The history of the 16th century records the fact that, after taking possession of the Isthmus of Panama, the Spaniards hear about the riches of the south, and decided on a rapid extension of their request.
These proud, ambitious conquistadors, led by Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro, reached the lands of present- day Ecuador in 1526, and some years later, 1534, founded the Royal Audience of Quito.
The Spanish colonial empire was then set up, crushing forever Atahualpa’s fabulous Inca Empire. A thirst for adventure and gold drew innumerable colonist from the Iberian Peninsula. They seized the land and the power in the name of their triumphant Catholicism, driven by an unchallengeable sentiment of superiority over the indigenous race which had welcomed them, and founded a society which set the seal on illegality.
In this brutal confrontation of cultures, the Spaniards and the native people discovered a great many improbable things. And if history has identified the Spanish conquest with its introduction of the horse into South America, legend for its part, has taken hold of a curious story about hats.
The story is that the first Spaniards, discovering strange headgear being worn by some of the natives, took this light, translucent material for vampire skin. For a people who were already subjugated by these proud invaders, it was an amusing revenge to deceive them with such beliefs. Archaeological discoveries of ceramic figures wearing curious hats have been made on the Ecuadorian coast; these have contributed to the persistence of the curious anecdote. Whether it be a real fact or a native belief, this story already provided a legendary role for what was later to be known as the panama hat.
No further trace of it is to be found until a century later, in the provinces of Guayas and Manabí which are coastal regions of Ecuador. The year 1630 saw the start of the artisanal production of this straw hat, which is unique in the world.
Francisco Delgado, a Creole of intuition and passion, now makes his entry into the legend. This talented weaver owes his places in the history to the official registers. To recognize him is also to become aware of the cultural and commercial importance of a singular product which was to change the economic life of the coast for several decades. In effect, the second half of the 17th century saw the start of notable development of this artisanate, which really took off the 18th century.
At that time, the hat bore several names. It was called “jipijapa”, from the name of a small town of Manabí which was supposed to be its traditional origin, or again, already, “montecristi”, a name it still goes by today among the specialist of quality panamas.
Montecristi is a small town built on the side of the desert hill, near the large port of Manta. It dates from the 18th century, and had its hour of glory at the time of General Eloy Alfaro, an Ecuadorian hero who was born in Montecristi and spent his youth there. It owes its fame, however, to the fact that it is the home of the world’s best weavers of straw hats.
The “Jipijapa”, or “Montecristi” has also been called “toquilla”, a popular name which a popular name which has remained attached to it. The word is derivative of “toque” which is the name of the hats that Spaniards wore at the time of the conquest.
This toquilla straw, which continues today to provide a livelihood for some thousands of Ecuadorian, came into its own at the end of 18th century, when José Pavón and Hipolito Ruiz, who were botanists at the royal gardens in Madrid, were sent to South America by King Charles IV to catalogue the flora there. The “toquilla” received the name of “Carludovica palmata” in honor of the king and his wife Luisa, and thus it was that it made its entry into the botany texts.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Panama Hats History - Ecuador Part 2
The century of the Enlightenment will never cease to be a subject of curiosity. After the conquistadors came the scholars, who crossed the seas to explore the new continent. It was at this time that France sent an expedition of three scientists - Louis Godin, Pierre Bouger and Charles- Marie de La Condamine- to Ecuador to determine the true shape and the size of the earth. Arriving in Quito in 1736, they stayed there for nine years, calculating the length of a degree of the meridian in the neighborhood of the equator, and extended their studies to the volcanic activity of the Andes, which was particularly intense in the 18th century.
Their visit left an indelible mark on the country, since, almost a century later, in May 1830, the first Constitutional Assembly, which was given the responsibility of finding a name for the newly- independent state, reached an agreement to call it as the three scientists had, all those years before, by reasons of the line of equinox: the country of Ecuador.
In nine years, La Condamine and his friends acquainted themselves fully with this South Amercian land – The immense mountain chain, which crossed it from one end to the other, bearing some its towns up into the clouds, including Quito itself, the capital, which is perched an altitude of 2800 metres; its high, silent plateaus, which separate snow- covered mountains and volcanoes; its interminable tropical coast, turned towards the Pacific, majestic and disturbing when, each evening, it offers up its sunset; its other ocean; its green and humid jungle, called the “Oriente”, which is traversed by long watercourses; its innumerable churches, as well as its colonial squares and proud haciendas.
The three scientists criss- crossed the country a number of times, attaching themselves here and there to the life of a house or a family that invited them in. This was the case with the Marqués de Maenza, who had them to stay on several occasions in his hacienda. “La Cienega”, around sixty kilometers from Quito, one of the oldest estates in Ecuador and certainly one of the most beautiful. It had eight thousand hectares of crops and livestock. Its great white house, its shady patio and its little chapel, cool and luminous, were in the spirit of the few haciendas that existed at the time. La Condamine stayed three several times, on the handy pretext of carrying out volcanic studies; and indeed the imposing volcano of Cotopaxi was not all that far away.
At the time, three regions, or rather three towns, were jostling for pre- eminence. They had all sprung up in the colonial 16th century: Cuenca and Quito were borne up by the Andes, while the port of Guayaquil was spread out languidly on the Pacific coast.
In this country of endless contrast, where coast and sierra seem to ignore each other, to turn their back on each other; the toquilla straw hat had already established itself. And in the prevailing rivalry, it first chose Guayaquil, which, being entirely turned towards other worlds could not but fascinate. Ships laden with gold, then sugar, coffee or cacao set sail for the Isthmus of Panama, which gradually, with time, became the primary trading centre of South America. From there, the merchandise made its way to Europe, or North America. And the first “montecristis” no doubt followed this route in the baggage of traders, scientists and sea- captains making their way home.
Their visit left an indelible mark on the country, since, almost a century later, in May 1830, the first Constitutional Assembly, which was given the responsibility of finding a name for the newly- independent state, reached an agreement to call it as the three scientists had, all those years before, by reasons of the line of equinox: the country of Ecuador.
In nine years, La Condamine and his friends acquainted themselves fully with this South Amercian land – The immense mountain chain, which crossed it from one end to the other, bearing some its towns up into the clouds, including Quito itself, the capital, which is perched an altitude of 2800 metres; its high, silent plateaus, which separate snow- covered mountains and volcanoes; its interminable tropical coast, turned towards the Pacific, majestic and disturbing when, each evening, it offers up its sunset; its other ocean; its green and humid jungle, called the “Oriente”, which is traversed by long watercourses; its innumerable churches, as well as its colonial squares and proud haciendas.
The three scientists criss- crossed the country a number of times, attaching themselves here and there to the life of a house or a family that invited them in. This was the case with the Marqués de Maenza, who had them to stay on several occasions in his hacienda. “La Cienega”, around sixty kilometers from Quito, one of the oldest estates in Ecuador and certainly one of the most beautiful. It had eight thousand hectares of crops and livestock. Its great white house, its shady patio and its little chapel, cool and luminous, were in the spirit of the few haciendas that existed at the time. La Condamine stayed three several times, on the handy pretext of carrying out volcanic studies; and indeed the imposing volcano of Cotopaxi was not all that far away.
At the time, three regions, or rather three towns, were jostling for pre- eminence. They had all sprung up in the colonial 16th century: Cuenca and Quito were borne up by the Andes, while the port of Guayaquil was spread out languidly on the Pacific coast.
In this country of endless contrast, where coast and sierra seem to ignore each other, to turn their back on each other; the toquilla straw hat had already established itself. And in the prevailing rivalry, it first chose Guayaquil, which, being entirely turned towards other worlds could not but fascinate. Ships laden with gold, then sugar, coffee or cacao set sail for the Isthmus of Panama, which gradually, with time, became the primary trading centre of South America. From there, the merchandise made its way to Europe, or North America. And the first “montecristis” no doubt followed this route in the baggage of traders, scientists and sea- captains making their way home.
18th Century Panama Hats History Part 3
The straw hat trade became more clearly defined, and more intensive. But it was not until 1835, with the arrival of Manuel Alfaro, that it made a breakthrough in other countries. When he disembarked in Guayaquil, this audacious Spanish entrepreneur decided to stay and make his fortune in Ecuador. He did not take long to spot a suitable line of business. Having settled down in the heart of Montecristi, the little town on the hill caressed by the ocean breezes, he turned to the straw hat trade with a single objective: exportation. He set up his own circuits of weavers, and perfected a system for ensuring a smooth flow of production. Very soon the cargo ship of Guayaquil, as well as those of Manta, which was just a few kilometers from Montecristi, were being filled with his merchandise for their journey to the gulf of Panama. There he opened a commercial centre he also traded in cacao and pearls. History aided him in his projects, with the first tremors of the gold fever. To get to the Californian El Dorado, the route frequently passed through Panama. More and more prospectors started to arrive, and the omnipresent sun made it necessary to provide oneself with a hat for the long road.
It was thanks to the gold- diggers the straw hat began its conquest of the United States. In 1850, the American giant was already buying up more the two hundred and twenty thousand of them, and seven of the prospectors posed with their hats and bags of nuggets before the Mint, in Philadelphia, for a woodcut that became famous. The same year saw the inauguration of Ecuador’s first railway line, which facilitated the development of the “toquilla” trade. By now, Alfaro was no longer the only person to be exporting hats, and the coming of the train gradually encouraged the emergence of increasing competition.
In response to the economic problems which afflicted certain provinces, the authorities of Cuenca, in the province of Azuay, decided, in 1836, to open a hat factory and, some years later, they set up a workshop both for manufacture and training.
In 1845, Don Bartolome Serrano, a prominent citizen of the little town of Azogues, speeded up the movement by bringing in all the constituents which had made hat- making successful on the coast.
It was thanks to the gold- diggers the straw hat began its conquest of the United States. In 1850, the American giant was already buying up more the two hundred and twenty thousand of them, and seven of the prospectors posed with their hats and bags of nuggets before the Mint, in Philadelphia, for a woodcut that became famous. The same year saw the inauguration of Ecuador’s first railway line, which facilitated the development of the “toquilla” trade. By now, Alfaro was no longer the only person to be exporting hats, and the coming of the train gradually encouraged the emergence of increasing competition.
In response to the economic problems which afflicted certain provinces, the authorities of Cuenca, in the province of Azuay, decided, in 1836, to open a hat factory and, some years later, they set up a workshop both for manufacture and training.
In 1845, Don Bartolome Serrano, a prominent citizen of the little town of Azogues, speeded up the movement by bringing in all the constituents which had made hat- making successful on the coast.
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