francisco Pizarro land on Ecuadoran coast en route to Peru, where they defeat the Incas.
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Spaniards conquer Ecuador, which becomes part of the Spanish Vice-Royalty of Peru.
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Ecuadoran middle class begins to push for independence.
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Antonio Jose de Sucre, a follower of the independence leader Simon Bolivar, defeats Spanish royalists at the battle of Pichincha; Ecuador becomes part of independent Gran Colombia, which also encompasses Colombia, Panama and Venezuela.
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Ecuador leaves Gran Colombia and becomes fully independent.
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Peru invades part of the Amazonian mineral-rich province of El Oro.
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Ecuador cedes some 200,000 square kilometers of disputed territory to Peru under the terms of the Rio Protocol.
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Growth in banana trade brings prosperity.
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President Carlos Arosemena Monroy deposed by military junta, which implements agrarian reform.
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Interim government takes over from military junta, which was forced to step down following violent demonstrations and harsh retaliation; newly elected constituent assembly chooses Otto Arosemena Gomez as head of state.