Ecuador

Abstract

The origins of the Ecuadorian labour movement and the industrial relations context in which it exists have much in common with other regional experiences of the Spanish conquest. During the colonial period — the mid-sixteenth century until the early nineteenth — the territory corresponding roughly to the present-day Republic of Ecuador was administered by the Audiencia of Quito — a collective body which exercised a broad range of political, administrative and judicial tasks on behalf of the Spanish crown.¹ Since the territory was soon found to lack significant mineral wealth, the indigenous population, located largely in the sierra, became the most important economic resource — both as a source of labour and of tribute. As elsewhere, one of the main methods of appropriating Indian labour was through the encomienda system, although this gave neither title to land nor the right to extract labour from the indigenous population, but merely obliged the title holder to protect the Indians, to provide them with religious training and to give military assistance to the King. In addition to the encomienda (abolished in 1720), three other methods were used in the Audiencia to extract forced labour. Under the system known as repartimiento de indios (distribution of Indians), the authorities arranged for a certain number of Indians to be taken to the cities to be employed by certain prominent colonists in agricultural work, mining or in personal service — work for which officially they were to be paid.