Tacunga

Tacunga lies in an Andean basin south of Quito, beneath the great snow-covered volcano Cotopaxi. The settlement that became Latacunga grew among fertile valleys and textile workshops, though its position exposed it to floods and ash from the mountain. Its place on the highland route made it an important community in the central Ecuadorian Andes.

Cotopaxi erupted violently in the eighteenth century. In 1742 ash and volcanic mudflows damaged houses, bridges, estates and workshops, taking lives and livestock in the surrounding countryside; another great eruption in 1744 sent still larger flows down the valleys. Latacunga was raised to the rank of villa in 1811, and in November 1820 it joined other highland towns in proclaiming independence as forces from Guayaquil advanced towards the mountains.