Esmeraldas Province

Esmeraldas Province Provincia de Esmeraldas
flag
Location in Ecuador
Basic data
Capital	Esmeraldas
population	423,564 (2005,)
- Share in Ecuador	3.2%
- Rank in Ecuador	Rank 10 of 22
- density	28 inhabitants per km²
surface	15,216 km²
- Share in Ecuador	5.9%
- Rank in Ecuador	Rank 8 of 22
License Plate	E.
Set up	1861
Prefectess	Linder Altafuya ( MUP )
governor	Victor Mendieta
Seats in the National Congress	4 out of 100
structure	7 cantons
ISO 3166-2	EC-E
no official homepage

The province of Esmeraldas ( Spanish Provincia de Esmeraldas ) is a province in Ecuador . Around 450,000 people live in it on 15,200 km². The provincial capital is also called Esmeraldas . The water-rich Río Esmeraldas flows through the province . Esmeraldas is the Spanish word for emeralds .

Location and geography

The province of Esmeraldas is located in northwest Ecuador. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west, Colombia ( Departamento de Nariño ) to the north, the provinces of Carchi and Imbabura to the east and the provinces of Pichincha , Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas and Manabí to the south .

The climate in Esmeraldas is tropical with intense sunshine and high humidity. The province is one of the most malaria- prone areas in the country, which is less of a problem for tourists than for the local population. The province is known for its beaches, for example in Las Penas, Rio Verde, Atacames , Súa and on the island of Muisne . The local cuisine is accordingly characterized by a large variety of fruits and legumes as well as fish dishes. The world's highest quality cocoa ( cacao nacional fino de aroma ) is also grown in Esmeraldas . Also mangrove swamps , through quasi-industrial shrimp farming has been destroyed for the most part, are found in the province. The tropical coastal rainforest is at great risk from unchecked deforestation. Up to 80% of the original forest has already been destroyed. Because of this and the spread of monocultures, the rich biodiversity - the province is known as a biological hot spot - is endangered.

Economy and Infrastructure

The capital of Esmeraldas and the adjoining Puerto Balao are important port cities, especially for exporting of the Ecuadorian part of the Amazon lowlands subsidized oil . Puerto Balao is the end point of the 503 km Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados (OCP) pipeline which begins in Nueva Loja ( Sucumbíos ). There is also a large oil refinery at Esmeraldas . In the city of Esmeraldas itself there is a trading port, through which mainly agricultural goods are shipped. Esmeraldas also has a semi-international airport with a flight connection to Cali in Colombia . From Ibarra (Imbabura province) to the Esmeralda port city of San Lorenzo , a rail bus ( autoferro ) runs in parts , the route of which also runs through tropical forests.

The main products of the province are bananas , shrimp and palm oil, which is extracted from the African oil palm ( palma africana ), as well as precious woods, tobacco and cocoa.

population

Esmeraldas is the province with the highest percentage of Afro-Ecuadorians in the population . The ancestors of most Afro-Ecuadorians probably came (in small parts) as shipwrecked people from slave transports swimming to the coast of the then largely undeveloped area or were (for the most part) liberated or fled slaves (especially gold miners from Colombia) who found themselves in the so-called "palenques", hidden settlements along the rivers in the north, withdrew. In addition to them and the mestizo population , part of the province forms the settlement area for the indigenous people of the Cayapa, who call themselves Chachi , as well as for smaller groups of the Epera and Awá Indians.

In recent decades, many farm workers from southern provinces (especially from Manabí ) have been settling in Esmeraldas in search of fertile land. This population pressure on the province is increased by the large number of Colombian refugees. The province of Esmeraldas has become a region with a high degree of ethnic diversity.

history

The Esmeraldas province has been populated for millennia. The Tolita culture was between 500 BC. And 400 AD in the area of ​​today's province. It is named after the island of La Tolita in the northwest of Esmeraldas.

The Cara , who ruled the area around Quito , later conquered by the Incas in the 13th century (see also Shyri Empire ), also had their settlement areas in today's province ( Atacames ) and south of it in Manabí, where Bahía de Caráquez is an important center was. The indigenous peoples of the Chachi and Tsáchila ( Colorados ) still preserve parts of their culture today.

The Esmeraldas region was the first part of Ecuador to be discovered by the Spaniards in 1526 when Bartolomé Ruiz also traveled south from Panama at the behest of Francisco Pizarro . In 1529 Diego de Almagro came to the Esmeraldas River on the same route. Probably in 1553 the first blacks came to the region as shipwrecked slaves. During the colonial period Esmeraldas was hardly developed, it was initially under the administration of the Mercedarian Order, and later became a province. In the 18th century, Pedro Vicente Maldonado made the successful but unsustainable attempt to connect the coast of the Esmeraldas province with Quito via a transport route. He was appointed governor of Atacames / Esmeraldas, explored the region and established new settlements. After his death, the transport route and his civilizing project deteriorated.

The area of ​​today's Esmeraldas declared itself independent from Spain in 1820. It became part of Greater Colombia . Through its territorial reorganization in 1824, the province of Esmeraldas was dissolved and incorporated as a canton first of the province of Imbabura , then the province of Quito ( Pichincha ). In 1861 Esmeraldas was re-established as a province.

politics

Prefect of the province of Lucía Sosa is part of the left Movimiento Popular Democrático (MPD), which also includes the mayor of Esmeralda's capital, Ernesto Estupiñán. Esmeraldas is the stronghold of the MPD.

The governor appointed by the President of Ecuador has been Víctor Mendieta since November 2007.

Cantons

Cantons of the province of Esmeraldas

The province of Esmeraldas is divided into seven cantons . These are (in order of their establishment):

1. Esmeraldas (established in 1824, capital: Esmeraldas )
2. Eloy Alfaro (established in 1941, capital: Valdéz, better known as Limones ; Eloy Alfaro was the Ecuadorian president, and the Durán canton of the Guayas province is also called Eloy Alfaros.)
3. Muisne (established in 1956; capital: Muisne )
4. Quinindé (established in 1967, capital: Rosa Zárate )
5. San Lorenzo (established in 1978; capital: San Lorenzo )
6. Atacames (established in 1991; capital: Atacames )
7. Rioverde (established in 1996; capital: Rioverde)
8. controversial: La Concordia (established in 2007; capital: La Concordia )

For 50 years there have been disputes with the province of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas or, respectively, the province of Pichincha over a border area around La Concordia , which, according to one group, is to remain attached to the province of Esmeraldas as a canton, and to Santo Domingo de los Colorados according to the other . At the beginning of November 2007, La Concordia was named Canton of the Esmeraldas Province by the National Congress. According to the Provincial Establishment Act of the Province of Santo Domingo (from October 2007), however, a referendum is to decide on the provincial membership.

Movie

• Esmeraldas' fine cocoa. Documentary, Germany 2012, 52 min., GEO , arte , series: 360 ° - Geo Reportage, first broadcast: June 4th, 2012 by arte

literature

• Oswaldo Rivera Villavicencio: Ecuador: Provincias y Capitales. Ed. Edigaralde, Quito, 2004, pp. 95-105.

Individual evidence

1. ^ INEC, Población total y tasa brutas de natalidad, mortalidad general, mortalidad infantil y materna según regiones y provincias de residencia habitual, año 2005 ( memento of February 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on October 13, 2007.
2. ↑ La Concordia ya es cantón ( Memento of the original from November 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , El Diario (Portoviejo), November 1st, 2007. 
3. ↑ Table of contents ( Memento of the original from June 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Coordinates: 0 ° 46 ′  N , 79 ° 16 ′  W