Quito << KEE toh >> is the capital of the Republic of Ecuador. The municipality of Quito has a population of 1,763,275. A municipality may include rural areas as well as the urban center. The city lies almost on the equator, 9,350 feet (2,850 meters) above sea level in the Andes Mountains in South America.
The name Quito comes from the word Quitus, the name of an ancient people who lived in Ecuador. The Inca civilization established a regional capital at what is now Quito, but the city fell to Spanish conquerors in 1534. The Spaniards ruled Quito until 1822. During colonial times, the Quito region prospered as a center for weaving and the production of ponchos. But the textile industry collapsed during a wave of epidemics in the 1690’s. Colonial Quito also functioned as a center for trading and shipping agricultural products, for religious activity by the Roman Catholic Church, and as the seat of colonial government for what is now Ecuador. In addition, the city was a great center of religious art in a tradition known as the Quito School, which combined indigenous and European characteristics. In 1822, General Antonio José de Sucre defeated the Spaniards in the Battle of Pichincha on a mountain slope overlooking Quito. The victory helped Ecuador secure its independence from Spain.
Isolated in the Andes Mountains, Quito developed a culture distinct from other parts of Ecuador. The city tends to be more conservative and traditional than coastal locations such as the international port of Guayaquil. Beginning in the 1950’s, Latin America experienced great population growth, and many migrants have flooded into Quito. A more modern section has developed north of the colonial city center. Many recent immigrants live in poor neighborhoods surrounding the Quito area.
