The History of Ecuador extends over a 9,000-year period. During this time a variety of cultures and territories influenced what has become the Republic of Ecuador. The history can be divided into five eras: Pre-Columbian, The Conquest, The Colonial Period, The War of Independence and the Republican Era. The beginning of the history is represented by a variety of cultures and finishes with the Incan invasion. The Incas were followed closely by the arrival of the conquistadors, the Spanish conquerors. The Spanish founded modern day Quito and Guayaquil as part of the political-administration era which lasted until the war of Independence, the rise of Gran Colombia and Simón Bolívar to the final separation of his vision into what is known today as the Republic of Ecuador.