Emigration from Ecuador is a relatively recent phenomenon, but one that has had a huge impact on the country's demographics and economy.
Eleven percent of Ecuadorians (1.5 million people) live outside Ecuador, primarily in Spain and the United States.
Emigrants at this time often traveled to New York City, where many had connections with hat importers.
Ecuadorians typically paid for the journey by borrowing from usurious moneylenders and using their property in Ecuador as collateral.
[1] During the late 1990s financial crisis in Ecuador, a mass migration to Spain occurred.