HISTORICAL DICTIONARY A–Z - Spain and Portugal: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present - page 174

more or less on the spot. Inevitably his
Nobel Prize provoked a storm of protest by
those who insisted that Echegaray was a
degrader of the playwriting art.
Although the plays of Echegaray have
become a by-word for outmoded rhetoric
and obvious posturing, his work is not
entirely without merit. His O locura o santi-
dad ( Folly or Saintliness, 1877), for instance,
offers a clever portrayal of the hypocrisy
and greed of those who want to prevent an
honest man from disposing of what they
regard as their rightful inheritance by hav-
ing him declared mad. El gran Galeoto (ren-
dered in English as The World and His Wife,
1881)—which was well received in London
as well as Madrid—deals, with considerable
realism, with the effect of slander and char-
acter assassination upon honorable indi-
viduals. Neither of these plays, which are
generally esteemed as Echegaray's best, are
mere romantic entertainments, but they do
not escape his tendency to melodramatic
resolution of conflict. Echegaray, who drove
out the work of M ANUEL T AMAYO Y B AUS
from Spanish playhouses, was himself fated
to be ousted by that of J ACINTO B ENAVENTE .
It is noteworthy that Benavente himself
never joined in the widespread denuncia-
tion of his competitor, seeing in him, per-
haps, a transitional figure worthy of respect
if not imitation.

nial rule from 1534 onward. Ecuador, as the
Spaniards christened this territory, was part
of the Viceroyalty of P ERU until 1718, when
it was transferred to the Viceroyalty of New
Granada. Along with the other components
of that viceroyalty, Ecuador fought for and
won its independence from Spain, with the
decisive battle for Ecuadoreans taking place
at Monte Pichincha in May 1822. Ecuador
proclaimed its full sovereignty in 1830.
Intermittent wars throughout the 19th and
early 20th centuries have greatly reduced
the country's original boundaries.

El Greco See G RECO , E L .

El Salvador
As H ERNÁN C ORTÉS conquered the Aztec
Empire and laid the foundation for the Vice-
royalty of N EW S PAIN , his subordinate, P EDRO
DE A LVA R A D O , occupied the territory named
for the Savior (el Salvador) in 1523. Follow-
ing the occupation of G UATEMALA in 1524,
these two provinces were incorporated into
the Captaincy General of Guatemala, which
controlled all of Central America until the
withdrawal of Spanish rule in 1821. During
the next two years El Salvador adhered to
the independent Mexican empire and then
to the United Provinces of Central America
until 1839. Although it became sovereign in
the latter year, its leaders long continued to
advocate various plans for Central Ameri-
can confederation.

Ecuador
An Amerindian kingdom centered on the
city of Quito (a name apparently once
applied to the whole Peruvian region), this
area in western South America was subor-
dinated to the Inca Empire shortly before
the arrival of conquistadores, who brought
the whole Inca realm under Spanish colo-

Encina, Juan del (1469-1530)
Spanish playwright and composer
Often described as the “father” or “patri-
arch” of Spanish theater, Encina was the