ECUADOR
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In 1531 the Spanish, led by Francisco Pizarro, landed in Ecuador. At that
time a Inca Civil War raged which was eventually won by
the Inca emperor Atahualpa. An attack by Pizaarro directed against
Atahualpa led to an easy defeat and the capture of the Incan Emperor. During
the next year Pizzaro held Atahualpa for ransom. The Incas filled the Ransom
Room with gold and silver awaiting a release that would never happen. On
August 29, 1533 Atahualpa was garroted. The Spanish then set out to conquer
the rest of Tawantinsuyu capturing Cuzco in November 1533. Sebastian
Belalcázar (1480-1551), Pizarro's lieutenant and fellow Extremaduran
founded the city of Guyaquil in 1533. A year later he founded the city of San
Franciso de Quito on the ruins of the ancient Inca city of Quito set in fire by the great Inca warrior Rumiñahui
to prevent the Spanish from taking it, thereby destroying any traces of the
ancient pre-Hispanic city. In December 1540 Quito received its first
captain-general in the person of Francisco Pizarro's brother, Gonzalo
Pizarro. Between 1544 and 1563, Ecuador was under the Viceroyalty of Peru, having no administrative
status independent of Lima. In 1563 however, Ecuador was awarded its own
audiencia within the viceroyalty, allowing it to deal directly with Madrid on
certain matters. The Quito Audiencia, which was both a court
of justice and an advisory body to the viceroy, consisted of a president and
several judges (oidores). It remained a part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until 1720, when it joined
the newly created Viceroyalty of New Granada. In 1808 Napoleon invaded Spain and deposed King Ferdinand VII. In July 1808 he placed
his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne. Soon, Spanish citizens in Ecuador, unhappy at the usurpation of the
throne by the French, began organizing local juntas loyal to Ferdinand. A group of
Quito's leading citizens followed suit, and on August 10, 1809, they seized
power in the name of Ferdinand from the local representatives, whom they
accused of preparing to recognize Joseph Bonaparte. The actions of the returning Spanish authorities bred popular resentment
among Quiteños, who, after several days of street fighting in August 1810,
won an agreement to be governed by a junta with the Peninsular president of
the Royal Audience of Quito acting as its
head. In spite of strong opposition from the Quito Audiencia, the Junta called
for a congress in December 1811 and declared the entire area of the Audiencia
to be independent of any government currently in Spain. Two months later, the
Junta approved a constitution for the state of Quito that provided for
democratic governing institutions but also granted recognition to the
authority of Ferdinand should he return to the Spanish throne. Shortly thereafter, the Junta launched a military offensive against
loyalist regions to the south in Peru, but the Viceroy of Peru finally
crushed the Quiteño rebellion in December 1812. After de defeat of the Spaniards at the Battle of Boyaca the Audiencia of Quito became a part of the
Republic of Colombia created on 17 December, 1819. Another chapter in Ecuador's struggle for emancipation from Spanish
colonial rule began in Guayaquil, where independence was proclaimed in
October 1820 by a local patriotic junta under the leadership of the poet José Joaquín de Olmedo. Antonio José de Sucre, a brilliant young
lieutenant of Bolívar arrived in Guayaquil in May 1821, and became the key
figure in the ensuing military struggle against the royalist forces. After a number of initial successes and his defeat at Ambato in the
central Sierra, a string of victories he was victorious in the decisive Battle of Pichincha (24 May 1822). Two months later Bolívar, the liberator of northern South America,
entered Quito to a hero's welcome. Later in July of that year the Guayaquil conference resulted in that
Guyaquil became the District of the South within the Republic of Gran
Colombia, which had Bogotá as its capital. This status was maintained for
eight tumultuous years. Ecuador was a part of the Republic of Colombia up to
1830 when, on the death of Bolivar, the Federation was torn to pieces. On the 13th of May, 1830, it was resolved in Quito,
to separate Ecuador from Colombia, and on the 14th of August Juan José Flores
was elected President of the new nation. |
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In the time of Spanish rule in present Ecuador the
heraldic emblems of the Spanish Empire were valid in the Vice Kingdoms of
Peru and of New Granada from which the Audiencia de Quito was a part. These consisted of the Royal Arms of Spain, the
Royal Arms of Castile, the Arms of the Spanish Empire, the arms of the
Spanish Indies and the arms of the Supreme Royal Council for the Indies. On the local level some settlements received their
own coats of arms.
Royal achievement for use in the Audiencia of Quito. On a Map of ‘El Gran Rio de Maranon o Amazonas’ for
the Audiencia de Quito. By the Societas Jesu in
Maranon, 1707 The royal achievement is of Philip V Bourbon The achievement is: Arms: Per
fess, the chief per pale of a quarterly of Castile and Leon and a quarterly
of Aragon, Siciliy-Trinacria, Navarra and Jeruzalem; the base quarterly of
Austria, Valois, Burgundy and Brabant with an escutcehon per pale of Flanders
and Tirol; and in nombril point Bourbon. Crown: A royal
crown of five leavens and five hoops, lined with a velvet cap. Order: Of the Fleece Supporters: A
wreath of laurel with a ribbon inscribed PLUS ULTRA. And four allegorical
figures, the first a crowned lady with a shield with the arms of the Societas
Jesu; the second a lady with a trumpet; the third a fallen men with a sun, a
star and a crescen in his hands; the fourth an Indian with a headdres of
feathers, a bow and a bundle of arrows. The Jesuits had missions in Quito and New Granada
from 1638 until 1756 when they were expelled. Philip V was king of Spain from 1700-’24 and of Sicily-Trinacria from
1700-’13. His arms on this map are a mixture of the two royal arms and in the
achievement elements for the Indies are added, the fallen ruler symbolizing the
Inca-emperor. In 1720 the Audiencia of Quito was made a part of
New Granada |
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Royal Warrant of King Charles I , granting
the arms of Quito, 14.03.1541. Page 1 of 2. No
transciption available. [1] The arms of San Francisco de Quito were granted by Royal
Warrant of King Charles I dated Talavera, 14 March 1541. They are: Arms:
Gules, a castle Argent standing on the top of two mountains proper, with a
cave Vert in their foot and a latin cross Or on a hill Vert, supported by two
flying eagles Sable, clawed Or in chief, all within a bordure Azure, charged
with a cordon of S. Francisco Or. The relevant part of the grant reads: Un castillo de plata metido
entre dos cerros o peñas, con una cava al pie de cada uno de ellos de color
verde, y asimismo encima de dicho castillo una cruz de oro con su pie verde
que la tengan en las manos dos águilas negras grietadas de oro, la una a la
mano derecha y la otra a la izquierda, puestas en vuelo, todo en campo de
colorado, y por orla un cordón de San Francisco de oro en campo azul.
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The city was
founded in 1533 by Sebastian de Belalcazar. It received the title of Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de
Guayaquil.
It is
thought that Diego de Urbina de Pastrana (†1623) invented the arms which were
adopted by the city of Guayaquil. [2] He was
the first Spanish herald of the modern era to issue armorial certificates
regularly, in large numbers, and to form an archive out of them. Named to the
office of Castile King of Arms in 1580, he held the office till his death in
1623. In addition to reviving the issuance of armorial certificates, Urbina
acted as Regidor of Madrid, Procurador en Cortes, and made
several trips to deliver Golden Fleeces to foreign knights. [3] The arms
of Guayaquil are supposed to be derived from the arms of the city of Orduña
(Basque Country, Spain) augmented with a bordure of the arms of the
Urbina-family. The arms of Orduña were a castle and a lion rampant supporting
a square cross on a pole, but its colors are uncertain, the field being
sometimes Or (gold) or sometimes Gules (red). [4] The arms of Urbina were Argent, a tree Vert
its trunk charged with two sheep Argent catched by wolves Sable, within a
bordure Gules charged with a chain of eight shackles. The arms
of the city of Guayaquil, invented by Urbina are supposed to haver been: Arms: Argent, a castle proper, and on
its sinister a crowned lion Gules, supporting a pole proper, flying therefrom
a banner Gules, charged with a saltire Argent, and a base barry wavy Azure
and Argent. Surrounded by a bordure Gules charged with a chain of eight
shackles Or. As the
original grant had disappeared already in 1775 and it took quite a lot of
20th century research to find these colonial arms, we may be certain that the
arms were hardly used. [5] |
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Provincia Libre de Guayaquil |
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Star of October on
stamped paper. The so-called Star of October was adopted by the
Government of Guyaquil on 9 October 1820 to represent the Free Province of
Guayaquil which then comprised the territories of present Guayas, Manabí, Los
Rios, El Oro and Santa Elena. José Joaquin de Olmedo, president of
the Supreme Council of the Government of November 1820 ordered that on the
official papers of the council there
would be a star of five points and a crown of laurel, a red bow and the motto
POR GUAYAQUIL INDEPENDIENTE (For an Independent Guayaquil). This emblem was used from 1821 until June 1822 when the
Star of October became known as ‘The
Star of the West’ because the province of Guayaquil was the most western
province. After the annexation of Guayaquil by Colombia on 26 July 1822 it
was replaced by the arms of Colombia and later by the arms of Ecuador. It
was readopted on 6 November 1916. [6]
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República del Ecuador |
13.05.1830 - present |
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Arms of 1830 |
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On the
13th of May, 1830, it was resolved, in Quito, to separate Ecuador from
Colombia, and on the 14th of August Juan José Flores was elected President of
the new nation. The Constitutional Congress of the 19th of September, 1830,
decreed that, while keeping a common blue center to symbolize the union of
the three Stars of Colombia, in order to differentiate the arms of Ecuador,
the arms of Colombia of 6 October 1821 were to be used, but on a sky-blue
field there should be added a sun in the equinoctial, and over the fasces a
motto saying: “El Ecuador en Colombia”. The arms were adopted on 27 Decmeber
1830. The decree reads: (Artículo 1) Se usará
en adelante el de las armas de Colombia - se refería al escudo - en campo
azul celeste, con el agregado de un sol en la línea equinoccial sobre las
fases, y un lema que diga "El Ecuador en Colombia". |
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Picture: Carlos Trujillo
Matamaros Great Seal of the Republic of Ecuador, 1830 [7] |
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Arms of 1833. |
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In 1833, without any decree an Arms of State (Escudo de Armas del Estado) was
introduced on coins and stamped paper which did no replace but was used
together with the arms of the Republic. The emblem consists of two mountains with eagles on
top and a sun radiant above. The motto reads: EL PODER EN LA CONSTITUCIÓN (The
Power is in the Constitution), a motto that was adopted by decree of 12
January 1833.
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Arms of 1835. |
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In 1835 when the fiction of a ‘State of Ecuador of
the Republic of Colombia’ had come to an end and became just the ‘Republic of
Ecuador’, another coat of arms was adopted without any decree. On the
Constitutional Convention of Ambato however a decree on stamped paper was
issued on 10 August reading: Artículo 2°:
"En el sello se pondrán las armas de la república con el lema República
del Ecuador..." (on the seal will be the arms of the Republic with
the legend República del Ecuador…..) It was only in 1836 that the arms of the republic
were described in a decree about coinage of 14 June. It is: Arms: A
landscape with a rock with a tower with a condor sejant on top on the dexter
and Mount Guagua with a condor sejenat respecting on top and a smoking
volcano on the sinister , all proper. And in the sky a zodiac with the signs
of Leo, Virgo, Libra and Scorpius, charged with a sun radiant and in chief a
semicircle of seven stars Or. The mountains on the sinister represent the Guagua
Pichincha with a condor on its top and the Ruco Pinchincha volcano. The
mountain on the dexter is a rock with a tower on top on which is seated
another condor which is turned to the one on the Guagua Pichincha. The signs of the Zodiac represent the the months of
the revolution of 1820, that is to say from Leo (July-August) until Scorpius
(October-November). The seven stars represent the provinces of Azuay, Chimborazo, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Manabí and
Pichincha. The arms have a simple oval form and no exterior
ornamets are added. They were in use until 1843 |
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Achievement of 1843 |
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By the law of 18 June 1843, the coat of arms was to
be twice as long as wide, the upper part rectangular and the lower ellipical.
The field was divided into three quarters; in the upper one, on a blue field
was the sun on a section of the zodiac. The central quarter was divided into
two parts; in the right one, on a gold field an open book in the form of
tables, in which the Roman numbers I, II, III, and IV, representing the first
articles of the Constitution, were inscribed; and in the left-hand portion,
on a field of sinople or green, a horse. The lower quarter was also divided
in two; in the right, on blue, a river
with a vessel, and in the left, on silver, a volcano. Above the shield and in
lieu of crest a condor ( with its open wings extending to the two angles. On
the exterior border and sides, flags and trophies. The single article of the law of the National
Convention of 18.06.1843 reads: Las
Armas de la República serán en la forma siguiente: *El
escudo tendrá una altura dupla a su amplitud; en la parte superior será
rectangular, y en la inferior elíptico. Su campo se dividirá en su interior
en tres cuarteles: en el superior colocará, sobre fondo azul, el sol sobre
una sección del zodíaco; el cuartel central se subdividirá en dos; en la
derecha, sobre fondo de oro, se colocaró un libro abierto en forma de tablas,
en cuyos dos planos se escribirán los números romanos, I, II, III, IV,
indicantes de los cuatro primeros artículos de la Constitución; en el de la
izquierda, sobre fondo, sinople o verde, se colocará un caballo. En el
cuartel inferior, que se subdividirá en dos, se colocará en fondo azul un
río, sobre cuyas aguas se representa un barco; y en el de la izquierda sobre
fondo de plata, se colocará un volcán; en la parte superior del Escudo, en
lugar de cimera descansará un cóndor, cuyas alas abiertas se extenderán sobre
los dos ángulos. En la orla exterior y en ambas partes laterales se pondrán
banderas y trofeos.* Contrary to the law the shield of the achievement on
coins is usually an accolade-shield and no contemporary versions with an
elliptical lower side are available.
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Achievement of 1845 |
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The
decree the National Convention of
November 6, 1845, modified the coat of arms and flag. The first was to
consist of an oval shield containing thereon, in the upper part of the same,
a representation of the sun, with that part of the zodiac in which the signs
corresponding to the memorable months of March, April, May and June are
found; and in the lower part of the same, to the right, a representation of
the historic Mount Chimborazo, from which a river shall issue, and there was
to be, in the widest part thereof, a representation of a steamship having as
mast a caduceus as a symbol of navigation and commerce, which are the sources
of the prosperity of Ecuador. The shield rested on a bundle of consular
fasces as emblem of republican dignity, and was ornamented from without with
national flags and branches of palm and laurel and crowned by a condor with
outstrechtched wings. The flag was the one of Quito of 1820. It consisted of
three quarters divided vertically, the center cerulean blue and the sides
white, denoting the natural colors of the sky of Ecuador. In the blue quarter
seven stars were to be placed, representing the seven Provinces which
composed the Republic at the time. The
achievement was drawn by Don José Joaquín de Olmedo. The decree reads: “Las Armas
del Ecuador seráan: un escudo ovalado que contenga interiormente, en la parte
superior, el sol, con una porción del zodíaco en el que se hallan los signos
correspondientes a los meses memorables de marzo, abril, mayo y junio. En la
parte inferior, a la derecha, se representará el monte histórico del
Chimborazo, del que nacerá un río, y donde aparesca más caudaloso, estará un
buque a vapor que tenga por mástil un caduceo como símbolo de navegación y el
comercio. El Escudo posará sobre un lío de hases consulares, como insignia de
la dignidad republicana; será adornada exteriormente por banderas bicolores y
ramas de palma y laurel, y coronado por un cóndor con las alas desplegadas”. The
achievement, of which there are many modern reconstructions in circulation,
is supported by four flags as adopted on the same day consisting of three
vertical stripes white, blue and white, the blue charged with seven white
five-pointed stars in several configurations. In the achievement the
arrangement of 3-1-3 is preferred but sometimes, as in the version above on a
coin of 1890, the stars are omitted. The
position of the condor has to be to the sinister
and looking to the dexter. Around
the shield is no frame, this was only added in 1900. |
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Achievement of 1860 |
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By the
decree of President Garcia Moreno, of 27 September 1860, the tricolor of
Venezuela was readopted, but the achievement formally remained the same. It
is on stamps and coins and other publications. Nevertheless there are also versions with the new
national flags supporting the shield. This version, we may suppose, was used
by government departments, consulates and embassies. |
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5 Francos, 1858 |
Revenue Stamp, 1881 |
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Achievement in a European Armorial, 1870 [8] Six 1860 flags |
Achievement on a publication of the Ministry of
Finance, 1873 |
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Achievement of Ecuador in a European roll of arms,
1895 [9] Four 1860 flags |
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Achievement of 1900 |
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Finally,
by legislative decree of 31 October 1900, put in force by President Eloy
Alfaro on 7 November 1902, the achievement is the same as the one of 1845 and
the flag the one of the Colombian Federation, that is to say the Venezuelan
of 1811. It is provided in the said decree that the flags raised over
national buildings, war ships, fortresses, and those hoisted by the
diplomatic and consular agents of the Republic in foreign countries shall
bear the coat of arms of the nation in the center on the yellow and blue
stripes; that the flags over municipal buildings shall not bear the coat of
arms of the nation, but a circle of white stars placed on the blue stripes
and of a number equal to that of the Provinces which compose the Republic;
and that the army shall use the same national flag as that raised over the
national buildings, and each battalion or regiment shall have on its flag or
standard its corresponding number, in accordance with the orders of the War
Department concerning the same. [10] Æ See illustration in the head of
this essay
·
Mount Chimborazo (6,268 m.) is the highest mountain in Ecuador. It is a currently inactive
stratovolcano located in the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes. Its last
known eruption is believed to have occurred around 550 AD. ·
The river Babahojo and the Gulf of Guyaquil connecting
the regions symbolize the unity of the country. ·
The steamboat with a caduceus for mast is the symbol of shipping
trade and commerce. ·
The fasces is the symbol of the republic (the Res publica or public cause). ·
The sun above the territory of Ecuador symbolizes the location of Ecuador
at the equator. From ancient times it was a venerated from ancient times as a
divine benefactor and is the most elevated symbol of the people of
Ecuador. ·
The condor (Vultur gryphus -
Cathartidæ) is the symbol of the power and liberty which tolerates no
infingements. |
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Ministry of Defense |
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Tri Service |
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Pictures: H.d.V. 2013 Tri-Service |
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Army |
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Arms
Seal |
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Navy |
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Arms |
Seal |
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Air Force |
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Emblem
Wings
Roundel |
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Police |
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© Hubert de Vries 2013-03-11
Heraldry of the World