In 1531, Francisco Pizarro was the first to land on the coast of what is now Ecuador. There he discovered an empire that stretched nearly three thousand miles along the western coast of South America. It was the great empire of the Incas.
The population of this empire was 16 million people, it was larger than any European state that existed at that time. The empire was well run. Every citizen worked, and the state granaries were full of grain, so that no one was hungry, even if there was a poor harvest in any province. Good roads led to all parts of the country, so news and decrees reached every village.
Life in the Inca empire was completely controlled, and everyone was so obedient that maybe that's why the empire collapsed. When Pizarro invaded the empire with his 180 soldiers, a conflict broke out between the Inca leaders Huascar and his half-brother Atahualpa, who should be the ruler. Atahualpa won.
Pizarro captured him by treason. At the same time, Huascar was captured and killed. Then Pizarro killed Atahualpa as well. The Inca Empire was left without a leader and could not resist the Spanish invasion.
The American Indians were accustomed to obeying, but now the orders were given by the Spanish conquerors. The Spaniards were interested in the Incas mining for minerals, so they forced them to work in the mines. Agriculture they neglected. Many Indians died from hard work and lack of food. The Inca Empire fell into decay.
Many Indians survived this period, and their descendants became the main population of the Andes in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.