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The first Spaniards landed in northern Ecuador in 1526. Pizarro reached the country in 1532, and spread terror among the Indians thanks to his conquistadors' horses, armor and weapons. The Inca leader, Atahualpa, was ambushed, held for ransom, 'tried' and executed, and the Inca Empire was effectively demolished. Quito held out for two years but was eventually destroyed by Atahualpa's general: Ruminahui, rather than be lost intact to the invading Spaniards. Quito was refounded in December 1534. Today …

…e of climates because of the varying elevations. Ecuador is tropical along the coast but gets cooler as you go inland and the elevation increases. It is also very tropical in the Amazonian lowlands. Ecuador also includes the Galapagos Islands which lie about 600 miles west of the mainland. There is a population of 14 million with about 1.5 million residing in the Quito, the capitol of Ecuador. The population is composed of 45% Mestizo, 35% Indegenous, 10% Spanish and 10% black.