Ecuador and New Granada have hotly disputed…

Ecuador and New Granada have hotly disputed their common border for years, each wanting more territory.

Conservative Gabriel Garcia Moreno had become Ecuadoran president in 1861 and had soon attempted to unify his country, which is sharply divided by class, regional, and language differences, by handing over much power to the Roman Catholic Church, which he considers the people's chief social tie to achieving a sense of nationalism.

Many Ecuadorans opposes his autocratic regime, which gives control of education and welfare to clerics and suppressed leading liberals and other opponents.