Aeroplane service is reported as to be installed, both freight and passenger, from Cayenne to the gold regions of the interior.
THE WEST COAST
CHAPTER XIV
ECUADOR: AREA, HISTORY, GOVERNMENT, POPULATION, ETC.
South of Colombia, fortunate in its Atlantic and Pacific Coast lines, are three exclusively Pacific countries, unless we count a rearward communication, so to speak, with the Atlantic by the Amazon for the first two, or note that the coast line of the third runs at the south quite to that ocean. Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, in the order named, now occupy the remaining Pacific coast line for the several thousand miles from Colombia to the Horn. In the group of West Coast States, however, Bolivia may be counted, for though nearly forty years ago she lost her small strip of coast line, her communication with the outside world is chiefly by way of the Pacific, and with these Republics she has characteristics in common.
Area, Population, Boundary
Area. First of the West Coast countries from the north, Ecuador has an uncertain area on account of boundary disputes. That with Colombia is lately settled, but not the one with Peru. With approximately 116,000 square miles now in her possession, she is usually ranked as next to the smallest South American Republic, Uruguay. The country extends from about 2° North Lat. to 6° South.
Population. As no official census of Ecuador has ever been taken, the population is variously stated. A liberal estimate places the figures at 2,000,000.
Boundary. Ecuador’s boundary is uncertain as to the matter of touching Brazil. However, she has Colombia on the north and northeast, Peru on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west; most maps give Peru a section on the southeast as well, shutting Ecuador off from Brazil.
History
From the remote past, Ecuador has been inhabited by many tribes of Indians; one of these held sway at Quito for a thousand years before their subjugation by the Peruvian Incas. Less than a century later Pizarro arrived with the Spaniards. Hardly had these conquered Peru, when in 1534, the year following the overthrow of Atahuallpa, Pizarro dispatched Diego de Almagro and Sebastian de Benalcazar for the conquest of Ecuador, after which a few settlements were made. In 1538, Gonzalo Pizarro, brother of the conqueror, became Governor. In 1540, with Francisco de Orellana and a large expedition, he went east, descending through the forests to the Napo River. There a boat was built in which Orellana with others sailed down to the Amazon, then on to the Atlantic Ocean, thus first exploring the greatest river on the globe to which he gave its present name.