Wikijunior:South America/Ecuador

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Part of Wikijunior South America project

Ecuador is one of the smaller countries in South America. It is located in the northwest region of South America, south of Colombia and north of Peru. Ecuador's western border is the Pacific Ocean. The two biggest cities in Ecuador are the capital, Quito, and the port of Guayaquil.

Before the Spanish came to South America, Ecuador was part of the Inca Empire. The Spanish conquered the area in 1534. Ecuador became independent from Spain in 1822, but was part of a country called Gran Colombia until 1830. The Gran Colombia was composed of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. During that time the province of Panama belonged to Colombia which is why it became part of the Gran Colombia.

Ecuador can be divided into 4 main regions. Coast (Costa), Highlands (Sierra), the East (Oriente), and the archipelago (island group) of Galápagos.

The main languages in Ecuador are Spanish and Kichwa. Spanish is spoken by most people, not only in cities, but also in rural areas. Kichwa is a language that was brought to the region by the Incas about half a millennium ago, and it is spoken by their descendants. Most Kichwa speakers in Ecuador live in the Sierra or in the Oriente. Though many Kichwa speakers are bilingual, there are some Kichwa speakers who don't speak Spanish, especially in areas far away from larger cities.

There are also several important ethnic groups, like Zapara, Tsáchila, Chachi, Cofan, Hoao, Cayapa, Awa, Shuar, Achuar, Siona, Secoya, afro-ecuadorian and Montubio, most of them speak their own language.