History of Cuenca
First inhabitants
According to studies and archeological discoveries, the origins of the first inhabitants go back to the year 8060 BC in the Cave of Chopsi. They were hunters, hunting everything the Páramo offered them, and also nomads moving from one place to another. Tools such as arrows and spears, found throughout the Andean alley, are signs of the beginning of this culture. Their presence dates back to approximately 5585 BC.
The early inhabitants used the stable climate, fertile soil and abundant water to develop agriculture. They grew potatoes, melloco, chocho, squash and quinoa. They also domesticated animals such as cuy, guinea pigs, llamas, and alpacas.
Their technology also advanced; they started using ceramics, which are the main archaeological material from which to study their culture. There isn’t much information from between 5000 and 2000 B.C., since remains dating from that era haven’t been found. Around 2000 B.C began a more organized society, demonstrating delegated responsibilities, such as the managing of water, control of plagues and there was a differentiation between administrative and religious authorities (known as shamans). This occurred during the periods of Chaullabamba, Huayco, Pirincay, Monjas, Putushio, Huancarcucho and Jubones. From then until 500 AD began the periods of Tacalshapa III and Cañari.
Pre-Columbian society
Cuenca was originally a Cañari settlement called Guapondeleg. It is believed to have been founded around 500 AD. Guapondeleg translates into "land as big as heaven." Less than half a century before the conquistadors landed, the Incas, after a bitter struggle, conquered the Cañari and occupied Guapondeleg and the surrounding area. Though the Incas replaced the Cañari architecture with their own, they did not suppress the Cañari or their impressive achievements in astronomy and agriculture. As was customary for the Incas, they absorbed useful achievements into their culture. They renamed the city Tumebamba. The city became known as the second Cusco.
Shortly after the defeat of the Cañari, the Inca commander, Tupac Yupanqui, ordered the construction of a grand city to be called Pumapungo, "the door of the Puma". Its magnificence was to challenge that of the Inca capital of Cuzco. Indians relayed stories to the Spanish chroniclers of golden temples and other such wonders, but by the time the Spaniards found the legendary city, all that remained were ruins. They wondered what happened to the fabled splendor and riches of the second Inca capital. After having been abandoned by the Cañari and then the Incas, Tumebamba was sparsely populated until the 1550s.
Tumebamba is considered a candidate for the mythical city of gold, El Dorado. El Dorado is believed to have been burned by the inhabitants when rumors arose of Spanish conquests. Tumebamba's destruction by its inhabitants prior to the arrival of the Spanish lends credence to the theory that it was El Dorado. Tumebamba was founded by the Incas as a second imperial capital, as noted above.
Spanish settlement
Cuenca was founded on April 12, 1557 by the Spanish explorer Gil Ramírez Dávalos. The founding of the city was commissioned by Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza, then Viceroy of Peru. Hurtado de Mendoza had the city named after his home town of Cuenca, Spain. The date of its founding was notably later than those of other major Ecuadorian cities, such as Quito (1534), Guayaquil (1538), and Loja (1548).
Cuenca's population and importance grew steadily during the colonial era. It reached the peak of its importance in the first years of Ecuador's independence; Cuenca achieved its independence on November 3, 1820. It became the capital of one of the three provinces that made up the nascent republic. The other two capitals were Guayaquil and Quito.
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