Population.—The indigenous population of Ecuador was originally composed of two distinct races—the Quitus and Caras, the former being the older, and the latter presumably of Quichua origin. The Caras, according to tradition, entered the country from the coast, and had thoroughly established themselves there long before the conquest by the Inca rulers Tupac-Yupanqui and his son Huayna-Capac. This conquest was comparatively easy because the Caras spoke a dialect of the same language, and were not greatly unlike their conquerors in manners and customs. The present Indian population of Ecuador, excepting those of the trans-Andean region, may be considered as descendants of these two races. They are subjected to incredible abuses under Spanish colonial rule, their numbers being reduced to a fraction of the former population, and even yet they are subjected to a kind of debt-bondage which is slavery in all but the name. Notwithstanding all this they still represent from two-thirds to three-fourths of the actual population of Ecuador. East of the Andes the forests are inhabited by tribes of what are termed “aucas” or “infieles” (infidels)—Indians who are independent of both church and political control. Missions have been established among some of the tribes, but their influence reaches only a small part of the wild inhabitants of this extensive region.
The principal tribes are the Quijos or Canelos, who are settled about the headwaters of the Napo, on the eastern slopes of the Andes, and are in great part grouped about the missions; the Jivaros who inhabit the valley of the Pastaza; the Zaparos who occupy the forest region between the Pastaza and Napo; the Piojes of the middle Napo, and eastward to the Putumayo; and the Iquitos and Mazanes of the lower Napo and Tigre, chiefly in territory occupied by Peru. The Jivaros are the best known of these tribes because of their successful resistance to the Spanish invaders. They are still independent of political control, live in permanent settlements, till the soil (producing Indian corn, beans, yucca and plantains), and have developed some rude manufactures. The Zaparos are less homogeneous, some of their hordes living in a state of complete savagery. They are classified with the Guaranis of Brazil, whom they resemble in many particulars. The Piojes live in permanent communities and cultivate the soil. The total number of “aucas” or uncivilized Indians in the republic has been estimated at about 200,000, but this estimate covered a larger area than Ecuador actually occupies and is evidently too high. Their settlements are usually small and very much scattered, and their aggregate number is evidently much under the earlier estimates. An official estimate given to Mr Whymper in 1880, however, places the population of Oriente (the eastern territory) at 80,000, which is probably more nearly correct.
No general census has ever been taken in Ecuador, and estimates are little better than vague conjectures. One of these estimates, that published by P.F. Cevallos for 1889, which has been generally accepted, gave the total population as 1,272,161, and these figures have been used with but slight changes for various later estimates. A later official estimate appeared in 1900 inLa République de l’Équateur et sa participation à l’Exposition Universelle de 1900, which gives for the provinces practically the same figures as those of Cevallos, and at the same time assumes the total for the whole republic to be 1,500,000. The white population is estimated at 100,000 to 120,000, which probably includes many of mixed ancestry, and the mixed bloods at 300,000 to 450,000. The tendency is for themestizowho dwells in Indian communities to revert to the Indian type, and it is probable that the larger estimate is nearer the truth. On the other handmestizoswho live among the whites and form new alliances with them eventually class themselves as whites wherever their social condition has been improved. As a rule, themestizosof Ecuador are ignorant, indolent and non-progressive. As in Colombia they are the artizans and small traders and the Indians are the farm labourers. The land is held by a few proprietors, and caste sentiment is strong among those who claim unmixed European descent; consequently themestizoshave limited opportunities to improve their condition.
The whites form an exclusive governing caste, as in Chile. The territory of the republic is divided among a very few of them, and its government is in their hands.
In the hot seaboard districts there are a small number of negroes, and a somewhat larger number of their crosses with the other two races. The majority of these are to be found in the northern provinces. There are comparatively few negroes and mulattoes on the colder plateaus. Villavicencio estimated their numbers at 7831 pure negroes and 36,592 mixed bloods, which is probably not far from the correct totals.
The foreign population is small, the total being estimated at about 6000, of which 5000 are natives of the neighbouring Latin republics, 700 Europeans and Americans, and 300 Chinese.
Territorial Divisions and Towns.—The republic is divided into 15 provinces and one territory. The Galapagos Islands were declared a dependency of the province of Guayas in 1885, but are practically independent and constitute a second territory under the administration ofjefe territorialappointed by the national executive.
The official estimate (La République de l’Équateur et sa participation à l’Exposition Universelle de 1900) gives the data for the provinces and their capitals, which are shown on the next page.These population figures are very nearly the same as those given by Cevállos for 1889. If the population of the Oriente be taken as 80,000, the aggretate is very nearly the same. The population of the provincial capitals is in some cases over-estimated, especially for Guayaquil and Quito, neither of which could have had 50,000 at the date of this estimate. The population of Quito in May 1906 was 50,841, of which 1365 were foreigners. As for the areas of the provinces the figures need not be questioned except those for the Oriente territory, which are much too large for the region actuallyoccupied by Ecuador, and for the Galapagos Islands which are described by competent authorities as 2400 sq. m. The population of these islands was 400 (principally convicts) on Chatham Island in 1901, about 115 on Albemarle and 3 on Charles Island in 1903. Besides the provincial capitals already noted, there are no large and important towns in the country. The largest of the smaller towns is probably Jipijapa, in the province of Manabi, which is the centre of the Panama hat industry and had in 1900 an estimated population of 6000, nearly all Indians.Provinces.Area.Population.Capital.Population.sq. m.Carchi149540,000Tulcan5,000Imbabura241668,000Ibarra5,000Pichincha6219205,000Quito80,000Léon2595109,600Latacunga12,000Tunguragua1686103,000Ambato8,000Chimborazo2990122,000Riobamba12,000Bolivar126043,000Guaranda6,000Cañar151964,000Azogues4,000Azuay3874132,400Cuenca30,000Loja370766,000Loja10,000El Oro234032,600Machala3,200Guayas821698,100Guayaquil60,000Los Rios229632,800Babahoyo3,000Manabi789364,100Portoviejo5,000Esmeraldas546514,600Esmeraldas6,000Oriente (ter.)unknownGalapagos Is.28652,000· ·· ·Communications.—The first railway to be completed in Ecuador was the line between Guayaquil and Quito, 290 m. in length, the last section of which was formally opened at Quito on the 25th of June 1908. It belongs to an American company, and had been under construction for many years. Lines from Puerto Bolívar to Machala, province of El Oro, and another from Bahia de Caráquez to Chone, were under construction in 1908. Several lines were also projected, two to penetrate the Ecuadoreanmontana. There is only one highway in the country on which vehicles can be used, the paved road extending southward from Quito 115 m. on the Guayaquil route, which was begun by Garcia Moreno but has been allowed to fall into neglect. Other roads have been projected to the coast and one to the eastern territory. The ordinary roads are rough mule-tracks. These are difficult at all times, and in the rainy season are quite impassable. On the Pacific lowlands the rivers Guayas, Daule, Vinces and Yaguachi have about 200 m. of navigable channels in the rainy season, and are used for the transportation of produce and merchandise. There are also several short river channels along the coast which are used by planters for the same purpose. A great part of the country, however, is still compelled to use the most primitive means of communication—mule paths, fords in the smaller streams in the dry season, and rude suspension bridges across deep gorges and swift mountain torrents. The latter are usually constructed from the tough fibre of theAgave americanaand consist of one or more cables. When of one cable, called thetaravita, the passenger and his luggage are drawn across in a rude kind of basket suspended from it; but when two or more cables are used, transverse sticks of bamboo and reeds are laid upon them, forming a rude prototype of the regular suspension bridge. Such a bridge is called achimba-chaca, and is very hazardous for an unpractised foot. In 1907 there were 2564 m. of telegraph lines in operation, connecting Quito with all the principal towns. The national capital is connected with the submarine cable at Santa Elena (via Guayaquil) and at Tumaco, in Colombia. Guayaquil is provided with tramway and telephone lines. These public services are under the general supervision of the Minister of Public Instruction, Posts and Telegraphs.Commerce.—Ecuador has no merchant marine beyond a few small vessels engaged in the coastwise traffic, some eighteen or twenty river steamers on the Guayas and its tributaries, and a number of steam launches, towboats and various descriptions of barges engaged in the transportation of produce and goods on the rivers. The ocean-going foreign trade of the country is carried wholly in foreign vessels, for the regular lines of which Guayaquil is a principal port of call. Less frequent calls are made at Esmeraldas and some of the other small ports on the coast, of which there are nine in all. Most of these are difficult of access and their trade is unimportant. The total trade of the republic in 1905, according to returns published by the Guayaquil Chamber of Commerce, amounted to only £3,429,955, of which £1,573,389 (15,733,891 sucrés) were credited to imports, and £1,856,566 (18,565,668 sucrés) to exports. Of these totals, all but £127,532 of the imports and £441,679 of the exports passed through the port of Guayaquil. The great poverty of the people has been a serious obstacle to the development of a larger commerce.Agriculture.—The agricultural industries on which the export trade depends are almost wholly restricted to the western lowlands, and include cacao, coffee, cotton, sugar, tobacco, rice, yucca and sweet potatoes. The Guayas basin and the district about Machala are celebrated for their cacao, and produce about one-third of the world’s supply. It is the staple product of the country. Coffee is produced on the lower slopes of the Cordilleras and is of excellent quality. The production is small, but would be increased at remunerative prices. During the American civil war the planters of Ecuador entered largely into the production of cotton, which at that time yielded large profits, but the industry has declined to very insignificant proportions since then because of inability to compete with the lower cost of production in the United States. The output of sugar and tobacco is small, but could be largely increased, as the conditions of soil and climate are favourable. Much of the sugar-cane produced is turned into rum, which is consumed in the country. The tobacco grown is of excellent quality. Efforts have been made to promote the cultivation of indigo, but without much success. On the uplands, wheat, Indian corn, oats, barley, potatoes and vegetables of many kinds are successfully cultivated, but wholly for home consumption. The vine is successfully grown in the warm upland valleys, both for its fruit and for the production of wine. The staple foods for the common people are potatoes on the plateau (which are chiefly consumed in the form oflocro, or potato-soup) and yucca- or cassava-meal in the warmer regions. Although cattle and horses were not known before the Spanish conquest, they have become since then important products of the country. The best grazing lands are on the lower elevations west of the Cordilleras in certain districts of the plateau and on the slopes of some of the higher Andes, as on Chimborazo and Antisana. Horses and mules are reared for export on a small scale, and sheep for their wool, which is used in home manufactures.Forest Products.—The forest and other natural products include rubber, cinchona bark, ivory-nuts, mocora and toquilla fibre for the manufacture of hats, hammocks, &c., cabaya fibre for shoes and cordage, vegetable wool (Bombax ceiba), sarsaparilla, vanilla, cochineal, cabinet woods, fruit, resins, &c. The original source of the Peruvian bark of commerce, theCinchona calisaya, is completely exhausted, and the “red bark” derived fromC. succirubra, is now the principal source of supply from Ecuador. Guaranda is the centre of the industry, but bark gatherers are to be found everywhere in the forest regions. The rubber-gathering industry is comparatively new. The product is derived from theCastilloa elastica, theHeveasnot being found west of the Andes.Minerals.—The mineral resources are much inferior to those of Colombia and Peru. Gold is found in the province of El Oro, where the great Zaruma and other companies have opened a number of mines. It is also found in the provinces of Loja, Esmeraldas, and in the river-beds along the eastern slopes of the Andes. Quicksilver has been mined at Azogues, in the province of Cañar, and is also to be found in Azuay. Iron ores and lead are credited to several provinces, and platinum has been found in Esmeraldas, where emerald mines have been worked ever since the Spanish conquest. Coal of good quality has been found in Azuay and at other points, and petroleum is known to exist in several localities. Salt springs near Riobamba and at Salinas, in Imbabura, have long been used by the natives in the manufacture of salt.Manufactures.—The manufacturing industries are chiefly of a primitive character and have been developed to meet local necessities. There are some cotton factories and sugar mills provided with modern machinery, but the cotton and woollen cloths of the country are commonly coarse and manufactured in the most primitive manner. Some of these goods are sent into southern Colombia, but they are chiefly made for the local market. Hats and hammocks are made from the fibres of the mocora and toquilla palms, and sandals from the fibre of theAgave americana. The hats are an article of export, and are known abroad as Panama hats. Hand-made laces of admirable workmanship are made in some localities, especially on the plateau about Quito. Among other manufactories, all for the home market, may be mentioned: flour-mills, sugar refineries, rum distilleries, breweries, chocolate factories, a candle factory, saw-mills and tanneries.
The official estimate (La République de l’Équateur et sa participation à l’Exposition Universelle de 1900) gives the data for the provinces and their capitals, which are shown on the next page.
These population figures are very nearly the same as those given by Cevállos for 1889. If the population of the Oriente be taken as 80,000, the aggretate is very nearly the same. The population of the provincial capitals is in some cases over-estimated, especially for Guayaquil and Quito, neither of which could have had 50,000 at the date of this estimate. The population of Quito in May 1906 was 50,841, of which 1365 were foreigners. As for the areas of the provinces the figures need not be questioned except those for the Oriente territory, which are much too large for the region actuallyoccupied by Ecuador, and for the Galapagos Islands which are described by competent authorities as 2400 sq. m. The population of these islands was 400 (principally convicts) on Chatham Island in 1901, about 115 on Albemarle and 3 on Charles Island in 1903. Besides the provincial capitals already noted, there are no large and important towns in the country. The largest of the smaller towns is probably Jipijapa, in the province of Manabi, which is the centre of the Panama hat industry and had in 1900 an estimated population of 6000, nearly all Indians.
Communications.—The first railway to be completed in Ecuador was the line between Guayaquil and Quito, 290 m. in length, the last section of which was formally opened at Quito on the 25th of June 1908. It belongs to an American company, and had been under construction for many years. Lines from Puerto Bolívar to Machala, province of El Oro, and another from Bahia de Caráquez to Chone, were under construction in 1908. Several lines were also projected, two to penetrate the Ecuadoreanmontana. There is only one highway in the country on which vehicles can be used, the paved road extending southward from Quito 115 m. on the Guayaquil route, which was begun by Garcia Moreno but has been allowed to fall into neglect. Other roads have been projected to the coast and one to the eastern territory. The ordinary roads are rough mule-tracks. These are difficult at all times, and in the rainy season are quite impassable. On the Pacific lowlands the rivers Guayas, Daule, Vinces and Yaguachi have about 200 m. of navigable channels in the rainy season, and are used for the transportation of produce and merchandise. There are also several short river channels along the coast which are used by planters for the same purpose. A great part of the country, however, is still compelled to use the most primitive means of communication—mule paths, fords in the smaller streams in the dry season, and rude suspension bridges across deep gorges and swift mountain torrents. The latter are usually constructed from the tough fibre of theAgave americanaand consist of one or more cables. When of one cable, called thetaravita, the passenger and his luggage are drawn across in a rude kind of basket suspended from it; but when two or more cables are used, transverse sticks of bamboo and reeds are laid upon them, forming a rude prototype of the regular suspension bridge. Such a bridge is called achimba-chaca, and is very hazardous for an unpractised foot. In 1907 there were 2564 m. of telegraph lines in operation, connecting Quito with all the principal towns. The national capital is connected with the submarine cable at Santa Elena (via Guayaquil) and at Tumaco, in Colombia. Guayaquil is provided with tramway and telephone lines. These public services are under the general supervision of the Minister of Public Instruction, Posts and Telegraphs.
Commerce.—Ecuador has no merchant marine beyond a few small vessels engaged in the coastwise traffic, some eighteen or twenty river steamers on the Guayas and its tributaries, and a number of steam launches, towboats and various descriptions of barges engaged in the transportation of produce and goods on the rivers. The ocean-going foreign trade of the country is carried wholly in foreign vessels, for the regular lines of which Guayaquil is a principal port of call. Less frequent calls are made at Esmeraldas and some of the other small ports on the coast, of which there are nine in all. Most of these are difficult of access and their trade is unimportant. The total trade of the republic in 1905, according to returns published by the Guayaquil Chamber of Commerce, amounted to only £3,429,955, of which £1,573,389 (15,733,891 sucrés) were credited to imports, and £1,856,566 (18,565,668 sucrés) to exports. Of these totals, all but £127,532 of the imports and £441,679 of the exports passed through the port of Guayaquil. The great poverty of the people has been a serious obstacle to the development of a larger commerce.
Agriculture.—The agricultural industries on which the export trade depends are almost wholly restricted to the western lowlands, and include cacao, coffee, cotton, sugar, tobacco, rice, yucca and sweet potatoes. The Guayas basin and the district about Machala are celebrated for their cacao, and produce about one-third of the world’s supply. It is the staple product of the country. Coffee is produced on the lower slopes of the Cordilleras and is of excellent quality. The production is small, but would be increased at remunerative prices. During the American civil war the planters of Ecuador entered largely into the production of cotton, which at that time yielded large profits, but the industry has declined to very insignificant proportions since then because of inability to compete with the lower cost of production in the United States. The output of sugar and tobacco is small, but could be largely increased, as the conditions of soil and climate are favourable. Much of the sugar-cane produced is turned into rum, which is consumed in the country. The tobacco grown is of excellent quality. Efforts have been made to promote the cultivation of indigo, but without much success. On the uplands, wheat, Indian corn, oats, barley, potatoes and vegetables of many kinds are successfully cultivated, but wholly for home consumption. The vine is successfully grown in the warm upland valleys, both for its fruit and for the production of wine. The staple foods for the common people are potatoes on the plateau (which are chiefly consumed in the form oflocro, or potato-soup) and yucca- or cassava-meal in the warmer regions. Although cattle and horses were not known before the Spanish conquest, they have become since then important products of the country. The best grazing lands are on the lower elevations west of the Cordilleras in certain districts of the plateau and on the slopes of some of the higher Andes, as on Chimborazo and Antisana. Horses and mules are reared for export on a small scale, and sheep for their wool, which is used in home manufactures.
Forest Products.—The forest and other natural products include rubber, cinchona bark, ivory-nuts, mocora and toquilla fibre for the manufacture of hats, hammocks, &c., cabaya fibre for shoes and cordage, vegetable wool (Bombax ceiba), sarsaparilla, vanilla, cochineal, cabinet woods, fruit, resins, &c. The original source of the Peruvian bark of commerce, theCinchona calisaya, is completely exhausted, and the “red bark” derived fromC. succirubra, is now the principal source of supply from Ecuador. Guaranda is the centre of the industry, but bark gatherers are to be found everywhere in the forest regions. The rubber-gathering industry is comparatively new. The product is derived from theCastilloa elastica, theHeveasnot being found west of the Andes.
Minerals.—The mineral resources are much inferior to those of Colombia and Peru. Gold is found in the province of El Oro, where the great Zaruma and other companies have opened a number of mines. It is also found in the provinces of Loja, Esmeraldas, and in the river-beds along the eastern slopes of the Andes. Quicksilver has been mined at Azogues, in the province of Cañar, and is also to be found in Azuay. Iron ores and lead are credited to several provinces, and platinum has been found in Esmeraldas, where emerald mines have been worked ever since the Spanish conquest. Coal of good quality has been found in Azuay and at other points, and petroleum is known to exist in several localities. Salt springs near Riobamba and at Salinas, in Imbabura, have long been used by the natives in the manufacture of salt.
Manufactures.—The manufacturing industries are chiefly of a primitive character and have been developed to meet local necessities. There are some cotton factories and sugar mills provided with modern machinery, but the cotton and woollen cloths of the country are commonly coarse and manufactured in the most primitive manner. Some of these goods are sent into southern Colombia, but they are chiefly made for the local market. Hats and hammocks are made from the fibres of the mocora and toquilla palms, and sandals from the fibre of theAgave americana. The hats are an article of export, and are known abroad as Panama hats. Hand-made laces of admirable workmanship are made in some localities, especially on the plateau about Quito. Among other manufactories, all for the home market, may be mentioned: flour-mills, sugar refineries, rum distilleries, breweries, chocolate factories, a candle factory, saw-mills and tanneries.
Government.—Constitutionally, the government of Ecuador is that of a centralized republic, whose powers are defined by a written constitution and whose chief organs are an executive consisting of a president and vice-president, and a national congress consisting of two houses, a senate and a chamber of deputies. Revolutionary changes, however, have been very frequent in Ecuador, and no less than eleven constitutions were adopted between 1830 and 1909.
The constitution adopted in 1906 succeeded that of 1884 (amended in 1887 and 1897), and its terms may be given here, subject to what may be regarded as the extra-constitutional powers vested in the executive. Executive power is vested in a president and vice-president elected for periods of four years by a direct vote of the people. (Under the constitution of 1884 the official terms of these two officers were not wholly synchronous, the vice-president’s term beginning with the president’s third year.) These officials cannot be re-elected to succeed themselves. The president, whose salary is 12,000 sucrés per annum, has a limited veto power, and may convene extraordinary sessions of Congress for a specified purpose, but he has no further authority over that body. He appoints the diplomatic and consular representatives of the republic and the governors of the provinces, exercises a limited control over the administration ofjustice and public instruction through the appointment of officials, and is chief of the small military force maintained by the republic. The construction of railways with public funds and under government supervision also places him at the head of a very important public service. The president is assisted by a cabinet of five ministers:—foreign relations and justice; interior and public works; finance; war; public instruction, posts and telegraphs—all of whom may be impeached by congress. The executive authority is also partially exercised by a council of state composed of 15 members, including the five cabinet ministers, of which the vice-president isex-officiopresident. The council has important advisory functions, and must be consulted by the president on every important measure or appointment. The provinces are administered by governors chosen by the national executive; the departments byjefes politicos(political chiefs); and the municipalities bytenientes politicos(political lieutenants). The Galapagos Islands are under ajefe territorial(territorial chief), Chatham Island being a penal colony and governed by special laws.The congressional organization is similar to that of the majority of South American states. The senate is composed of 32 members (2 from each province) elected for two years, one-half the number being renewed each two years. The chamber is composed of 42 deputies, who are elected by the provinces for a period of two years, on a basis of one representative for each 30,000 inhabitants and one supplementary representative for an additional 15,000. A senator must be at least 35 years of age, and a deputy 25. The elections are direct, and members of both houses may be re-elected. The immunities of legislators begin 30 days before the opening session of congress, and terminate 30 days after its dissolution. Congress meets at Quito on the 10th of August, and remains in session for a period of 60 days, but its sessions may be extended or extraordinary sessions called for specified purposes. The right of suffrage is restricted to literate male adults.The judicial branch of the government is composed of a supreme court, located at Quito, consisting of 5 judges and a fiscal (public prosecutor) appointed by the executive; six superior courts (in Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca, Riobamba, Loja and Portoviejo) with a total of 9 judges;a Tribunal de Cuentasof seven members at Quito; and various municipal courts, oralcaldes, in the chief towns of the departments. There are civil courts of first and second instance in the larger towns, and consular courts in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca with jurisdiction in commercial cases. There are also police commissaries in the departments and justices of the peace in the municipalities, the latter having jurisdiction in civil cases where the amount involved does not exceed 200 sucrés. The laws of Ecuador are based on the old Spanish laws and procedure, and include civil, criminal and commercial codes.Army.—The army, according to an official report of 1900, consisted of 4 battalions of infantry (about 3690 strong), 3 brigades of artillery (1362), and 2 regiments of cavalry (468), in all, about 5520 men, rank and file. In 1908 this force was reported to comprise 4350 men. The national guard is composed of three classes: actives—all enrolled citizens of 20 to 38 years; auxiliaries—enrolled citizens of 38 to 44 years; and passives—enrolled citizens of 44 to 50 years. These were estimated at 95,329 men. There is a military school at Quito and a naval school at Guayaquil.Education.—Although primary instruction is free, and is obligatory for children of 6 to 12 years, a considerable part Of the population is unprovided with schools and is indifferent in regard to them. An official report for 1900 gives the number of primary schools as 1297, and the number of pupils in attendance as about 80,000. The secondary schools numbered 37, with 371 teachers and about 4500 pupils. Higher instruction includes the technical and professional schools with the three universities of Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca, and 6 schools of “trades and professions” (artes y oficios) in as many provinces. The old University of Quito has a staff of 32 professors divided into 5 faculties: Philosophy and Belles-Lettres, Law, Medicine, Physical and Natural Sciences and Mathematics. There are also in Quito a school of agriculture, astronomical observatory, botanical garden, museum and national printing office, all apparently under the supervision of the University.Church.—According to the constitution of 1884, “the religion of the Republic is the Roman Catholic Apostolic, and all others are excluded.” The only opposition which the Church has ever had to encounter has been from the “liberal” element within itself, and thus has arisen, seemingly from political motives, a desire to restrict clerical influence in political affairs. This influence has been exercised to an extreme in Ecuador, so much so, in fact, that its government at times was more nearly a theocracy than a republic. The growth of liberalism finally began to produce results. In 1889 the tithes from which the Church revenues had been derived were abolished, and a tax of 3 per mil. on real estate was substituted. In 1902 a signal victory was won in a law permitting civil marriage, but in 1904 a social revolution was effected by legislation, which placed the Church under State control, forbade the foundation of new religious orders and admission into the country of new religious communities, and provided that the members of the episcopate must be citizens of Ecuador. The higher dignitaries of the Church are an archbishop at Quito, and six suffragan bishops at Cuenca, Loja, Ibarra, Riobamba, Guayaquil and Manabi.Finance.—The revenues of the republic are derived from import and export duties, liquor, tobacco and stamp taxes, inheritance tax, salt, gunpowder and playing cards monopolies, consular charges, and sundry miscellaneous receipts, including those from posts, telegraphs and railways. Up to 1907 the customs duties were increased by surtaxes amounting at that time to 100%. The minister of finance proposed to abolish these surtaxes and double all the rates of duties involved. On exports, however, all the duties were to be abolished except those on cacao, coffee, hides, rubber, tagua (ivory nuts), hat fibre, hammock fibre and tobacco. For 1907 the revenues were £1,424,770 and the expenditures £1,383,122.On the 10th of October 1906, when the report of the provisional government created by the revolution of the preceding January presented its financial report to a national assembly, the total obligations of the country were stated to be:—Sucrés.Railway bonds, 12,282,000 sucrés gold at 107% premium25,423,740Banco del Ecuador, advances3,000,000Banco Comercial y Agrocola, idem2,400,000Internal debt739,575Condor bonds757,000French Finance Corporation887,000————Total33,207,315In £ sterling at 10 sucrés per £3,320,731The foreign debt of the republic, which in 1898 stood at £693,160 in bonds, was assumed by the Guayaquil & Quito Railway Co. under contracts of 1897, 1898, 1899 and 1900, the government guaranteeing interest on the sum of £2,520,000 railway mortgage bonds for 33 years and recognizing the external debt at 35% of its face value. This debt originated in 1830, when Ecuador seceded from the Colombian confederacy and was charged with 21½% of the indebtedness of the three states. In 1855 the amount was fixed at £1,824,000, and in 1892 it was converted into a new consolidated debt of £750,000. Payments of interest and amortization had been very irregular, and its transfer to a foreign company as the price of a railway concession put an end to a transaction which had been a serious discredit to the country. The amount outstanding on the 31st of December 1907 was 10,808,000 sucrés (£1,080,800). It should be said that the difficulties in regard to this debt arose from a feeling in Ecuador that the part assigned to it in 1830 was much too large, and that it was contracted almost wholly for the benefit of the two northern republics, Colombia and Venezuela.Money and Measures.—Under the law of 1898, which came into effect on the 4th of June 1900, gold is made the monetary standard in Ecuador, the legal tender of silver being limited to 10 sucrés, and banks of issue being required to hold at least one-half their metallic reserves in gold coin. Previously there had been much confusion in the circulating medium because of the depreciated value of the Quito currency in comparison with that of Guayaquil, but the new law has corrected the anomaly and has given a simple and uniform medium for the whole country. The coinage under the law of 1898 consists of the goldcondor, of 10sucrés, which weighs 8.136 grams, contains 7.3224 grams of fine gold, and is equal to the English pound sterling in value; the silversucré, of 100 centavos, equivalent to 24d. in value; and smaller coins of silver, nickel and copper, the denominations being decimal parts of the sucré. The sucré received its name from the portrait of General Sucré engraved on the coin, and is legal tender up to 10 sucrés. The paper money circulation consists of the issues of two Guayaquil banks—the Banco del Ecuador, and the Banco Comercial y Agricola, whose united issues on June 30th, 1906, amounted to 7,414,140 sucrés (£741,414). The Bank of Quito at one time issued notes which, according to Whymper, were not current at and south of Riobamba, but it does not appear that this bank is authorized to issue its notes under the new law. The metallic money nominally in circulation on the 30th of June 1906, amounted to 2,587,667 sucrés gold and 2,522,802 sucrés silver. Although the metric system was adopted in 1856, the old Spanish weights and measures—the quintal, libra, vara and fanega—are still in use, the quintal being equivalent to about 101 ℔Antiquities.—Throughout Ecuador there are still considerable remains of the architectural and artistic skill of the ante-European period. At Cañar, to the north-east of Cuenca, stands the Incapirca, a circular rampart of finely hewn stone, enclosing an open area with a roofless but well-preserved building in the centre; not far off is the Inca-chungana, a very much smaller enclosure, probably the remains of a pavilion; and in the same neighbourhood the image of the sun and a small cabinet are carved on the face of a rock called Intihuaicu. On one of the hills running from Pichincha to the Esmeraldas there are remains at Paltatamba of a temple and a conical tower, the buttresses of a bridge composed of stone and bitumen, portions of a great causeway, and numerous tombs from which mummies and plates of silver have been obtained. At Hantuntaqui similar sepulchral mounds, calledtolas, may be seen, as well as traces of military structures. On the plain of Callo, near Cotopaxi, at a height of 8658 ft., the ruins of an Incarial palace, Pachusala, are utilized by thehacienda; and a conical hill at its side is supposed tobe of artificial construction. The remains of another fortress and palace are preserved at Pomallacta, and in the neighbouring pueblo of Achupallas an ancient temple of the sun now serves as parish church. In many localities, especially in Imbabura, pottery and various objects are found belonging to the pre-Colombian period, among which five and six rayed stars (casse-têtes) are very numerous.
The constitution adopted in 1906 succeeded that of 1884 (amended in 1887 and 1897), and its terms may be given here, subject to what may be regarded as the extra-constitutional powers vested in the executive. Executive power is vested in a president and vice-president elected for periods of four years by a direct vote of the people. (Under the constitution of 1884 the official terms of these two officers were not wholly synchronous, the vice-president’s term beginning with the president’s third year.) These officials cannot be re-elected to succeed themselves. The president, whose salary is 12,000 sucrés per annum, has a limited veto power, and may convene extraordinary sessions of Congress for a specified purpose, but he has no further authority over that body. He appoints the diplomatic and consular representatives of the republic and the governors of the provinces, exercises a limited control over the administration ofjustice and public instruction through the appointment of officials, and is chief of the small military force maintained by the republic. The construction of railways with public funds and under government supervision also places him at the head of a very important public service. The president is assisted by a cabinet of five ministers:—foreign relations and justice; interior and public works; finance; war; public instruction, posts and telegraphs—all of whom may be impeached by congress. The executive authority is also partially exercised by a council of state composed of 15 members, including the five cabinet ministers, of which the vice-president isex-officiopresident. The council has important advisory functions, and must be consulted by the president on every important measure or appointment. The provinces are administered by governors chosen by the national executive; the departments byjefes politicos(political chiefs); and the municipalities bytenientes politicos(political lieutenants). The Galapagos Islands are under ajefe territorial(territorial chief), Chatham Island being a penal colony and governed by special laws.
The congressional organization is similar to that of the majority of South American states. The senate is composed of 32 members (2 from each province) elected for two years, one-half the number being renewed each two years. The chamber is composed of 42 deputies, who are elected by the provinces for a period of two years, on a basis of one representative for each 30,000 inhabitants and one supplementary representative for an additional 15,000. A senator must be at least 35 years of age, and a deputy 25. The elections are direct, and members of both houses may be re-elected. The immunities of legislators begin 30 days before the opening session of congress, and terminate 30 days after its dissolution. Congress meets at Quito on the 10th of August, and remains in session for a period of 60 days, but its sessions may be extended or extraordinary sessions called for specified purposes. The right of suffrage is restricted to literate male adults.
The judicial branch of the government is composed of a supreme court, located at Quito, consisting of 5 judges and a fiscal (public prosecutor) appointed by the executive; six superior courts (in Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca, Riobamba, Loja and Portoviejo) with a total of 9 judges;a Tribunal de Cuentasof seven members at Quito; and various municipal courts, oralcaldes, in the chief towns of the departments. There are civil courts of first and second instance in the larger towns, and consular courts in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca with jurisdiction in commercial cases. There are also police commissaries in the departments and justices of the peace in the municipalities, the latter having jurisdiction in civil cases where the amount involved does not exceed 200 sucrés. The laws of Ecuador are based on the old Spanish laws and procedure, and include civil, criminal and commercial codes.
Army.—The army, according to an official report of 1900, consisted of 4 battalions of infantry (about 3690 strong), 3 brigades of artillery (1362), and 2 regiments of cavalry (468), in all, about 5520 men, rank and file. In 1908 this force was reported to comprise 4350 men. The national guard is composed of three classes: actives—all enrolled citizens of 20 to 38 years; auxiliaries—enrolled citizens of 38 to 44 years; and passives—enrolled citizens of 44 to 50 years. These were estimated at 95,329 men. There is a military school at Quito and a naval school at Guayaquil.
Education.—Although primary instruction is free, and is obligatory for children of 6 to 12 years, a considerable part Of the population is unprovided with schools and is indifferent in regard to them. An official report for 1900 gives the number of primary schools as 1297, and the number of pupils in attendance as about 80,000. The secondary schools numbered 37, with 371 teachers and about 4500 pupils. Higher instruction includes the technical and professional schools with the three universities of Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca, and 6 schools of “trades and professions” (artes y oficios) in as many provinces. The old University of Quito has a staff of 32 professors divided into 5 faculties: Philosophy and Belles-Lettres, Law, Medicine, Physical and Natural Sciences and Mathematics. There are also in Quito a school of agriculture, astronomical observatory, botanical garden, museum and national printing office, all apparently under the supervision of the University.
Church.—According to the constitution of 1884, “the religion of the Republic is the Roman Catholic Apostolic, and all others are excluded.” The only opposition which the Church has ever had to encounter has been from the “liberal” element within itself, and thus has arisen, seemingly from political motives, a desire to restrict clerical influence in political affairs. This influence has been exercised to an extreme in Ecuador, so much so, in fact, that its government at times was more nearly a theocracy than a republic. The growth of liberalism finally began to produce results. In 1889 the tithes from which the Church revenues had been derived were abolished, and a tax of 3 per mil. on real estate was substituted. In 1902 a signal victory was won in a law permitting civil marriage, but in 1904 a social revolution was effected by legislation, which placed the Church under State control, forbade the foundation of new religious orders and admission into the country of new religious communities, and provided that the members of the episcopate must be citizens of Ecuador. The higher dignitaries of the Church are an archbishop at Quito, and six suffragan bishops at Cuenca, Loja, Ibarra, Riobamba, Guayaquil and Manabi.
Finance.—The revenues of the republic are derived from import and export duties, liquor, tobacco and stamp taxes, inheritance tax, salt, gunpowder and playing cards monopolies, consular charges, and sundry miscellaneous receipts, including those from posts, telegraphs and railways. Up to 1907 the customs duties were increased by surtaxes amounting at that time to 100%. The minister of finance proposed to abolish these surtaxes and double all the rates of duties involved. On exports, however, all the duties were to be abolished except those on cacao, coffee, hides, rubber, tagua (ivory nuts), hat fibre, hammock fibre and tobacco. For 1907 the revenues were £1,424,770 and the expenditures £1,383,122.
On the 10th of October 1906, when the report of the provisional government created by the revolution of the preceding January presented its financial report to a national assembly, the total obligations of the country were stated to be:—
The foreign debt of the republic, which in 1898 stood at £693,160 in bonds, was assumed by the Guayaquil & Quito Railway Co. under contracts of 1897, 1898, 1899 and 1900, the government guaranteeing interest on the sum of £2,520,000 railway mortgage bonds for 33 years and recognizing the external debt at 35% of its face value. This debt originated in 1830, when Ecuador seceded from the Colombian confederacy and was charged with 21½% of the indebtedness of the three states. In 1855 the amount was fixed at £1,824,000, and in 1892 it was converted into a new consolidated debt of £750,000. Payments of interest and amortization had been very irregular, and its transfer to a foreign company as the price of a railway concession put an end to a transaction which had been a serious discredit to the country. The amount outstanding on the 31st of December 1907 was 10,808,000 sucrés (£1,080,800). It should be said that the difficulties in regard to this debt arose from a feeling in Ecuador that the part assigned to it in 1830 was much too large, and that it was contracted almost wholly for the benefit of the two northern republics, Colombia and Venezuela.
Money and Measures.—Under the law of 1898, which came into effect on the 4th of June 1900, gold is made the monetary standard in Ecuador, the legal tender of silver being limited to 10 sucrés, and banks of issue being required to hold at least one-half their metallic reserves in gold coin. Previously there had been much confusion in the circulating medium because of the depreciated value of the Quito currency in comparison with that of Guayaquil, but the new law has corrected the anomaly and has given a simple and uniform medium for the whole country. The coinage under the law of 1898 consists of the goldcondor, of 10sucrés, which weighs 8.136 grams, contains 7.3224 grams of fine gold, and is equal to the English pound sterling in value; the silversucré, of 100 centavos, equivalent to 24d. in value; and smaller coins of silver, nickel and copper, the denominations being decimal parts of the sucré. The sucré received its name from the portrait of General Sucré engraved on the coin, and is legal tender up to 10 sucrés. The paper money circulation consists of the issues of two Guayaquil banks—the Banco del Ecuador, and the Banco Comercial y Agricola, whose united issues on June 30th, 1906, amounted to 7,414,140 sucrés (£741,414). The Bank of Quito at one time issued notes which, according to Whymper, were not current at and south of Riobamba, but it does not appear that this bank is authorized to issue its notes under the new law. The metallic money nominally in circulation on the 30th of June 1906, amounted to 2,587,667 sucrés gold and 2,522,802 sucrés silver. Although the metric system was adopted in 1856, the old Spanish weights and measures—the quintal, libra, vara and fanega—are still in use, the quintal being equivalent to about 101 ℔
Antiquities.—Throughout Ecuador there are still considerable remains of the architectural and artistic skill of the ante-European period. At Cañar, to the north-east of Cuenca, stands the Incapirca, a circular rampart of finely hewn stone, enclosing an open area with a roofless but well-preserved building in the centre; not far off is the Inca-chungana, a very much smaller enclosure, probably the remains of a pavilion; and in the same neighbourhood the image of the sun and a small cabinet are carved on the face of a rock called Intihuaicu. On one of the hills running from Pichincha to the Esmeraldas there are remains at Paltatamba of a temple and a conical tower, the buttresses of a bridge composed of stone and bitumen, portions of a great causeway, and numerous tombs from which mummies and plates of silver have been obtained. At Hantuntaqui similar sepulchral mounds, calledtolas, may be seen, as well as traces of military structures. On the plain of Callo, near Cotopaxi, at a height of 8658 ft., the ruins of an Incarial palace, Pachusala, are utilized by thehacienda; and a conical hill at its side is supposed tobe of artificial construction. The remains of another fortress and palace are preserved at Pomallacta, and in the neighbouring pueblo of Achupallas an ancient temple of the sun now serves as parish church. In many localities, especially in Imbabura, pottery and various objects are found belonging to the pre-Colombian period, among which five and six rayed stars (casse-têtes) are very numerous.
(A. J. L.)
History.—The territory of the republic of Ecuador, when first it becomes dimly visible in the grey dawn of American history, appears to be inhabited by upwards of fifty independent tribes, among which the Quitus seem to hold the most important position. AboutA.D.280 a foreign tribe is said to have forced their way inland up the valley of the Esmeraldas; and the kingdom which they founded at Quito lasted for about 1200 years, and was gradually extended, both by war and alliance, over many of the neighbouring dominions. In 1460, during the reign of the fourteenthCaran Shyri, or king of the Cara nation, Hualcopo Duchisela, the conquest of Quito was undertaken by Tupac Yupanqui, the Inca of Peru; and his ambitious schemes were, not long after his death, successfully carried out by his son Huayna-Capac, who inflicted a decisive defeat on the Quitonians in the battle of Hatuntaqui, and secured his position by marrying Pacha, the daughter of the late Shyri. By his will the conqueror left the kingdom of Quito to Atahuallpa, his son by this alliance; while the Peruvian throne was assigned to Huascar, an elder son by his Peruvian consort. War soon broke out between the two kingdoms, owing to Huascar’s pretensions to supremacy over his brother; but it ended in the defeat and imprisonment of the usurper, and the establishment of Atahuallpa as master both of Quito and Cuzco. The fortunate monarch, however, had not long to enjoy his success; for Pizarro and his Spaniards were already at the door, and by 1533 the fate of the country was sealed. As soon as the confusions and rivalries of the first occupation were suppressed, the recent kingdom of Quito was made a presidency of the Spanish viceroyalty of Peru, and no change of importance took place till 1710. In that year it was attached to the viceroyalty of Santa Fé; but it was restored to Peru in 1722. When, towards the close of the century, the desire for independence began to manifest itself throughout the Spanish colonies of South America, Quito did not remain altogether indifferent. The Quitonian doctor Eugenio Espejo, and his fellow-citizen Don Juan Pio Montufar, entered into hearty co-operation with Nariño and Zea, the leaders of the revolutionary movement at Santa Fé; and it was at Espejo’s suggestion that the political association called theEscuela de Concordiawas instituted at Quito. It was not till 1809, however, that the Quitonians made a real attempt to throw off the Spanish yoke; and both on that occasion and in 1812 the royal general succeeded in crushing the insurrection. In 1820 the people of Guayaquil took up the cry of liberty; and in spite of several defeats they continued the contest, till at length, under Antonio José de Sucré, who had been sent to their assistance by Bolivar, and reinforced by a Peruvian contingent under Andres de Santa Cruz, they gained a complete victory on May 22, 1822, in a battle fought on the side of Mount Pichincha, at a height of 10,200 ft. above the sea. Two days after, the Spanish president of Quito, Don Melchor de Aymeric, capitulated, and the independence of the country was secured. A political union was at once effected with New Granada and Venezuela on the basis of the republican constitution instituted at Cucuta in July 1821—the triple confederation taking the name of Colombia.
A disagreement with Peru in 1828 resulted in the invasion of Ecuador and the temporary occupation of Cuenca and Guayaquil by Peruvian forces; but peace was restored in the following year after the Ecuadorian victory at Tarqui. In the early part of 1830 a separation was effected from the Colombian federation, and the country was proclaimed an independent republic. General Juan José Flores was the first president, and in spite of many difficulties, both domestic and foreign, he managed to maintain a powerful position in the state for about 15 years. Succeeded in 1835 by Vicente Rocafuerte, he regained the presidency in 1839, and was elected for the third time in 1843; but shortly afterwards he accepted the title of generalissimo and a sum of 20,000 pesos, and left the country to his rivals. One of the most important measures of his second presidency was the establishment of peace and friendship with Spain. Roca, who next attained to power, effected a temporary settlement with Colombia, concluded a convention with England against the slave trade, and made a commercial treaty with Belgium. Diego Noboa, elected in 1850 after a period of great confusion, recalled the Jesuits, produced a rupture with New Granada by receiving conservative refugees, and thus brought about his own deposition and exile. The democratic Urbina now became practically dictator, and as the attempt of Flores to reinstate Noboa proved a total failure, he was quickly succeeded in 1856 by General Francisco Robles, who, among other progressive measures, secured the adoption of the French system of coinage, weights and measures. He abdicated in 1859 and left the country, after refusing to ratify the treaty with Peru, by which the defender of Guayaquil had obtained the raising of the siege. Dr Gabriel Garcia Moreno, professor of chemistry, the recognized leader of the conservative party at Quito, was ultimately elected by the national convention of 1861. Distrust in his policy, however, was excited by the publication of some of his private correspondence, in which he spoke favourably of a French protectorate, and the army which he sent under Flores to resist the encroachments of Mosquera, the president of New Granada, was completely routed. His first resignation in 1864 was refused; but the despotic acts by which he sought to establish a dictatorship only embittered his opponents, and in September 1865 he retired from office. While he had endeavoured to develop the material resources of the country, he had at the same time introduced retrograde measures in regard to religion and education. The principal event in the short presidency of his successor, Gerónimo Carrion (May 1865-Nov. 1867), was the alliance with Chile and Peru against Spain, and the banishment of all Spanish subjects. Several important changes were made by congress in the period between his resignation and the election of Xavier Espinosa, January 1868: the power of the president to imprison persons regarded as dangerous to public order was annulled; and the immediate naturalization of Bolivians, Chilians, Peruvians and Colombians was authorized. Espinosa had hardly entered on his office when, in August 1868, the country was visited by an earthquake, in which 30,000 people are said to have perished throughout South America. The public buildings of Quito were laid in ruins; and Ibarra, Otavalo, Cotacachi and several other towns were completely destroyed. Next year a revolution at Quito, under Moreno, brought Espinosa’s presidency to a close; and though the national convention appointed Carvajal to the vacant office, Moreno succeeded in securing his own election in 1870 for a term of six years. His policy had undergone no alteration since 1865: the same persistent endeavour was made to establish a religious despotism, in which the supremacy of the president should be subordinate only to the higher supremacy of the clergy.
President Moreno was eventually assassinated at Quito, in August 1875, and Dr Borrero was elected to the presidency, but his tenure of power was short. A revolution headed by General Veintemilla, the Radical leader, then military commandant at Guayaquil, broke out in 1876, and on the 14th of December of that year the government forces under General Aparicio were completely routed at Galte. Veintemilla was proclaimed president, and in 1877 was duly elected by the cortes. He altered the constitution in a more Liberal direction, and struck various blows at the Clerical party, among other things abolishing the concordat with Rome. In 1878 Veintemilla caused himself to be declared elected as president for a term of four years. At the expiration of this period the president assumed dictatorial powers and remained in office as chief of the executive. This action on the part of General Veintemilla led to a union between the Clericals and Moderate Liberals, and resulted in a popular rising throughout the republic, ending in his defeat and overthrow. His power was first restricted to Guayaquil and Esmeraldas, and finally General Rinaldo Flores drove him from Guayaquil, and Veintemilla fled (July 1883) to Peru. Dr Placido Caamaño was then called upon to take charge temporarily, and on the 17th ofFebruary 1884 was definitely elected for the presidential period terminating in 1888. Several revolutionary outbreaks occurred during the Caamaño administration, but were successfully suppressed. In 1888 Dr Antonio Flores succeeded Caamaño, the four years following being passed in peaceful conditions. In 1892 Dr Luis Cordero was elected, his administration again plunging the country into an epoch of internal disturbance.
The cause of the troubles under President Cordero was the assistance lent by Ecuador to Chile in the matter of the sale of the cruiserEsmeraldato the Japanese government in 1894, in the middle of the Japanese-Chinese War. The government of Chile arranged the sale of theEsmeralda, but wished to be free from all danger of international complications in the affair. To this end the transfer of the vessel was made to Ecuador, and she proceeded to Ecuadorian waters. On arriving at the Galapagos Islands the flag of Ecuador was replaced by that of Japan and the vessel handed over to the representatives of that nation sent for the purpose. When the part played by President Cordero in this transaction became known, an outburst of popular indignation occurred. An insurrection, headed by General Eloy Alfaro, followed; and after desultory skirmishing extending over a period of nearly a year the government forces were finally routed, President Cordero abandoning his office and escaping from the country.
General Alfaro then assumed dictatorial powers as supreme chief of the nation, continuing in this capacity until the 6th of February 1897, on which date he was declared to be elected president of the republic. A series of revolutionary movements against the administration of President Alfaro occurred in the course of the next few years. Many of these risings were due to the intrigues of the Church party, and in view of these circumstances President Alfaro curtailed the influence of the clergy in several directions. On the 31st of August 1901 General Alfaro peacefully handed over the presidency to his elected successor, General Leonidas Plaza.
General Plaza continued the anticlerical policy of his predecessor. Civil marriage and divorce were introduced, and in 1904 all religions were placed on a position of equality in the eye of the law, and the foundation of new monasteries and convents was forbidden. The final year of Plaza’s tenure of office was marked by a still stronger measure, all the property of the church being declared to be national property, and let to the highest bidders. In 1905 the Opposition made an effort to effect a change of policy, and were successful in obtaining the election of Lizaro Garcia, a well-to-do merchant and a director of the Banco commercial y Agricola. General Alfaro, however, appealed to arms, ejected Garcia from office, and made himself ruler with practically dictatorial powers.
The more recent history of Ecuador would not be complete without a reference to the work of Mr Archer Harman (b. 1860), an American railway builder and financier whose connexion with the construction of the Guayaquil and Quito railway began in 1897. To his personal energy and enterprise, as manager of the railway company, was largely due the continued prosecution of this difficult engineering undertaking, in connexion with which he was responsible for a thorough reconstruction of Ecuador finance. He thus came to exercise a powerful influence on the internal progress of the country.
See C.E. Akers,History of South America, 1854-1904(London, 1904); H.W. Bates,Central and South America(London, 1882); Pedro F. Cevallos,Resumen de la historia del Ecuador(Guayaquil, 1886); Hans Meyer,In den Hoch-Anden von Ecuador(Berlin 1907); A.H. Keane,Stanford’s Compendium, vol. i. (1904); W. Reiss and A. Stübel,Das Hochgebirge der Republik Ecuador(Berlin, 1892-1898); Edward Whymper,Travels amongst the Great Andes of the Equator(London, 1892); T. Wolf,Geografia y geologia del Ecuador(Leipzig, 1892); A. Stübel,Skizzen aus Ecuador(Berlin, 1886);Die Vulkanberge von Ecuador(Berlin, 1897);Handbook of Ecuador(Bureau of the American Republics, Washington, 1892);The World’s Work, vol. ii. pp. 1271-1277;Engineering News(New York), vol. 52, pp. 117-119;Bulletin of Internat. Bureau of American Republicsfor July 1900, p. 26, and for August 1908, pp. 280-282;Thirty-fifth Annual Report of the Council of Foreign Bondholders, pp. 115, 117.
See C.E. Akers,History of South America, 1854-1904(London, 1904); H.W. Bates,Central and South America(London, 1882); Pedro F. Cevallos,Resumen de la historia del Ecuador(Guayaquil, 1886); Hans Meyer,In den Hoch-Anden von Ecuador(Berlin 1907); A.H. Keane,Stanford’s Compendium, vol. i. (1904); W. Reiss and A. Stübel,Das Hochgebirge der Republik Ecuador(Berlin, 1892-1898); Edward Whymper,Travels amongst the Great Andes of the Equator(London, 1892); T. Wolf,Geografia y geologia del Ecuador(Leipzig, 1892); A. Stübel,Skizzen aus Ecuador(Berlin, 1886);Die Vulkanberge von Ecuador(Berlin, 1897);Handbook of Ecuador(Bureau of the American Republics, Washington, 1892);The World’s Work, vol. ii. pp. 1271-1277;Engineering News(New York), vol. 52, pp. 117-119;Bulletin of Internat. Bureau of American Republicsfor July 1900, p. 26, and for August 1908, pp. 280-282;Thirty-fifth Annual Report of the Council of Foreign Bondholders, pp. 115, 117.
1See J. Siemiradzki, “Geologische Reisenotizen aus Ecuador,”Neues Jahrb. f. Min., Beil. Band iv. (1886, pp. 195-227, pl. vii.); Th. Wolf,Geografia y geologia del Ecuador, publicada por orden del Supremo Gobierno de la Republica(Leipzig, 1892); W. Reiss and A. Stübel,Reisen in Sud-America. Das Hochgebirge der Republik Ecuador(Berlin, 1892-1902).
1See J. Siemiradzki, “Geologische Reisenotizen aus Ecuador,”Neues Jahrb. f. Min., Beil. Band iv. (1886, pp. 195-227, pl. vii.); Th. Wolf,Geografia y geologia del Ecuador, publicada por orden del Supremo Gobierno de la Republica(Leipzig, 1892); W. Reiss and A. Stübel,Reisen in Sud-America. Das Hochgebirge der Republik Ecuador(Berlin, 1892-1902).
ECZEMA(Gr.ἔκζεμα, a cutaneous eruption), one of the most common and important of all skin diseases, consisting of a catarrhal inflammation of the skin originating without visible external irritation, and characterized in some stage of its evolution by a serous exudation. This definition excludes all those forms of inflammation of the skin (dermatitis), which though they may be identical in course and manifestation are yet caused by chemical or mechanical irritants. For an attack of eczema two conditions are necessary: a predisposition or special irritability of the skin, and a directly exciting cause. The first of these conditions is usually inherited or depends on some underlying constitutional state. Thus any organic lesion which may produce oedema and malnutrition of the cutis and epidermis as in kidney diseases, any condition of imperfect metabolism as in dyspepsia or malnutrition, or seborrhoea, may be the predisposing cause. Another influence that has received increasing attention from skin specialists is that of any nervous shock or prolonged mental strain. A “chill” is followed in most people by an ordinary cold, but in some by an attack of eczema. Again, it may be caused by reflex nervous irritation from the uterus, stomach, &c. In some women it always accompanies menstruation, and in others pregnancy. It is of common occurrence in infancy, being attributed by some specialists to dentition, but by others to seborrhoea. Also there is an undoubted relationship between eczema and certain forms of functional neurosis, of which perhaps asthma is the most striking illustration, some physicians considering the latter trouble to be eczema of the bronchial tubes. Sufferers from rheumatism and gout are also specially prone to eczema, though the exact relationship is a much disputed point. There are yet other cases that are undoubtedly microbic, but the micro-organism cannot produce the lesion unless the soil is suitable. As a rule it is not contagious, though when complicated by micro-organisms it may be auto-inoculable, or more rarely inoculable from one patient to another. Except between the ages of ten and twenty years when menstruation is becoming established, and again at the menopause, males are more liable to be attacked than females. In old age the sex influence is lost.
An attack of eczema is usually described as acute or chronic, but the only distinction lies in the greater or less intensity of the inflammation at the time of description: it has nothing to do with the length of time that the disease has lasted. The illness usually begins with a feeling of itching and burning at the site of the lesion. The skin becomes covered with an erythematous blush, on which numerous tiny vesicles form. Swelling, heat, redness and tension are all present. The vesicles grow larger, run together, and either burst or are broken by the patient’s scratching, a clear fluid exuding which stiffens linen. The discharge does not dry up at once, but continues to exude—hence the name of “weeping eczema” when this is a prominent symptom. In mild cases the symptoms begin to subside in a few days, the exudation growing less and scales and scabs forming, under which new skin is formed. But where the attack is more acute fresh crops of vesicles spring up and the process repeats itself. In some cases papules are the predominant lesions, but in others, especially when the face is attacked, the erythematous condition is more marked. A severe attack of eczema is usually accompanied by some slight constitutional disturbance, but the general health seldom suffers appreciably, unless, as occasionally, the itching is so bad as to make sleep impossible. The irritation and local heat may be out of all proportion to visible changes in the skin, and in neurotic patients the nervous excitement may be extreme. The attack may centre itself on any part of the body, but there are certain places where it more usually begins, such as the bends of the elbows, the backs of the knees and the groins; the groove behind the ears, the scalp, the palms or the soles, and the breasts of women. According to its position the form of the eczema is somewhat modified. On the front of the legs and arms, from the uniform redness it exhibits in these positions, it is known as eczema rubrum. On the scalp it is generally of the seborrhoeic type, and in children, especially when pediculi are present, it will become pustular from microbic infection. On the palms and soles it brings about a thickeningof the epidermis which leads to the formation of cracks, and is hence called eczema rimosum.
The disease can best be treated by a combination of internal and external remedies. Internally, when the inflammation is acute, nothing is so good as antimony, since this relieves the arterial tension and thus reduces the local inflammation. But this must never be given when the patient is suffering from depression. In other cases, especially for babies and children, small doses of calomel are very beneficial; strychnine, phosphorus and ergot are all useful at times. When nervous excitement is marked it must be treated with sedatives. Arsenic and iron are both contra-indicated in this disease, since they increase blood formation and hence stimulate the eczematous process. Internal treatment is always best when combined with local treatment, but as a preliminary to this all crusts and scales must first be removed to allow the remedy free access to the disease. Locally the aim is (1) to overcome any source of irritation, (2) to protect the inflamed surface from the air and from microbic infection, and (3) to relieve the itching. The diet should be simple but nourishing, and all hygienic precautions must be taken.
EDAM,a town of Holland in the province of North Holland, close to the Zuider Zee, about 13 m. N.N.E. of Amsterdam by steam tramway. It is connected with the Zuider Zee by a fine canal protected by a large sea-lock (1828), and has regular steam-boat communication in various directions. Pop. (1900) 6444. The many quaint old brick houses form the chief feature of interest in the town. The façades are frequently adorned with carvings and inscriptions, one of which records the legend of the capture of a siren in 1403, who lived for some time among the people of Edam, but escaped again to the sea. The Great Church of St Nicholas, probably founded in the 14th century, was largely rebuilt after a fire in 1602, which, originating in the church, destroyed nearly the whole town. It contains some fine stained glass and carved woodwork of this period. The Little Church (15th century) was demolished in 1883, except for a portion of the nave and the old tower and steeple, from which the bells curiously project. The town hall dates from 1737, and there is a museum founded in 1895. Edam has some trade in timber, while shipbuilding, rope-spinning and salt-boiling are also carried on. It gives its name to the description of “sweet-milk cheese” (zoetemelks kaas) made throughout North Holland, which is familiar on account of its round shape and red rind.
Edam took its name and origin from the dam built on the little river Ye which joined the great Purmer lake close by. Free access to the Zuider Zee was obtained by the construction of a new dock in 1357, in which year the town also received civic rights from William V. of Bavaria, count of Holland. Owing to the danger of the extension of the Purmer and Beemster lakes, Philip II. of Spain caused a sluice to be built into the dock in 1567. In the next century Edam was a great shipbuilding centre, and nearly the whole of Admiral de Ruyter’s fleet was built here; but in the same century the harbour began to get blocked up, and the importance and industrial activity of the city slowly waned.
EDDA,the title given to two very remarkable collections of old Icelandic literature. Of these only one bears that title from antiquity; the other is calledEddaby a comparatively modern misnomer. The word is unknown to any ancient northern language, and is first met with inRigspula, a fragmentary poem at the end of Codex Wormianus, dated about 1200, where it is introduced as the name or title of a great-grandmother. From the 14th to the 17th century, this word—but no one has formed a reasonable conjecture why—was used to signify the technical laws of Icelandic court metre,Eddu regla, and “Never to have seen Edda” was a modest apology for ignorance of the highest poetic art. The only work known by this name to the ancients was the miscellaneous group of writings put together by Snorri Sturlason (q.v.; 1178-1241), the greatest name in old Scandinavian literature. It is believed that theEdda, as he left it, was completed about 1222. Whether he gave this name to the work is doubtful; the title first occurs in the Upsala Codex, transcribed about fifty years after his death. The collection of Snorri is now known as theProse or Younger Edda, the title of theElder Eddabeing given to a book of ancient mythological poems, discovered by the Icelandic bishop of Skálaholt, Brynjulf Sveinsson, in 1643, and erroneously named by him theEdda of Saemund.
1. The ProseEdda, properly known asEdda Snorra Sturlusonar, was arranged and modified by Snorri, but actually composed, as has been conjectured, between the years 1140 and 1160. It is divided into five parts, the Preface orFormáli,Gylfaginning,Bragaraeður,SkáldskaparmálandHáttatal. The preface bears a very modern character, and simply gives a history of the world from Adam and Eve, in accordance with the Christian tradition.Gylfaginning, or the Delusion of Gylfi, on the other hand, is the most precious compendium which we possess of the mythological system of the ancient inhabitants of Scandinavia. Commencing with the adventures of a mythical king Gylfi and the giantess Gefion, and the miraculous formation of the island of Zealand, it tells us that the Aesir, led by Odin, invaded Svithjod or Sweden, the land of Gylfi, and settled there. It is from theYnglingasagaand from theGylfaginningthat we gain all the information we possess about the conquering deities or heroes who set their stamp upon the religion of the North. Advancing from the Black Sea northwards through Russia, and westward through Esthonia, the Aesir seem to have overrun the south lands of Scandinavia, not as a horde but as an immigrant aristocracy. The Eddaic version, however, of the history of the gods is not so circumstantial as that in theYnglingasaga; it is, on the other hand, distinguished by an exquisite simplicity and archaic force of style, which give an entirely classical character to its mythical legends of Odin and of Loki. TheGylfaginningis written in prose, with brief poetic insertions. TheBragaraeður, or sayings of Bragi, are further legends of the deities, attributed to Bragi, the god of poetry, or to a poet of the same name. TheSkáldskaparmál, or Art of Poetry, commonly calledSkálda, contains the instructions given by Bragi to Aegir, and consists of the rules and theories of ancient verse, exemplified in copious extracts from Eyvindr Skáldaspillir and other eminent Icelandic poets. The wordSkáldskaprrefers to the form rather than the substance of verse, and this treatise is almost solely technical in character. It is by far the largest of the sections of theEddaof Snorri, and comprises not only extracts but some long poems, notably theThorsdrapaof Eilifr Guðrúnarson and theHaustlaungof Thjóðólfr. The fifth section of theEdda, theHáttatal, or Number of Metres, is a running technical commentary on the text of Snorri’s three poems written in honour of Haakon, king of Norway. Affixed to some MS. of theYounger Eddaare a list of poets, and a number of philological treatises and grammatical studies. These belong, however, to a later period than the life of Snorri Sturlason.