History of Latin America - Colombia

FLAG The fourth largest country in South America, the Republic of Colombia has coasts on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Lying next to the Isthmus of Panama, which until 1903 was a part of its territory, Colombia is a strategic crossroads in the network of communication between North, Central, and South America.
Colombia has an area of about 440,000 square miles (1,140,000 square kilometers), extending for more than 1,100 miles (1,800 kilometers) from north to south and for more than 850 miles (1,370 kilometers) from west to east. It is bounded by the Caribbean on the north, Venezuela and Brazil on the east, Peru and Ecuador on the south, the Pacific on the west, and Panama on the northwest.
At its southeastern tip, the Colombia-Peru border is made up of the Amazon River for a distance of 72 miles (116 kilometers). Its only important outlying possession is San Andres and Providencia, a group of islands 500 miles (800 kilometers) from the mainland and only 100 miles (160 kilometers) off the eastern coast of Nicaragua.

Colombia is the only nation named after Christopher Columbus, who first sailed off its Caribbean shores at the end of the 15th century. Prior to Spanish colonization, Colombia was settled by numerous Indian tribes. One of them the Chibcha, or Muisca occupied the fertile valleys and plateaus of the Cordillera Oriental. As a peaceful, settled people, they achieved a cultural development surpassed in the New World only by the Aztec, Maya, and Inca. The Chibcha were farmers and weavers. They were ruled by two principal caciques, or chieftains. No one knows their origin for certain, but their archaeological record goes back 10,000 years. At the time of the Spaniards' arrival, the Chibcha were defending their territory from the Caribs, Indians who had invaded the Caribbean plain and mountain valleys.
There were other tribes such as the Tairona in the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, the Calima in the Cauca Valley, the Quimbaya in the Quindio region, and the Agustinians in the upper Magdalena Valley. They left legacies of gold craftsmanship and stone sculpture.


Official Name. Republic of Colombia.
Capital. Bogota.
NATURAL FEATURES
Highest Peak. Pico Cristobal Colon, 19,020 feet (5,800 meters).
Major Rivers. Magdalena, Cauca, Meta, Guaviare, Caqueta, Putumayo, Atrato, Vaupes, Vichada.
Mountain Ranges. Occidental, Central, Oriental.
PEOPLE
Population (1990 estimate). 32,978,000; 74.8 persons per square mile (28.9 persons per square kilometer); 67.2 percent urban, 32.8 percent rural.
Major Cities (1990 estimate). Bogota (4,819,696), Medellin (1,638,637), Cali (1,637,000), Barranquilla (1,029,478), Cartagena (563,949), Cucuta (357,026), Bucaramanga (341,513).
Major Religion. Roman Catholicism.
Major Language. Spanish (official).
Literacy. 69 percent.
Leading Universities and Colleges. National University of Colombia, University of the Andes, Javeriana Pontifical University, all in Bogota; Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia, Tunja; University of Valle, Cali; University of Antioquia, Medellin; Industrial University of Santander, Bucaramanga.
GOVERNMENT
Form of Government. Unitary republic.
Chief of State and Head of Government. President; elected to four-year nonconsecutive terms by direct national vote.
Legislature. Congress consists of Senate and House of Representatives; members elected to four-year terms.
Voting Qualification. Age 18.
Political Divisions. 23 departments, 4 intendencies, 5 commisariats, 1 special district.
ECONOMY
Chief Agricultural Products. Crops sugarcane, potatoes, plantains, rice, bananas, cassavas, corn, coffee, flowers. Livestock cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens.
Chief Mined Products. Petroleum, natural gas, gold, coal, iron ore.
Chief Manufactured Products. Foods, textiles, chemicals, machinery, electrical apparatus, transport equipment, metal products.
Chief Exports. Coffee, petroleum and petroleum products, fruits, flowers, iron and steel, textile apparel.
Chief Imports. Machinery, chemicals, transport equipment.
Monetary Unit. 1 peso = 100 centavos.

This article was contributed by Hector F. Rucinque, Head, Graduate Geography Program, Instituto Geografico "Agustin Codazzi," Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnologica de Colombia, Bogota.