Amazon Interactive
Who lives in the Amazon?
Mestizos?
That's right!
In the centuries since Columbus discoveredthe the New World, many Europeans have migrated to South America. Most ofthe people living in South America today have both European and indigenousancestors. Until recently, however, few of them lived in the Amazon. Theypreferred to live in established cities along the coasts and in the Andesmountains.
But in the past few decades, more and more mestizos have movedto the Amazon. They were having trouble finding work in their hometownsand saw opportunity in the Amazon. Many went looking for agricultural land.Others took jobs in oil fields or other industries.
Let's look at what's been happeningin Ecuador. Ecuador is on the west coast of South America. About a thirdof the country lies within the Amazon. Since the 1950s, Ecuadorians (mostlymestizos) from the Andean highlands and the western coastal plain have beenmigrating to the Amazon. The population of the Ecuadorian Amazon has increasedfrom about 60,000 people in the 1950s to 350,000 people now. By clearingforest to build homes, plant crops, and extract petroleum, these peoplehave had a dramatic impact on the rainforest.
Settlement in the Ecuadorian Amazon 1960 to 1990
What kinds of problems might this migration into the Amazoncreate? Explore some of the impacts on Quichua life and the land in Making a Living.
