=Boundary.= Ecuador’s boundary is uncertain as to the matter of touching Brazil. However, she has Colombia on the north and northeast, Peru on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west; most maps give Peru a section on the southeast as well, shutting Ecuador off from Brazil. HISTORY From the remote past, Ecuador has been inhabited by many tribes of Indians; one of these held sway at Quito for a thousand years before their subjugation by the Peruvian Incas. Less than a century later Pizarro arrived with the Spaniards. Hardly had these conquered Peru, when in 1534, the year following the overthrow of Atahuallpa, Pizarro dispatched Diego de Almagro and Sebastian de Benalcazar for the conquest of Ecuador, after which a few settlements were made. In 1538, Gonzalo Pizarro, brother of the conqueror, became Governor. In 1540, with Francisco de Orellana and a large expedition, he went east, descending through the forests to the Napo River. There a boat was built in which Orellana with others sailed down to the Amazon, then on to the Atlantic Ocean, thus first exploring the greatest river on the globe to which he gave its present name. For almost three centuries Ecuador was ruled by Spain, most of the time under the authority of the Viceroy at Lima, until in 1822 occurred the decisive battle of Pichincha, which assured the independence of Ecuador. Soon after, the country joined New Granada and Venezuela in the Colombian Federation, but in 1830 set up for itself a separate republic. Many difficulties, insurrections, and revolutions have occurred quite up to the present time, 11 changes of the constitution since 1830; but settled conditions favorable to the country’s development are now hoped for. GOVERNMENT Ecuador is a centralized rather than a federal republic, with the usual three departments. The President, elected for four years by direct vote, is ineligible for the consecutive term. Congress consists of a Senate with 32 members and a Chamber of Deputies with 48. Suffrage is limited to males over 21 years of age, who can read and write. The Judiciary consists of a Supreme Court at Quito, and six others in as many large towns, municipal and civil courts, and justices of the peace. The Provinces are administered by Governors named by the Executive, the Departments or Cantons by _jefes politicos_, political chiefs, the Parishes by political lieutenants, and the municipalities by presidents.