Ecuador is a nation in northwest South America that shares borders with Peru to the east and south, Colombia to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Located in the Pacific, some 1,000 kilometers (621 km) west of the continent, Ecuador also encompasses the Galápagos Islands. The largest city in the nation is Guayaquil, and Quito serves as the capital.

Many indigenous peoples lived in the regions that make up modern-day Ecuador before being progressively absorbed into the Inca Empire in the fifteenth century. The region was colonized by the Spanish Empire in the sixteenth century, and as a part of Gran Colombia, it gained independence in 1820.