Hombres de mar. Caciques de la Costa ecuatoriana en los inicios de la Época Colonial

Abstract

This article explains how the colonial economic system was set up on the what is now the Ecuadorian coast. It also shows how social and precolonial economic forms funcioned and its articulation with the colonial economy. In this geographic zone where merchandise was exchanged and where people mingled and information was shared linking the distant mother country with the viceroyalty,
the production and circulation of a wide array of goods provided the cornerstone for crestfallen indigenas societies. The sources provide evidence on the methods used by local rulers, who were essential actors in colonial implantation.