The earliest documented evidence of the Panama hat is to be found on a small ceramic figure attributed to the Valdivia culture of South America which has been dated to 4,000 B.C. The stylised figure wears a pointed straw hat which covers the neck and ears, fitting tightly around the face.

Image: 4,000 B.C. ceramic figure wearing straw hat.

Panama Hats first came to the attention of Europeans following the Spanish conquest of South America led by Fransisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro who reached present day Ecuador in 1526 forming the Royal Audience of Quito in 1534. The conquistadors record finding the indigenous indians in the southern coastal provinces of Guayas and Manabi wearing straw hats that were shaped liked bats wings covering the wearer's ears and neck.

Image: Fransisco Pizarro.

The Spaniards took to wearing these hats themselves, naming them Toquillas due to their similarity to a 16th century wimple style headdress commonly called a 'torque' or 'toca' in Spanish . The name was also applied to the straw from which the hats were made.

Image: Medieval carving of a women wearing a wimple style headdress.

By 1630 the Spanish colonialists were exploiting forced native labour to produce the hats for profit using european hat shapes to replace the traditional 'bats wing' style. The coastal villages of Jipijapa and Montecristi, where small scale weaving took place, gave their names to the hats produced there. The name Montecristi is still associated with the Panama Hat thanks to the skills of the weavers in producing the finest of hats.

Image: Spanish Conquistadors.

In the late 18th century José Pavon and Hipolito Ruiz, botanists from the royal gardens in Madrid, named the plant which provided the straw Carludovicia Palamata after the King Carlos IV of Spain and his wife Ludovica.

Image: King Carlos IV of Spain.