Spanish Conquistadors can be defined as “Spanish Soldiers” who played a very important role as far as Ecuador History is concerned. Spanish Conquistadors made many important discoveries and also invaded different parts of America and Asia Pacific. The term, Conquistadors, is a Spanish word which meant “Conqueror”. Some of the most important Spanish Conquistadors are Francisco Pizarro, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, Cabeza de Vaca and Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo.
Arrival of Spanish Conquistadors in Ecuador
In 1531, Francisco Pizarro, a notable Spanish Conquistador, started an expedition from Panama, aided by a team of two hundred men, with the mission of bringing the Inca rule to an end and thereby establishing Spanish domination over Ecuador. In the initial days of the voyage, Pizarro and his men had to settle along the Ecuador Coast and in Peru, where all the necessary arrangements were made to launch a full proof attack against the Incas. Spanish Conquistadors first reached at Cajamarca, and gradually captured the whole of Ecuador after executing the last Inca Ruler, Atahualpa.
Total Control of Ecuador by the Spanish Conquistadors
The year 1534 saw the capture of Quito by the Spanish Conquistadors. However, it took Spanish Conquistadors nearly twenty years to establish firm colonial rule over Ecuador.
It can be concluded that the invasion of Ecuador by the Spaniards was mainly dictated by the strong desire of wealth and power accumulation by the Spanish Conquistadors.
