Introduction: According to an essay published online on the in-quito.com website, Quito has a unique position in history thanks to its relationship with the struggle for liberation in South America from Spanish colonial rule. At the height of the period of Spanish domination, Quito Ecuador was the scene of a radical popular uprising provoked by the introduction of the Sales Tax and Customs duties. Eugenio Espejo, who was one of the great intellectual figures of his time, lived and worked in Quito. The first cry for independence was heard on August 10th, 1809. Nearly everyone involved in this liberation movement were murdered almost exactly a year later by troops loyal to Spain. The principal leaders involved in the Sales Tax Revolt were summarily hung and later beheaded, their heads being displayed in the main square (The seeds of liberty of Quito).
Background: According to an essay published on the MaquiNet website, the first Spaniards landed in northern Ecuador in 1526. Francisco Pizarro reached the country in 1532 and spread terror among the Indians thanks in large part to his brutality and willingness to use his conquistadors' horses, armor and weaponry against the native population. The Incan ruler, Atahualpa was ambushed, held for ransom and eventually executed by the Spaniards. Following that, the Inca Empire was effectively dismantled by the Spaniards. Quito held out for two years but was eventually burned to the ground by one of Atahualpa's generals rather than allowing the city to be lost intact to the invading Spaniards. Quito was re-founded in December 1534, but iindigenous resistance to the Spanish conquest continued.
The Spanish promptly established the Catholic religion in Quito, with the first church built even before the city had been officially founded. On January of 1535, the San Francisco Convent was constructed, the first of about twenty churches and convents built during the colonia...