Colombia

Historical Background

Colombia has less of 200 years like republic, but the origins was 5000 years back.
Before the arrival of the Spanish, several Native American groups occupied the
region. Some groups, such as the Taironas constructed impressive roads, bridges,
systems of platforms for large buildings, and mountainside terraces for agriculture.
The largest group was the Muisca, who lived in the intermountain basins of the
Cordillera Oriental. Depending mostly on agriculture for survival, the Muisca made
cotton textiles, worked gold, and made some stone sculptures. Although there is
reason to believe the Muisca were unifying their society when the Spanish arrived,
the group never demonstrated the engineering abilities of the Taironas. Within 100
years after the first Spanish settlement, nearly 95 percent of all Native Americans
in Colombia had died. Many were killed during armed conflicts with European
settlers, but the majority of deaths were caused by diseases such as smallpox and
measles, which were imported by Spanish settlers (Bushnell). Spanish colonization
began in 1510 with the founding of San Sebastian near Panama. In 1526, settlers
founded Santa Marta, the oldest Spanish city still in existence in Colombia. For
most of the colonial period, New Granada, which included the areas that became
Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, and Ecuador, fell within the Viceroyalty of Peru as
part of the Spanish empire. The Spanish crown outlawed this system of exploiting
Native American labor, called encomienda. However, the practice did continue for
some time because it served as a type of educational institution through which the
European leaders were able to teach the Native Americans the Christian faith and
the ways of civilization. 1

todacolombia.com/historia-de-colombia/index.html 1

education.stateuniversity.com/pages/281/Colombia-HISTORY-BACKGROUND.html 2
At 1810 the independence began but until 1886, the official name of the country
has been the Repblica de Colombia. Administratively, the country is divided into
32 departments and one capital district.

Current issues
Colombia is in the American continent. Bordered
on the northwest by Panama, on the east by
Venezuela and Brazil, and on the southwest by
Peru and Ecuador. Through the western half of
the country, three Andean ranges run north and
south. The eastern half is a low, jungle-covered
plain, drained by spurs of the Amazon and
Orinoco Rivers, inhabited mostly by isolated
tropical-forest Indian tribes. The fertile plateau
and valley of the eastern range are the most
densely populated parts of the country. 2

The land area is 2,129,748 sq km. It is the only

nation in South America with coasts on the Pacific Ocean and access to the
Atlantic via the Caribbean Sea, which has several islands such as San Andrs and
Providencia. The country is the fourth nation in land area of South America and,
with around 47 million of habitants, the third in population in Latin America.
Colombia has a multicultural population in regions and ethnicities. Its population is
mostly a result of interbreeding between European, indigenous and African , with
indigenous and black minorities.
The official language is Spanish, but some people speak English too.
They have a motto it is freedom and order.3

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombia 3