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== History == {{Main|History of Colombia|Timeline of Colombian history}} === Pre-Columbian<!--This is NOT a typo. Before Christopher Columbus, not before Colombia --> era === {{Main|Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia}} [[File:Culturas precolombinas de Colombia.png|thumb|left|Location map of the pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia]] Owing to its location, the present territory of Colombia was a corridor of early human civilization from [[Mesoamerica]] and the [[Caribbean]] to the [[Andes]] and [[Amazon basin]]. The oldest archaeological finds are from the [[Pubenza archaeological site|Pubenza]] and [[El Totumo archaeological site|El Totumo]] sites in the Magdalena Valley {{convert|100|km|mi|sp=us}} southwest of Bogotá.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Correal|first=Urrego G.|title=Nuevas evidencias culturales pleistocenicas y megafauna en Colombia|journal=Boletin de Arqueologia|year=1993|issue=8|pages=3–13}}</ref> These sites date from the [[Paleo-Indians|Paleoindian]] period (18,000–8000 BCE). At [[Puerto Hormiga archaeological site|Puerto Hormiga]] and other sites, traces from the [[Archaic Period (Americas)|Archaic Period]] (~8000–2000 BCE) have been found. Vestiges indicate that there was also early occupation in the regions of [[El Abra]] and [[Tequendama]] in [[Cundinamarca Department|Cundinamarca]]. The oldest pottery discovered in the Americas, found in [[San Jacinto, Bolívar|San Jacinto]], dates to 5000–4000 BCE.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hoopes|first=John|title=Ford Revisited: A Critical Review of the Chronology and Relationships of the Earliest Ceramic Complexes in the New World, 6000-1500 B.C. (1994)|journal=Journal of World Prehistory|year=1994|volume=8|issue=1|pages=1–50|doi=10.1007/bf02221836|s2cid=161916440|url=https://zenodo.org/record/848786|access-date=6 September 2019|archive-date=21 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021232542/https://zenodo.org/record/848786|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=San Jacinto |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/story/san-jacinto-museo-mapuka-uninorte/fwVRd9f5IBOQag?hl=en |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=Google Arts & Culture |language=en}}</ref> Indigenous people inhabited the territory that is now Colombia by 12,500 BCE. Nomadic [[hunter-gatherer]] tribes at the El Abra, [[Tibitó]] and Tequendama sites near present-day [[Bogotá]] traded with one another and with other cultures from the [[Magdalena River]] Valley.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Van der Hammen |first1=Thomas |last2=Urrego |first2=Gonzalo Correal |title=Prehistoric man of the Sabana de Bogotá: Data for an ecological prehistory |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |date=September 1978 |volume=25 |issue=1–2 |pages=179–190 |doi=10.1016/0031-0182(78)90077-9 |bibcode=1978PPP....25..179V }}</ref> A site including {{Convert|8|mi|0|spell=in|sp=us}} of [[Pictogram|pictographs]] that is under study at Serranía de la Lindosa was revealed in November 2020.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/nov/29/sistine-chapel-of-the-ancients-rock-art-discovered-in-remote-amazon-forest |title=Sistine Chapel of the ancients' rock art discovered in remote Amazon forest |last=Alberge |first=Dalya |date=29 November 2020 |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=16 June 2021 |archive-date=30 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130165841/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/nov/29/sistine-chapel-of-the-ancients-rock-art-discovered-in-remote-amazon-forest |url-status=live }}</ref> Their age is suggested as being 12,500 years old (c. 10,480 B.C.) by the anthropologists working on the site, because of extinct fauna depicted. It was during the earliest known human occupation of the area. Between 5000 and 1000 BCE, hunter-gatherer tribes transitioned to agrarian societies; fixed settlements were established, and pottery appeared. Beginning in the 1st millennium BCE, groups of [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amerindians]] including the [[Muisca]], [[Zenú]], [[Quimbaya civilization|Quimbaya]], and [[Tairona]] developed the political system of ''[[cacicazgo]]s'' with a pyramidal structure of power headed by ''caciques''. The Muisca inhabited mainly the area of what is now the [[Departments of Colombia|Departments]] of [[Boyacá Department|Boyacá]] and [[Cundinamarca Department|Cundinamarca]] high plateau (''[[Altiplano Cundiboyacense]]'') where they formed the [[Muisca Confederation]]. They farmed maize, potato, quinoa, and cotton, and traded gold, [[Colombian emeralds|emeralds]], blankets, ceramic handicrafts, coca and especially [[Halite|rock salt]] with neighboring nations. The Tairona inhabited northern Colombia in the isolated mountain range of [[Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Broadbent |first=Sylvia |year=1965 |title=Los Chibchas: organización socio-polític |journal=Serie Latinoamericana |volume=5 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Jon Lee |date=2018-03-20 |title=Stepping Beyond Cartagena: Exploring Colombia's Northern Reaches |url=https://www.cntraveler.com/story/stepping-beyond-cartagena-exploring-colombias-northern-reaches |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=Condé Nast Traveler |language=en-US}}</ref> The Quimbaya inhabited regions of the [[Cauca River]] Valley between the [[Cordillera Occidental (Colombia)|Western]] and [[Cordillera Central (Colombia)|Central]] Ranges of the Colombian Andes.<ref>{{cite book|title=Los indios de Colombia|volume=7|author1=Álvaro Chaves Mendoza|author2=Jorge Morales Gómez|publisher=Editorial Abya Yala|isbn=978-9978-04-169-7|year=1995|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=txJH1_qweSMC&pg=PA1|language=es|access-date=26 December 2021|archive-date=2 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202233343/https://books.google.com/books?id=txJH1_qweSMC&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Most of the Amerindians practiced agriculture and the social structure of each indigenous community was different. Some groups of indigenous people such as the Caribs lived in a state of permanent war, but others had less bellicose attitudes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Historia de Colombia: el establecimiento de la dominación española – Los Pueblos Indígenas del Territorio Colombiano|url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/historia/hicol/hico3.htm|publisher=banrepcultural.org|language=es|access-date=20 September 2016|archive-date=9 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109083852/http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/historia/hicol/hico3.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the 1200s, [[Austronesian expansion|Malayo-Polynesian]]s and [[Indigenous peoples in Colombia|Native Americans]] in Colombia made contact, thereby spreading Native American genetics from Precolonial Colombia to some Pacific Ocean islands.<ref>{{cite web | title=Polynesians, Native Americans made contact before European arrival, genetic study finds | website=Phys.org | date=2020-07-08 | url=https://phys.org/news/2020-07-polynesians-native-americans-contact-european.html }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Native American gene flow into Polynesia predating Easter Island settlement by Alexander G. Ioannidis et al. |journal=Nature |date=July 2020 |volume=583 |issue=7817 |pages=572–577 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2487-2 |last1=Ioannidis |first1=Alexander G. |last2=Blanco-Portillo |first2=Javier |last3=Sandoval |first3=Karla |last4=Hagelberg |first4=Erika |last5=Miquel-Poblete |first5=Juan Francisco |last6=Moreno-Mayar |first6=J. Víctor |last7=Rodríguez-Rodríguez |first7=J. E. |last8=Quinto-Cortés |first8=Consuelo D. |last9=Auckland |first9=Kathryn |last10=Parks |first10=Tom |last11=Robson |first11=Kathryn |last12=Hill |first12=Adrian V. S. |last13=Avila-Arcos |first13=María C. |last14=Sockell |first14=Alexandra |last15=Homburger |first15=Julian R. |last16=Wojcik |first16=Genevieve L. |last17=Barnes |first17=Kathleen C. |last18=Herrera |first18=Luisa |last19=Berríos |first19=Soledad |last20=Acuña |first20=Mónica |last21=Llop |first21=Elena |last22=Eng |first22=Celeste |last23=Huntsman |first23=Scott |last24=Burchard |first24=Esteban G. |last25=Gignoux |first25=Christopher R. |last26=Cifuentes |first26=Lucía |last27=Verdugo |first27=Ricardo A. |last28=Moraga |first28=Mauricio |last29=Mentzer |first29=Alexander J. |last30=Bustamante |first30=Carlos D. |pmid=32641827 |pmc=8939867 |display-authors=1 }}</ref> === Colonial period === {{Main|New Kingdom of Granada|Viceroyalty of New Granada}} {{See also|Spanish conquest of New Granada|Spanish conquest of the Muisca|Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish Empire}} [[File:Retrato_de_Vasco_Nuñez_de_Balboa_(1475-1517)_-_Anónimo.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Vasco Núñez de Balboa]], founder of [[Santa María la Antigua del Darién]], the first stable European settlement on the continent]] [[Alonso de Ojeda]] (who had sailed with Columbus) reached the [[Guajira Peninsula]] in 1499.<ref name="LABLAA6">{{cite web|author=Nicolás del Castillo Mathieu|url=http://www.lablaa.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/marzo1992/marzo3.htm|title=La primera vision de las costas Colombianas, Repaso de Historia|work=Revista Credencial|date=March 1992|access-date=29 February 2008|language=es|archive-date=19 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019045321/http://www.lablaa.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/marzo1992/marzo3.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/o/ojeda.htm|title=Alonso de Ojeda|publisher=biografiasyvidas.com|language=es|access-date=2 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704180050/http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/o/ojeda.htm|archive-date=4 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Spanish explorers, led by [[Rodrigo de Bastidas]], made the first exploration of the [[Caribbean Basin|Caribbean coast]] in 1500.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/b/bastidas.htm|title=Rodrigo de Bastidas|publisher=biografiasyvidas.com|language=es|access-date=2 April 2014|archive-date=23 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423173935/http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/b/bastidas.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Christopher Columbus]] navigated near the Caribbean in 1502.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/c/colon_cristobal.htm|title=Cristóbal Colón|publisher=biografiasyvidas.com|language=es|access-date=2 April 2014|archive-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306173922/http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/c/colon_cristobal.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1508, [[Vasco Núñez de Balboa]] accompanied an expedition to the territory through the region of [[Gulf of Urabá]] and they founded the town of [[Santa María la Antigua del Darién]] in 1510, the first stable settlement on the continent.{{efn|Balboa is best known for being the first European to see the Pacific Ocean in 1513, which he called ''Mar del Sur'' (or "Sea of the South") and would facilitate Spanish exploration and settlement of South America.}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/b/balboa.htm|title=Vasco Núñez de Balboa|publisher=biografiasyvidas.com|language=es|access-date=2 April 2014|archive-date=7 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407072547/http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/b/balboa.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Santa Marta]] was founded in 1525,<ref>{{cite book|title=La gobernación de Santa Marta (1570–1670) Vol. 232|author=Vázquez, Trinidad Miranda|publisher=Editorial CSIC-CSIC Press|isbn=978-84-00-04276-9|year=1976|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m5zI94b6u_4C&pg=PP1|page=3|language=es|access-date=26 December 2021|archive-date=2 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202233342/https://books.google.com/books?id=m5zI94b6u_4C&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Cartagena, Colombia|Cartagena]] in 1533.<ref>{{cite book|title=Cartagena de Indias en el siglo XVI. Vol. 288|author=Plá, María del Carmen Borrego|publisher=Editorial CSIC-CSIC Press|isbn=978-84-00-05440-3|year=1983|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hV-bQJo8wOIC&pg=PP1|pages=3–5|language=es|access-date=26 December 2021|archive-date=2 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202233355/https://books.google.com/books?id=hV-bQJo8wOIC&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Spanish [[conquistador]] [[Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada]] led an expedition to the interior in April 1536, and christened the districts through which he passed "[[New Kingdom of Granada]]". In August 1538, he provisionally founded its capital near the Muisca [[cacicazgo]] of [[Bacatá|Muyquytá]], and named it "Santa Fe". The name soon acquired a suffix and was called Santa Fe de Bogotá.<ref>{{cite book|title=Invading Colombia: Spanish accounts of the Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada expedition of conquest Vol. 1|editor1-link=J. Michael Francis|editor=Francis, John Michael|publisher=Penn State Press|isbn=978-0-271-02936-8|year=2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P1DEFqZ6c5QC&pg=PP1|access-date=26 December 2021|archive-date=2 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202233341/https://books.google.com/books?id=P1DEFqZ6c5QC&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="JaramilloUribe1989">{{Cite journal |last=Jaramillo Uribe |first=Jaime |year=1989 |title=Perfil histórico de Bogotá |url=https://revistas.uniandes.edu.co/index.php/hiscrit/article/view/3641 |journal=Historia Crítica |language=es |issue=1 |pages=5–19 |doi=10.7440/histcrit1.1989.01 |issn=0121-1617 |archive-date=2 May 2024 |access-date=7 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502215357/https://revistas.uniandes.edu.co/index.php/hiscrit/article/view/3641 |url-status=live }}</ref> Two other notable journeys by early conquistadors to the interior took place in the same period. [[Sebastián de Belalcázar]], conqueror of [[Quito]], traveled north and founded [[Cali]], in 1536, and [[Popayán]], in 1537;<ref>{{cite book|title=La encomienda en Popayán: tres estudios|author=Silvia Padilla Altamirano|publisher=Editorial CSIC Press|isbn=978-84-00-03612-6|year=1977|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=785fTqvsPSEC&pg=PP1|pages=4–5|language=es|access-date=26 December 2021|archive-date=2 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202233342/https://books.google.com/books?id=785fTqvsPSEC&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> from 1536 to 1539, German conquistador [[Nikolaus Federmann]] crossed the [[Orinoquía natural region|Llanos Orientales]] and went over the [[Cordillera Oriental (Colombia)|Cordillera Oriental]] in a search for [[El Dorado]], the "city of gold".<ref>{{cite book|title=El dorado en el pantano|author=Massimo Livi Bacci|publisher=Marcial Pons Historia|isbn=978-84-92820-65-8|year=2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tMEp1OPtF7QC&pg=PP1|language=es|access-date=26 December 2021|archive-date=2 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202233402/https://books.google.com/books?id=tMEp1OPtF7QC&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Ramírez, Natalia |author2=Gutiérrez, Germán |url=http://www.bdigital.unal.edu.co/5001/ |title=Félix de Azara: Observaciones conductuales en su viaje por el Virreinato del Río de la Plata |journal=Revista de historia de la psicología |volume=31 |issue=4 |year=2010 |pages=52–53 |access-date=17 May 2016 |archive-date=17 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617142800/http://www.bdigital.unal.edu.co/5001/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The legend and the gold would play a pivotal role in luring the Spanish and other Europeans to New Granada during the 16th and 17th centuries.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/el-dorado/| work=National Geographic| title=El Dorado Legend Snared Sir Walter Raleigh| access-date=23 August 2013| archive-date=13 February 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213054547/http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/el-dorado/| url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[List of conquistadors in Colombia|conquistadors]] made frequent alliances with the enemies of different indigenous communities. [[Indian auxiliaries|Indigenous allies]] were crucial to conquest, as well as to creating and maintaining empire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://queaprendemoshoy.com/la-conquista-del-nuevo-reino-de-granada-la-interpretacion-de-los-siete-mitos-iii/|title=La Conquista del Nuevo Reino de Granada: la interpretación de los siete mitos (III) – RESTALL, Matthew: Los siete mitos de la conquista española, Barcelona, 2004|publisher=queaprendemoshoy.com/|language=es|access-date=21 September 2016|archive-date=9 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209181225/http://queaprendemoshoy.com/la-conquista-del-nuevo-reino-de-granada-la-interpretacion-de-los-siete-mitos-iii/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Indigenous peoples in Colombia experienced a decline in population due to conquest as well as Eurasian diseases, such as [[smallpox]], to which they had no immunity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icanh.gov.co/recursos_user/documentos/editores/201/Articulos/SociedadesIndigenas-Reyes2009.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.icanh.gov.co/recursos_user/documentos/editores/201/Articulos/SociedadesIndigenas-Reyes2009.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live|title=Las sociedades indígenas del Nuevo Reino de Granada bajo el dominio español|author=Jorge Augusto Gamboa M.|publisher=Instituto Colombiano de Antropología e Historia|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colombiaaprende.edu.co/html/productos/1685/articles-242836_proyecto_documento.pdf|title=Las plantas medicinales en la época de la colonia y de la independencia|publisher=colombiaaprende.edu.co|language=es|access-date=7 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408212640/http://www.colombiaaprende.edu.co/html/productos/1685/articles-242836_proyecto_documento.pdf|archive-date=8 April 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Regarding the land as deserted, the Spanish Crown sold properties to all persons interested in colonized territories, creating large farms and possession of mines.<ref name="TierrasColonia">{{cite web|url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/mayo2002/propdetierras.htm|title=La propiedad de tierras en la Colonia: Mercedes, composición de títulos y resguardos indígenas|author=Mayorga, Fernando|publisher=Revista Credencial Historia|website=banrepcultural.org|year=2002|language=es|access-date=7 April 2014|archive-date=8 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408213109/http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/mayo2002/propdetierras.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="EconomíaColonial">{{cite web|url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/economia/histecon/histecon2a.htm|title=Historia económica y órdenes de magnitud, Capítulo 1: La Formación de la Economía Colonial (1500–1740).|author=Germán Colmenares|publisher=banrepcultural.org|language=es|access-date=7 April 2014|archive-date=9 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109160412/http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/economia/histecon/histecon2a.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="políticaeconómica">{{cite web|url=http://admin.banrepcultural.org/sites/default/files/lablaa/revistas/revanuario/ancolh11/articul/art5/art5a.pdf |title=La política económica virreinal en el Nuevo Reino de Granada: 1750–1810 |author=Margarita González |publisher=banrepcultural.org |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408211849/http://admin.banrepcultural.org/sites/default/files/lablaa/revistas/revanuario/ancolh11/articul/art5/art5a.pdf |archive-date=8 April 2014 }}</ref> In the 16th century, the [[Navigation|nautical science]] in Spain reached a great development thanks to numerous scientific figures of the [[Casa de Contratación]] and nautical science was an essential pillar of the [[Iberian ship development, 1400–1600|Iberian expansion]].<ref name="Alonso de Santa Cruz">{{cite journal |last1=Domingo |first1=Mariano Cuesta |title=Alonso de Santa Cruz, cartógrafo y fabricante de instrumentos náuticos de la Casa de Contratación |trans-title=Alonso de Santa Cruz, Cartographer and Maker of Nautical Instruments of the Spanish Casa de Contratación |language=es |journal=Revista Complutense de Historia de América |date=2004 |volume=30 |pages=7–40 |url=https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=1086671 |access-date=13 November 2020 |archive-date=3 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203234102/https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=1086671 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1542, the region of New Granada, along with all other Spanish possessions in South America, became part of the [[Viceroyalty of Peru]], with its capital in [[Lima]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America, 1492–1830|author=John Huxtable Elliott|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-12399-9|year=2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q6ucuphGA3YC&pg=PA124|pages=124–125|access-date=9 November 2020|archive-date=2 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202233440/https://books.google.com/books?id=Q6ucuphGA3YC&pg=PA124|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1547, New Granada became a separate captaincy-general within the viceroyalty, with its capital at Santa Fe de Bogota.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Shaw|first=Jeffrey M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vt-vDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA429|title=Religion and Contemporary Politics: A Global Encyclopedia|year=2019|isbn=9781440839337|pages=429|publisher=Abc-Clio|access-date=19 March 2023|archive-date=15 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715073548/https://books.google.com/books?id=vt-vDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA429|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1549, the [[Real Audiencia|Royal Audiencia]] was created by a royal decree, and New Granada was ruled by the [[Royal Audience of Santa Fe de Bogotá]], which at that time comprised the provinces of Santa Marta, Rio de San Juan, Popayán, Guayana and Cartagena.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.congreso.gob.pe/ntley/Imagenes/LeyIndia/0102015.pdf |title=Law VIII ("Royal Audiencia and Chancery of Santa Fe in the New Kingdom of Granada") of Title XV ("Of the Royal Audiencias and Chanceries of the Indies") of Book II |publisher=congreso.gob.pe |access-date=4 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629092003/http://www.congreso.gob.pe/ntley/Imagenes/LeyIndia/0102015.pdf |archive-date=29 June 2014 }}</ref> But important decisions were taken from the colony to Spain by the [[Council of the Indies]].<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.archivobogota.gov.co/libreria/pdf/LIBRO_PATRIMONIO_DOCUMENTAL.pdf |title=El patrimonio documental de Bogotá, Siglos XVI – XIX: Instituciones y Archivos |author1=Fernando Mayorga García |author2=Juana M. Marín Leoz |author3=Adelaida Sourdis Nájera |publisher=Subdirección Imprenta Distrital – D.D.D.I |isbn=978-958-717-064-1|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407095333/http://www.archivobogota.gov.co/libreria/pdf/LIBRO_PATRIMONIO_DOCUMENTAL.pdf |archive-date=7 April 2014 |year=2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Encomienda y mita en Nueva Granada en el siglo XVII|author=Julián Bautista Ruiz Rivera|publisher=Editorial CSIC Press|isbn=978-84-00-04176-2|year=1975|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5R0dPbOImsUC&pg=PP1|pages=xxi–xxii|access-date=7 December 2018|archive-date=2 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202233403/https://books.google.com/books?id=5R0dPbOImsUC&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> [[File:Defensa de Cartagena de Indias por la escuadra de D. Blas de Lezo, año 1741.jpg|thumb|left|An illustration of the [[Battle of Cartagena de Indias]], a major Spanish victory in the [[War of Jenkins' Ear]]<ref name="BattleofCartagena" />]] In the 16th century, European slave traders had begun to bring [[Atlantic slave trade|enslaved Africans]] to the Americas. Spain was the only European power that did not establish [[Factory (trading post)|factories]] in Africa to purchase slaves; the Spanish Empire instead relied on the [[asiento]] system, awarding merchants from other European nations the license to trade enslaved peoples to their overseas territories.<ref>{{cite book|title=Génesis y desarrollo de la esclavitud en Colombia siglos XVI y XVII|publisher=Universidad del Valle|isbn=978-958-670-338-3|year=2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PH_cf27ucZAC&pg=PP1|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Los místeres de las minas: crónica de la colonia europea más grande de Colombia en el siglo XIX, surgida alrededor de las minas de Marmato, Supía y Riosucio|author=Alvaro Gärtner|publisher=Universidad de Caldas|isbn=978-958-8231-42-6|year=2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5cUdM30KwxkC&pg=PP1|access-date=7 December 2018|archive-date=21 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221121101/https://books.google.com/books?id=5cUdM30KwxkC&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> This system brought Africans to Colombia, although many spoke out against the institution.{{efn|A royal decree of 1713 approved the legality of [[Palenque de San Basilio]] founded by runaway slaves as a refuge in the seventeenth century. The people of San Basilio fought against slavery, thereby giving rise to the first free place in the Americas.<ref>{{cite book|title=Palenque, Cartagena y Afro-Caribe: historia y lengua|first1=Yves|last1=Moñino|first2=Armin|last2=Schwegler|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-096022-8|year=2002|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mv4iAAAAQBAJ&pg=PR1|pages=vii–ix, 21–35|access-date=26 December 2021|archive-date=21 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221121101/https://books.google.com/books?id=mv4iAAAAQBAJ&pg=PR1#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Its main leader was [[Benkos Bioho|Benkos Biohó]], who was born in West Africa.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.urosario.edu.co/Subsitio/Catedra-de-Estudios-Afrocolombianos/Documentos/03-Presentacion-Dossier-Unesco---Palenque-de-San-B.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.urosario.edu.co/Subsitio/Catedra-de-Estudios-Afrocolombianos/Documentos/03-Presentacion-Dossier-Unesco---Palenque-de-San-B.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live|title=Palenque de San Basilio |publisher=urosario.edu.co|language=es}}</ref>}}{{efn|[[Peter Claver]] was a Spaniard who traveled to Cartagena in 1610 and was ordained as a [[Jesuit]] priest in 1616. Claver cared for African slaves for thirty-eight years, defending their lives and the [[dignity]].<ref>Proceso de beatificación y canonización de San Pedro Claver. Edición de 1696. Traducción del latín y del italiano, y notas de Anna María Splendiani y Tulio Aristizábal S. J. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. Universidad Católica del Táchira. 2002.</ref><ref>Valtierra, Ángel. 1964. San Pedro Claver, el santo que liberó una raza.</ref>}} The indigenous peoples could not be enslaved because they were legally [[Commoners|subjects]] of the Spanish Crown.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gabrielbernat.es/espana/esclavitud/index.html|title=La esclavitud negra en la América española|publisher=gabrielbernat.es|year=2003|language=es|access-date=20 September 2016|archive-date=26 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126033717/http://www.gabrielbernat.es/espana/esclavitud/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> To protect the indigenous peoples, several forms of land ownership and regulation were established by the Spanish colonial authorities: ''resguardos'', ''encomiendas'' and ''haciendas''.<ref name="TierrasColonia" /><ref name="EconomíaColonial" /><ref name="políticaeconómica" /> However, secret anti-Spanish discontentment was already brewing for Colombians since Spain prohibited direct trade between the [[Viceroyalty of Peru]], which included Colombia, and the [[Viceroyalty of New Spain]], which included the Philippines, the source of Asian products like silk and porcelain which was in demand in the Americas. Illegal trade between Peruvians, Filipinos, and Mexicans continued in secret, as smuggled Asian goods ended up in [[Córdoba Department|Córdoba, Colombia]], the distribution center for illegal Asian imports, due to the collusion between these peoples against the authorities in Spain. They settled and traded with each other while disobeying the forced Spanish monopoly.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1515/sai-2022-0008 |title=El Galeón de Manila y el comercio de Asia: Encuentro de culturas y sistemas |journal=Interacción Sino-Iberoamericana / Sino-Iberoamerican Interaction |date=March 2022 |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=85–109 |last1=Villamar |first1=Cuauhtemoc |s2cid=249318172 |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[File:Viceroyalty_of_New_Granada_(orthographic_projection).svg|thumb|Map of the [[Viceroyalty of New Granada]]]] The [[Viceroyalty of New Granada]] was established in 1717, then temporarily removed, and then re-established in 1739. Its capital was Santa Fé de Bogotá. This Viceroyalty included some other provinces of northwestern South America that had previously been under the jurisdiction of the [[New Spain|Viceroyalties of New Spain]] or [[Viceroyalty of Peru|Peru]] and correspond mainly to today's Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. Bogotá became one of the principal administrative centers of the Spanish possessions in the New World, along with [[Lima]] and [[Mexico City]], though it remained less developed compared to those two cities in several economic and logistical ways.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://institucional.us.es/tamericanistas/uploads/revista/13/RUIZ-RIVERA..pdf |title=Reformismo local en el nuevo Reino de Granada. Temas americanistas N° 13 |author=Rivera, Julián Bautista Ruiz |year=1997 |pages=80–98 |language=es |access-date=8 April 2014 |archive-date=3 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103045601/http://institucional.us.es/tamericanistas/uploads/revista/13/RUIZ-RIVERA..pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Transferring Wealth and Power from the Old to the New World: Monetary and Fiscal Institutions in the 17th Through the 19th Centuries – Chapter 12|author1=Jaime U. Jaramillo |author2=Adolfo R. Maisel |author3=Miguel M. Urrutia|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-02727-4|year=1997|url=http://www.banrep.gov.co/sites/default/files/publicaciones/archivos/borra074.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.banrep.gov.co/sites/default/files/publicaciones/archivos/borra074.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] declared war [[War of Jenkins' Ear|on Spain]] in 1739, and the city of Cartagena quickly became a top target for the British. A massive British expeditionary force was dispatched to capture the city, but, after achieving initial inroads, devastating outbreaks of disease crippled their numbers, and the British were forced to withdraw. The battle became one of Spain's most decisive victories in the conflict, and secured Spanish dominance in the Caribbean until the [[Seven Years' War]].<ref name="BattleofCartagena">{{cite book|title=Conflictos coloniales: la guerra de los nueve años 1739–1748|author=Jorge Cerdá Crespo|publisher=Universidad de Alicante|isbn=978-84-9717-127-4|year=2010|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHc5HlQpmmUC&pg=PA3|language=es|access-date=7 December 2018|archive-date=29 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129012920/https://books.google.com/books?id=iHc5HlQpmmUC&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151102-colombia-shipwreck-cartagena-battle-1700s/| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103233303/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151102-colombia-shipwreck-cartagena-battle-1700s/| url-status=dead| archive-date=3 November 2015|magazine=National Geographic|title=Did This Spanish Shipwreck Change the Course of History?|author=Greshko, Michael}}</ref> The 18th-century priest, botanist, and mathematician [[José Celestino Mutis]] was delegated by Viceroy [[Antonio Caballero y Góngora]] to conduct an inventory of the nature of New Granada. Started in 1783, this became known as the [[Royal Botanical Expedition to New Granada]]. It classified plants and wildlife, and founded the first astronomical observatory in the city of Santa Fe de Bogotá.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rjb.csic.es/jardinbotanico/jardin/index.php?len=en&Pag=89|title=José Celestino Mutis in New Granada: A life at the service of an Expedition (1760–1808)|publisher=Real Jardín Botánico|access-date=9 April 2014|archive-date=13 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413125927/http://www.rjb.csic.es/jardinbotanico/jardin/index.php?len=en&Pag=89|url-status=live}}</ref> In July 1801 the Prussian scientist [[Alexander von Humboldt]] reached Santa Fe de Bogotá where he met with Mutis. In addition, historical figures in the process of independence in New Granada emerged from the expedition as the astronomer [[Francisco José de Caldas]], the scientist [[Francisco Antonio Zea]], the zoologist [[Jorge Tadeo Lozano]] and the painter [[Salvador Rizo]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A Geography of Hard Times: Narratives about Travel to South America, 1780–1849 – Part I: The scholar and the baron: Voyage of the exact sciences|author=Angela Perez-Mejia|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-6013-9|year=2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AcBiP9mOmoC&pg=PP1|access-date=7 December 2018|archive-date=29 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129012910/https://books.google.com/books?id=1AcBiP9mOmoC&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Francisco José de Caldas: A Scientist at Work in Nueva Granada|author=John Wilton Appel|publisher=American Philosophical Society|isbn=978-0-87169-845-2|year=1994|url=https://archive.org/details/franciscojosedec0000appe|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/franciscojosedec0000appe/page/3 3]}}</ref> === Independence === {{ Accessibility dispute|section|date=November 2024}} {{Main|Colombian War of Independence|First Republic of New Granada|Gran Colombia}} [[File:AGHRC (1890) - Carta XI - División política de Colombia, 1824.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The departments of Gran Colombia in 1824]] Rebellions against Spanish rule had occurred in the empire since the advent of conquest and colonization, but most were either crushed or remained too weak to change the overall situation. The last one that sought outright independence from Spain sprang up around 1810 and culminated in the Colombian Declaration of Independence, issued on 20 July 1810, the day that is now celebrated as the nation's Independence Day.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2017/07/20/colombia/1500541945_902382.html |title=Independencia de Colombia: ¿por qué se celebra el 20 de julio? |trans-title=Independence of Colombia: Why is it celebrated on 20 July? |date=20 July 2017 |work=El País |access-date=18 July 2018 |language=es |issn=1134-6582 |archive-date=18 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718205151/https://elpais.com/internacional/2017/07/20/colombia/1500541945_902382.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> This movement followed the independence of [[Saint-Domingue]] (present-day Haiti) in 1804, which provided some support to an eventual leader of this rebellion: [[Simón Bolívar]]. [[Francisco de Paula Santander]] also would play a decisive role.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McFarlane |first1=Anthony |title=El colapso de la autoridad española y la génesis de la independencia en la Nueva Granada |journal=Revista Desarrollo y Sociedad |date=January 1982 |issue=7 |pages=99–120 |doi=10.13043/dys.7.3 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/febrero2010/socorro.htm|title=La independencia del Socorro en la génesis de la emancipación colombiana.|last=Rodriguez Gómez |first=Juan Camilo|publisher=banrepcultural.org|language=es|access-date=15 April 2017|archive-date=10 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110174547/http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/febrero2010/socorro.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gutiérrez Ardila |first1=Daniel |title=Colombia y Haití: historia de un desencuentro (1819–1831) |trans-title=Colombia and Haití: History of a Misunderstanding (1819–1831) |language=es |journal=Secuencia |date=December 2011 |issue=81 |pages=67–93 |url=http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?pid=S0186-03482011000300003&script=sci_arttext |access-date=28 March 2015 |archive-date=7 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707192322/http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0186-03482011000300003 |url-status=live }}</ref> A movement was initiated by [[Antonio Nariño]], who opposed Spanish centralism and led the opposition against the [[Viceroyalty]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/29874/1/Antonio%20Nari%C3%B1o-Gutierrez%20Escudero.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/29874/1/Antonio%20Nari%C3%B1o-Gutierrez%20Escudero.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live|title=Un precursor de la emancipación americana: Antonio Nariño y Álvarez.|last=Gutiérrez Escudero |first=Antonio|publisher=Araucaria. Revista Iberoamericana de Filosofía, Política y Humanidades 8.13 (2005)|pages=205–220|language=es}}</ref> [[Cartagena, Colombia|Cartagena]] became independent in November 1811.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/febrero2010/caribe.htm|title=Independencia del Caribe colombiano 1810–1821|last=Sourdis Nájera |first=Adelaida|publisher=Revista Credencial Historia – Edición 242|language=es|access-date=28 March 2015|archive-date=9 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109105253/http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/febrero2010/caribe.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1811, the [[United Provinces of New Granada]] were proclaimed, headed by [[Camilo Torres Tenorio]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/node/88606|title=Confederación de las Provincias Unidas de la Nueva Granada|last=Martínez Garnica |first=Armandao|publisher=Revista Credencial Historia – Edición 244|year=2010|language=es|access-date=28 March 2015|archive-date=24 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624131937/http://www.banrepcultural.org/node/88606|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor-din/acta-de-federacion-de-las-provincias-unidas-de-la-nueva-granada-27-de-noviembre-de-1811--0/html/008e5574-82b2-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_2.html#I_0_|title=Acta de la Federación de las Provincias Unidas de Nueva Granada|year=1811|language=es|access-date=28 March 2015|archive-date=25 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625133814/http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor-din/acta-de-federacion-de-las-provincias-unidas-de-la-nueva-granada-27-de-noviembre-de-1811--0/html/008e5574-82b2-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_2.html#I_0_|url-status=live}}</ref> The emergence of two distinct ideological currents among the patriots ([[federalism]] and [[Unitary state|centralism]]) gave rise to a period of instability called the [[Patria Boba]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ocampo López |first=Javier |author-link=Javier Ocampo López |year=1998 |title=La patria boba. Cuadernillos de historia |publisher=Panamericana Editorial |isbn=978-958-30-0533-6}}</ref> Shortly after the [[Napoleonic Wars]] ended, [[Ferdinand VII]], recently restored to the throne in Spain, unexpectedly decided [[Spanish reconquest of New Granada|to send military forces]] to retake most of northern South America. The viceroyalty was restored under the command of [[Juan de Sámano]], whose regime punished those who participated in the patriotic movements, ignoring the political nuances of the [[Junta (Spanish American Independence)|junta]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Morillo y la reconquista, 1816–1819|url=http://docencia.udea.edu.co/regionalizacion/irs-406/contenido/morillo.html|publisher=udea.edu.co|language=es|access-date=3 July 2017|archive-date=27 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027064057/http://docencia.udea.edu.co/regionalizacion/irs-406/contenido/morillo.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The retribution stoked renewed rebellion, which, combined with a weakened Spain, made possible a successful rebellion led by the Venezuelan-born [[Military career of Simón Bolívar|Simón Bolívar]], who finally proclaimed [[Spanish American wars of independence|independence]] in 1819.<ref name="Historia ilustrada de Colombia">{{cite book |last=Ocampo López |first=Javier |author-link=Javier Ocampo López |year=2006 |title=Historia ilustrada de Colombia – Capítulo VI |publisher=Plaza y Janes Editores Colombia sa |isbn=978-958-14-0370-7 |language=es |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XzgpwLiJs5gC&pg=PA1 |access-date=7 December 2018 |archive-date=29 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129012918/https://books.google.com/books?id=XzgpwLiJs5gC&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Cartagena de Indias en la independencia |publisher=[[Bank of the Republic (Colombia)|Banco de la República]] |year=2011 |url=http://www.banrep.gov.co/sites/default/files/publicaciones/archivos/lbr_cartagena_independencia.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.banrep.gov.co/sites/default/files/publicaciones/archivos/lbr_cartagena_independencia.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Royalist (Spanish American Independence)|pro-Spanish resistance]] was defeated in 1822 in the present territory of Colombia and in 1823 in Venezuela.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cervantes.es/lengua_y_ensenanza/hispanismo/independencia_americana/bicentenario_independencia_calendario.htm|title=Cronología de las independencias americanas|publisher=cervantes.es|language=es|access-date=16 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216202647/http://www.cervantes.es/lengua_y_ensenanza/hispanismo/independencia_americana/bicentenario_independencia_calendario.htm|archive-date=16 February 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://revistadeindias.revistas.csic.es/index.php/revistadeindias/article/view/640/706|title=La Constitución de Cádiz en la Provincia de Pasto, Virreinato de Nueva Granada, 1812–1822.|last=Gutiérrez Ramos |first=Jairo|journal=Revista de Indias|publisher=Revista de Indias 68, no. 242|page=222|year=2008|volume=68|issue=242|doi=10.3989/revindias.2008.i242.640|language=es|doi-access=free|access-date=28 March 2015|archive-date=12 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712040017/http://revistadeindias.revistas.csic.es/index.php/revistadeindias/article/view/640/706|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=La Independencia de Venezuela relatada en clave de paz: las regulaciones pacíficas entre patriotas y realistas (1810–1846).|first1=Alfaro |last1=Pareja |first2=Francisco |last2=José |year=2013|language=es|url=http://repositori.uji.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10234/74784/falfaropareja.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402142358/http://repositori.uji.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10234/74784/falfaropareja.pdf|archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref> During the Independence War, between 250 and 400 thousand people (12–20% of the pre-war population) died.<ref name="19thcentury">http://necrometrics.com/wars19c.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20150430180518/http://necrometrics.com/wars19c.htm%23Venez1859 |date=30 April 2015}} | "Statistics of Wars, Oppressions and Atrocities of the Nineteenth Century"</ref><ref name="Deremilitari">http://remilitari.com/guias/victimario6.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509084644/http://remilitari.com/guias/victimario6.htm |date=9 May 2008 }} | In Spanish "De re Militari: muertos en Guerras, Dictaduras y Genocidios. Capítulo VI"</ref><ref>Silvio Arturo Zavala (1971). ''Revista de historia de América''. Números 69-70. Ciudad de México: Instituto Panamericano de Geografía e Historia, pp. 303. "Para el primero, de 1400000 habs. que la futura Colombia tendría en 1809 (entre ellos 78000 negros esclavos), (...) mortaldad que él mismo señala a tal guerra (unos 400 000 muertos para la Gran Colombia, entre ellos, 250 000 venezolanos)."</ref> [[File:Cambios territoriales de Colombia.gif|thumb|upright=1.2]] The territory of the Viceroyalty of New Granada became the [[Gran Colombia|Republic of Colombia]], organized as a [[subdivisions of Gran Colombia|union of the current territories]] of Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela, parts of Guyana and Brazil and north of [[Marañón River]].<ref>{{cite book|title=(Gran) Colombia, relación geográfica, topográfica, agrícola, comercial y política de este país: Adaptada para todo lector en general y para el comerciante y colono en particular |volume=1 |first=Alexander |last=Walker|publisher=Banco de la República|year=1822|language=es|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uVZsAAAAMAAJ&pg=PR1}}</ref> The [[Congress of Cúcuta]] in 1821 adopted a [[Colombian Constitution of 1821|constitution]] for the new Republic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bdigital.unal.edu.co/21805/1/18324-59371-1-PB.pdf|title=Los ciudadanos en la Constitución de Cúcuta – Citizenship in the Constitution of Cúcuta|last=Sosa Abella |first=Guillermo|publisher=Instituto Colombiano de Antropología e Historia (icanh)|year=2009|language=es|access-date=28 March 2015|archive-date=23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923183203/http://www.bdigital.unal.edu.co/21805/1/18324-59371-1-PB.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/historia/vireco/vireco11.htm|title=El viaje de Gaspard-Théodore Mollien por la República de Colombia en 1823. CAPÍTULO IX|last=Mollien |first=Gaspard-Théodore |publisher=Biblioteca Virtual del Banco de la República|language=es|access-date=28 March 2015|archive-date=9 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109010323/http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/historia/vireco/vireco11.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Simón Bolívar became the first [[President of Colombia]], and Francisco de Paula Santander was made [[Vice President of Colombia|Vice President]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://docencia.udea.edu.co/regionalizacion/irs-406/contenido/laconstitucion.html|title=Avatares de una Joven República – 2. La Constitución de Cúcuta|publisher=Universidad de Antioquia|language=es|access-date=28 March 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025729/http://docencia.udea.edu.co/regionalizacion/irs-406/contenido/laconstitucion.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, the new republic was unstable and the Gran Colombia ultimately collapsed. Modern Colombia comes from one of the countries that emerged after the [[dissolution of Gran Colombia]], the other two being Ecuador and Venezuela.<ref name="EtHisColombia">{{Cite news |date=27 August 2012 |title=Colombia profile - Timeline |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19390164 |access-date=14 January 2023 |archive-date=26 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926221001/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19390164 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="GranColombiaNuevaGranada">{{cite web|url=http://www.unimilitar.edu.co/documents/63968/72398/04.GranColANvaGranada.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.unimilitar.edu.co/documents/63968/72398/04.GranColANvaGranada.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live|title=De la gran Colombia a la Nueva Granada, contexto histórico-político de la transición constitucional|last=Blanco Blanco |first=Jacqueline|publisher=Universidad Militar Nueva Granada|year=2007|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Colombia|date=12 January 2022}}</ref> Colombia was the first [[constitutional government]] in South America,<ref name="HistoriaConstitucional">{{cite web |url=http://unilibrepereira.edu.co/catehortua/posgrados/archivos2/HISTORIA%20CONSTITUCIONAL%20COLOMBIANA.pdf |title=Historia Constitucional Colombiana |first=Edgar |last=Arana |publisher=Universidad Libre Seccional Pereira |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150327033803/http://unilibrepereira.edu.co/catehortua/posgrados/archivos2/HISTORIA%20CONSTITUCIONAL%20COLOMBIANA.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2015}}</ref> and the [[Colombian Liberal Party|Liberal]] and [[Colombian Conservative Party|Conservative]] parties, founded in 1848 and 1849, respectively, are two of the oldest surviving political parties in the Americas.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://174.129.218.71/publications/thinking_politics/upload/thinking_politics_sp_chap4.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150327041239/http://174.129.218.71/publications/thinking_politics/upload/thinking_politics_sp_chap4.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 March 2015 |year=2009 |title=Partidos políticos y think tanks en Colombia |first=Juan Fernando |last=Londoño |publisher=International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance |page=129 |isbn=978-91-85724-73-4 |language=es }}</ref> [[Slavery]] was abolished in the country in 1851.<ref>{{cite book |last=Aguilera |first=Miguel |year=1965 |title=La Legislación y el derecho en Colombia |series=Historia extensa de Colombia |volume=14 |publisher=Lemer |location=Bogotá |pages=428–442}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://revistas.unisinos.br/index.php/historia/article/view/6183 |year=2006 |title=Abolitionist arguments in Colombia |last=Restrepo |first=Eduardo |journal=História Unisinos |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=293–306 |language=es |access-date=28 March 2015 |archive-date=8 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708173736/http://revistas.unisinos.br/index.php/historia/article/view/6183 |url-status=live }}</ref> Internal political and territorial divisions led to the dissolution of [[Gran Colombia]] in 1830.<ref name="EtHisColombia" /><ref name="GranColombiaNuevaGranada" /> The so-called "[[Cundinamarca Province|Department of Cundinamarca]]" adopted the name "[[Republic of the New Granada|New Granada]]", which it kept until 1858 when it became the "Confederación Granadina" ([[Granadine Confederation]]). After a [[Colombian Civil War (1860–1862)|two-year civil war]] in 1863, the [[United States of Colombia]] was created, which became known as the Republic of Colombia in 1886.<ref name="HistoriaConstitucional" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/ayudadetareas/poli/poli57.htm |title=Constituciones que han existido en Colombia |publisher=[[Bank of the Republic (Colombia)|Banco de la República]] |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807093959/http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/ayudadetareas/poli/poli57.htm |archive-date=7 August 2011}}</ref> Internal divisions remained between the bipartisan political forces, occasionally igniting very bloody civil wars, the most significant being the [[Thousand Days' War]] (1899–1902), in which between 100 and 180 thousand Colombians lost their lives when the [[Colombian Liberal Party|Liberal Party]], supported by [[United States of Venezuela|Venezuela]], [[History of Ecuador (1895–1925)|Ecuador]], [[Nicaragua]], and [[Guatemala]] rebelled against the [[Colombian Conservative Party|Nationalist government]] and took control of [[Santander State|Santander]], ultimately being defeated in 1902 by nationalist forces.<ref>{{cite book |first=Gonzalo |last=España |year=2013 |title=El país que se hizo a tiros |publisher=Penguin Random House |isbn=978-958-8613-90-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IordAgAAQBAJ&pg=PP1 |language=es |access-date=7 December 2018 |archive-date=29 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129012814/https://books.google.com/books?id=IordAgAAQBAJ&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> === 20th century === {{See also|Colombian conflict|La Violencia}} The United States of America's intentions to influence the area (especially the [[Panama Canal]] construction and control)<ref>{{cite news |title=The 1903 Treaty and Qualified Independence |url=http://countrystudies.us/panama/8.htm |publisher=U.S. Library of Congress |access-date=13 September 2020 |archive-date=11 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011225556/http://countrystudies.us/panama/8.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> led to the [[Secession of Panama from Colombia|secession of the Department of Panama]] in 1903 and its political independence.<ref name="SeparationofPanama">{{cite web |author=Beluche, Olmedo |year=2003 |title=The true history of the separation of 1903 – La verdadera historia de la separación de 1903 |publisher=ARTICSA |url=https://9256eada680e78ba56205f2037885261263098bd-www.googledrive.com/host/0B9QeWchRinyLejFzX01XWG9uVkU/La-verdadera-historia-de-la-separacion-de-1903.pdf |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030020242/https://9256eada680e78ba56205f2037885261263098bd-www.googledrive.com/host/0B9QeWchRinyLejFzX01XWG9uVkU/La-verdadera-historia-de-la-separacion-de-1903.pdf |archive-date=30 October 2015}}</ref> The United States paid Colombia $25,000,000 in 1921, seven years after completion of the canal, for redress of President [[Theodore Roosevelt|Roosevelt]]'s role in the creation of Panama, and Colombia recognized Panama under the terms of the [[Thomson–Urrutia Treaty]].<ref>{{cite web |title=El tratado Urrutia-Thomson. Dificultades de política interna y exterior retrasaron siete años su ratificación |publisher=Revista Credencial Historia |year=2003 |url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/node/86422 |language=es |access-date=30 October 2015 |archive-date=15 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115020147/http://www.banrepcultural.org/node/86422 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Colombia and Peru went to [[Leticia Incident|war]] because of territory disputes far in the [[Amazon basin]]. The war ended with a peace deal brokered by the [[League of Nations]]. The League finally awarded the disputed area to Colombia in June 1934.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Atehortúa Cruz |author2=Adolfo León |year=2014 |title=El conflicto Colombo-Peruano – Apuntes acerca de su desarrollo e importancia histórica |journal=Historia y Espacio |volume=3 |issue=29 |url=http://cms.univalle.edu.co/revistasunivalle/index.php/historiayespacio/article/view/2750/2637 |pages=51–78 |doi=10.25100/hye.v3i29.1664 |s2cid=252776167 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030020452/http://cms.univalle.edu.co/revistasunivalle/index.php/historiayespacio/article/view/2750/2637 |archive-date=30 October 2015|hdl=10893/1003 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> [[File:Bogotazo.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Bogotazo]] in 1948]] Soon after, Colombia achieved some degree of political stability, which was interrupted by a bloody conflict that took place between the late 1940s and the early 1950s, a period known as ''[[La Violencia]]'' ("The Violence"). Its cause was mainly mounting tensions between the two leading political parties, which subsequently ignited after the assassination of the Liberal presidential candidate [[Jorge Eliécer Gaitán]] on 9 April 1948.<ref>{{cite book |title=El Bogotazo: Memorias Del Olvido |author=Alape, Arturo |publisher=Fundación Universidad Central |year=1983 |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Mataron a Gaitán: vida pública y violencia urbana en Colombia |author=Braun, Herbert |publisher=[[National University of Colombia|Universidad Nacional de Colombia]], Centro Editorial |year=1987 |isbn=978-958-17-0006-6 |language=es}}</ref> The ensuing riots in Bogotá, known as [[El Bogotazo]], spread throughout the country and claimed the lives of at least 180,000 Colombians.<ref name="Encarta">{{cite encyclopedia |author1=Charles Bergquist |author2=David J. Robinson |year=1997–2005 |url=http://ca.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564636_10/Colombia.html |title=Colombia |encyclopedia=Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2005 |publisher=Microsoft Corporation |access-date=16 April 2006 |archive-date=11 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111194946/http://ca.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564636_10/Colombia.html}} ''On 9 April 1948, Gaitán was assassinated outside his law offices in downtown Bogotá. The assassination marked the start of a decade of bloodshed, called ''La Violencia'' (The Violence), which took the lives of an estimated 180,000 Colombians before it subsided in 1958.''</ref> Colombia entered the [[Korean War]] when [[Laureano Gómez]] was elected president. It was the only Latin American country to join the war in a direct military role as an ally of the United States. Particularly important was the resistance of the Colombian troops at [[Battle of Old Baldy|Old Baldy]].<ref name="Colombia's legacy with Korea">{{cite web |title=Colombia y los Estados Unidos en la Guerra de Corea |author1=Carlos Horacio Urán |publisher=The Kellogg Institute for International Studies |year=1986 |url=http://kellogg.nd.edu/publications/workingpapers/WPS/069.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://kellogg.nd.edu/publications/workingpapers/WPS/069.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |language=es}}</ref> The violence between the two political parties decreased first when [[Gustavo Rojas Pinilla|Gustavo Rojas]] deposed the [[Laureano Gómez|President]] of Colombia in a coup d'état and negotiated with the guerrillas, and then under the [[Colombian Military Junta|military junta]] of General [[Gabriel París]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Atehortúa Cruz |first1=Adolfo |title=El golpe de Rojas y el poder de los militares |trans-title=Rojas' coup d'etat and the power of army men |language=es |journal=Folios |date=2 February 2010 |volume=1 |issue=31 |pages=33–48 |doi=10.17227/01234870.31folios33.48 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Ayala Diago, César Augusto |year=2000 |title=Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, 100 años, 1900–1975 |publisher=[[Bank of the Republic (Colombia)|Banco de la República]] |url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/marzo2000/123gustavo.htm |language=es |access-date=24 April 2017 |archive-date=24 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424112356/http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/marzo2000/123gustavo.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[File:Centro de Memoria Histórica - Bogotá.jpg|thumb|left|The Axis of Peace and Memory, a memorial to the victims of the [[Colombian conflict]] (1964–present)]] After Rojas' deposition, the Colombian Conservative Party and the Colombian Liberal Party agreed to create the [[National Front (Colombia)|National Front]], a coalition that would jointly govern the country. Under the deal, the presidency would alternate between conservatives and liberals every 4 years for 16 years; the two parties would have parity in all other elective offices.<ref>{{cite web|title=1957–1974 El Frente Nacional|publisher=Revista Credencial Historia|year=2006|url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/septiembre2006/frente.htm|author=Alarcón Núñez, Óscar|language=es|access-date=24 April 2017|archive-date=24 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424072902/http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/septiembre2006/frente.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The National Front ended "La Violencia", and National Front administrations attempted to institute far-reaching social and economic reforms in cooperation with the [[Alliance for Progress]].<ref>ROJAS, Diana Marcela. La alianza para el progreso de Colombia. Análisis Político, [S.l.], v. 23, n. 70, p. 91–124, Sep. 2010. {{ISSN|0121-4705}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Frente Nacional: acuerdo bipartidista y alternación en el poder|publisher=Revista Credencial Historia|year=1999|url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/noviembre1999/119frente.htm|author=Ayala Diago, César Augusto|language=es|access-date=24 April 2017|archive-date=5 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705231831/http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/noviembre1999/119frente.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Despite the progress in certain sectors, many social and political problems continued, and guerrilla groups were formally created such as the [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia|FARC]], the [[National Liberation Army (Colombia)|ELN]] and the [[19th of April Movement|M-19]] to fight the government and political apparatus.<ref>{{cite web|title=El Frente Nacional|publisher=banrepcultural.org|year=2006|url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/ayudadetareas/politica/el_frente_nacional|language=es|access-date=24 April 2017|archive-date=24 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424073204/http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/ayudadetareas/politica/el_frente_nacional|url-status=dead}}</ref> Since the 1960s, the country has suffered from an [[Asymmetric warfare|asymmetric]] [[Low intensity conflict|low-intensity]] [[Colombian armed conflict (1964–present)|armed conflict]] between [[Military Forces of Colombia|government forces]], [[Guerrilla movements in Colombia|leftist guerrilla groups]] and [[Paramilitarism in Colombia|right wing paramilitaries]].<ref name="HistoricalCommission">{{cite web|title=Contribution to an Understanding of the Armed Conflict in Colombia|author=Historical Commission on the Conflict and Its Victims (CHCV)|date=February 2015|url=https://www.mesadeconversaciones.com.co/sites/default/files/Informe%20Comisi_n%20Hist_rica%20del%20Conflicto%20y%20sus%20V_ctimas.%20La%20Habana,%20Febrero%20de%202015.pdf|language=es|access-date=6 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121194351/https://www.mesadeconversaciones.com.co/sites/default/files/Informe%20Comisi_n%20Hist_rica%20del%20Conflicto%20y%20sus%20V_ctimas.%20La%20Habana%2C%20Febrero%20de%202015.pdf|archive-date=21 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The conflict escalated in the 1990s,<ref name="Colombian armed conflict">{{cite web|author=Lilian Yaffe|url=http://www.icesi.edu.co/revistas/index.php/revista_cs/article/view/1133/1509|title=Armed conflict in Colombia: analyzing the economic, social, and institutional causes of violent opposition|publisher=icesi.edu.co|date=3 October 2011|language=es|access-date=24 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016063214/http://www.icesi.edu.co/revistas/index.php/revista_cs/article/view/1133/1509|archive-date=16 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> mainly in remote rural areas.<ref name="Colombian conflict">{{cite web |url=http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/informes/informes-2017/tomas-y-ataques-guerrilleros-1965-2013 |title=Tomas y ataques guerrilleros (1965–2013) |publisher=centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co |date=5 June 2017 |language=es |access-date=16 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826051509/http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/informes/informes-2017/tomas-y-ataques-guerrilleros-1965-2013 |archive-date=26 August 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Since the beginning of the armed conflict, [[human rights defenders]] have fought for the respect for human rights, despite staggering opposition.{{efn|[[Héctor Abad Gómez|Héctor Abad]] was a prominent medical doctor, university professor, and human rights leader whose holistic vision of healthcare led him to found the Colombian National School of Public Health. The increasing violence and human rights abuses of the 1970s and 1980s led him to fight for social justice in his community.<ref>{{cite book|title=Oblivion: A Memoir|author=Héctor Abad Faciolince|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|isbn=978-0-374-53393-9|year=2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wola.org/news/oblivion_a_memior_by_hector_abad_wins_wola_duke_human_rights_book_award|title=Oblivion: a memoir by Hector Abad wins Wola-Duke human rights book award|date=12 October 2012|access-date=27 January 2016|publisher=wola.org|archive-date=7 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707233709/http://www.wola.org/news/oblivion_a_memior_by_hector_abad_wins_wola_duke_human_rights_book_award|url-status=live}}</ref>}}{{efn|[[Javier de Nicoló]] was a [[Salesian]] priest who grew up in war-torn Italy and arrived in Colombia a year after the Bogotazo. He developed a program that has offered more than 40,000 young people the education and moral support they needed to become productive citizens.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaf.gov/resources/publications/grassroots-development-journal/2013-focus-the-iaf-s-investment-in-young-people/first-class-citizens-father-de-nicol-and-the-street-kids-of-colombia|title=First-class citizens: Father de Nicoló and the street kids of Colombia|access-date=28 March 2016|publisher=iaf.gov|archive-date=28 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328202748/http://www.iaf.gov/resources/publications/grassroots-development-journal/2013-focus-the-iaf-s-investment-in-young-people/first-class-citizens-father-de-nicol-and-the-street-kids-of-colombia|url-status=dead}}</ref>}} Several guerrillas' organizations decided to demobilize after peace negotiations in 1989–1994.<ref name="Enough Already!">{{cite book|title="Enough Already!" Colombia: Memories of War and Dignity.|author=Historical Memory Group|publisher=The National Center for Historical Memory's (NCHM)|year=2013|isbn=9789585760844|url=http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/descargas/informes2013/bastaYa/bastaya-colombia-memorias-de-guerra-y-dignidad-2015.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/descargas/informes2013/bastaYa/bastaya-colombia-memorias-de-guerra-y-dignidad-2015.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live|language=es}}</ref> The United States has been heavily involved in the conflict since its beginnings, when in the early 1960s the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. government]] encouraged the Colombian military to attack leftist militias in rural Colombia. This was part of the U.S. fight against communism. [[Mercenarie]]s and multinational corporations such as [[Chiquita Brands International]] are some of the international actors that have contributed to the violence of the conflict.<ref name="HistoricalCommission" /><ref name="Enough Already!" /><ref name="colombia-and-us-54">{{cite book|title=Colombia and the United States: war, unrest, and destabilization|author1=Mario A. Murillo|author2=Jesús Rey Avirama|publisher=Seven Stories Press|isbn=978-1-58322-606-3|year=2004|url=https://archive.org/details/colombiaunitedst00muri|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/colombiaunitedst00muri/page/54 54]}}</ref> Beginning in the mid-1970s Colombian [[drug cartel]]s became major producers, processors and exporters of [[Illegal drug trade in Colombia|illegal drugs]], primarily [[Cannabis (drug)|marijuana]] and [[cocaine]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/business/inside/colombian.html |title=The Colombian Cartels |publisher=WGBH educational foundation |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=28 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728115548/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/business/inside/colombian.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On 4 July 1991, a new [[Colombian Constitution of 1991|Constitution]] was promulgated. The changes generated by the new constitution are viewed as positive by Colombian society.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/colombia/20-grandes-cambios-genero-constitucion-1991 |title=20 grandes cambios que generó la Constitución de 1991 |access-date=28 March 2013 |publisher=elpais.com.co |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211013106/http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/colombia/20-grandes-cambios-genero-constitucion-1991 |archive-date=11 December 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Colombian Constitution of 1991">{{cite web |url=http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/index.php/leyes-y-antecedentes/constitucion-y-sus-reformas |title=Colombian Constitution of 1991 |access-date=10 March 2014 |publisher=secretariasenado.gov.co |language=es |archive-date=28 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328034430/http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/index.php/leyes-y-antecedentes/constitucion-y-sus-reformas |url-status=live }}</ref> ===21st century=== {{See also|Colombian peace process}} [[File:Jefa de Estado participa en ceremonia de la Firma de la Paz entre el Gobierno de Colombia y las FARC E.P. (29953487045).jpg|thumb|Former President [[Juan Manuel Santos]] signing a [[Colombian peace process|peace accord]]]] The administration of President [[Álvaro Uribe]] (2002–2010) adopted the [[democratic security policy]] which included an integrated [[counter-terrorism]] and [[counter-insurgency]] campaign.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/desmovilizacion-principal-arma-contra-las-guerrillas_13077339-4 |title=Desmovilización, principal arma contra las guerrillas |trans-title=Demobilization, main weapon against the guerrillas |first=Juan Guillermo |last=Mercado |work=[[El Tiempo (Colombia)|El Tiempo]] |language=es |date=22 September 2013 |access-date=26 September 2013 |archive-date=23 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923064310/http://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/desmovilizacion-principal-arma-contra-las-guerrillas_13077339-4 |url-status=live }}</ref> The government economic plan also promoted confidence in investors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://som.yale.edu/news/news/former-colombian-president-alvaro-uribe-speaks-yale-som |title=Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Speaks at Yale SOM |publisher=Yale School of Management |date=3 December 2012 |access-date=25 June 2016 |archive-date=20 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220195312/https://som.yale.edu/news/news/former-colombian-president-alvaro-uribe-speaks-yale-som |url-status=dead }}</ref> As part of a controversial peace process, the [[United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia|AUC]] (right-wing paramilitaries) had ceased to function formally as an organization .<ref name="CIAWFB">{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Colombia|access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref> In February 2008, millions of Colombians demonstrated against FARC and other outlawed groups.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.movements.org/case-study/entry/oscar-morales-and-one-million-voices-against-farc/ |title=Oscar Morales and One Million Voices Against FARC |website=Movements.org |date=23 July 2010 |access-date=1 April 2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022220325/http://www.movements.org/case-study/entry/oscar-morales-and-one-million-voices-against-farc/ |archive-date=22 October 2013 }}</ref> After peace negotiations in [[Cuba]], the [[Government of Colombia|Colombian government]] of President [[Juan Manuel Santos]] and the [[guerrillas]] of the FARC-EP announced a final agreement to end the conflict.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.altocomisionadoparalapaz.gov.co/mesadeconversaciones/index.html|title=Colombia's peace deals|publisher=altocomisionadoparalapaz.gov.co|access-date=6 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914085318/http://www.altocomisionadoparalapaz.gov.co/mesadeconversaciones/index.html|archive-date=14 September 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, a [[Colombian peace agreement referendum, 2016|referendum]] to ratify the deal was unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-37537252 |title=Colombia referendum: Voters reject Farc peace deal |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=3 October 2016 |access-date=2 November 2016 |archive-date=30 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930152644/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-37537252 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Plebiscito 2 octubre 2016 – Boletín Nacional No. 53 |url=http://plebiscito.registraduria.gov.co/99PL/DPLZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ_L1.htm |publisher=Registraduría Nacional de Estado Civil |date=2 October 2016 |access-date=2 November 2016 |archive-date=3 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003083638/http://plebiscito.registraduria.gov.co/99PL/DPLZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ_L1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Afterward, the Colombian government and the FARC signed a revised [[Colombian peace process|peace deal]] in November 2016,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38096179 |title=Colombia signs new peace deal with Farc |date=24 November 2016 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=28 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228195756/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38096179 |url-status=live }}</ref> which the [[Colombian congress]] approved.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/colombian-congress-approves-historic-peace-deal/2016/11/30/9b2fda92-b5a7-11e6-939c-91749443c5e5_story.html |title=Colombia's congress approves historic peace deal with FARC rebels |date=30 November 2016 |first1=Joshua |last1=Partlow |first2=Nick |last2=Miroff |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=1 December 2016 |archive-date=1 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201090410/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/colombian-congress-approves-historic-peace-deal/2016/11/30/9b2fda92-b5a7-11e6-939c-91749443c5e5_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2016, President Santos was awarded the [[2016 Nobel Peace Prize|Nobel Peace Prize]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2016/santos-lecture_en.html|title=Nobel Lecture by Juan Manuel Santos, Oslo, 10 December 2016|website=NobelPrize.org|access-date=10 December 2016|archive-date=10 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161210204701/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2016/santos-lecture_en.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Government began a process of attention and comprehensive reparation for victims of conflict.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unidadvictimas.gov.co/normatividad/LEY+DE+VICTIMAS.pdf |title=The Victims and Land Restitution Law |publisher=unidadvictimas.gov.co |access-date=21 December 2014 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925110822/http://www.unidadvictimas.gov.co/normatividad/LEY%2BDE%2BVICTIMAS.pdf |archive-date=25 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.restituciondetierras.gov.co/inicio |title=the Land Restitution Unit |publisher=restituciondetierras.gov.co |access-date=23 March 2013 |archive-date=4 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104000003/https://www.restituciondetierras.gov.co/inicio |url-status=dead }}</ref> Colombia shows modest progress in the struggle to defend human rights, as expressed by [[Human Rights Watch|HRW]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://colombiareports.co/colombia-has-improved-under-santos-human-rights-watch/ |title=Colombia has improved under Santos: Human Rights Watch |first=Toni |last=Peters |work=[[Colombia Reports]] |date=12 October 2011 |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-date=13 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413201236/http://colombiareports.co/colombia-has-improved-under-santos-human-rights-watch/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[Special Jurisdiction of Peace]] has been created to investigate, clarify, prosecute and punish serious human rights violations and grave breaches of [[international humanitarian law]] which occurred during the armed conflict and to satisfy victims' right to [[justice]].<ref>{{cite web|title=ABC Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz|url=http://www.altocomisionadoparalapaz.gov.co/Documents/informes-especiales/abc-del-proceso-de-paz/abc-jurisdiccion-especial-paz.html|publisher=Oficina del Alto Comisionado para la Paz|access-date=24 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005125954/http://www.altocomisionadoparalapaz.gov.co/Documents/informes-especiales/abc-del-proceso-de-paz/abc-jurisdiccion-especial-paz.html|archive-date=5 October 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> During his visit to Colombia, [[Pope Francis]] paid tribute to the victims of the conflict.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/09/08/pope_at_colombia_prayer_meeting_for_reconciliation_weeps_wit/1335635 |title=Pope at Colombia prayer meeting for reconciliation weeps with victims |date=8 September 2017 |website=radiovaticana.va |access-date=9 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909034315/http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/09/08/pope_at_colombia_prayer_meeting_for_reconciliation_weeps_wit/1335635 |archive-date=9 September 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[File:Inauguration_Petro.jpg|thumb|left|[[Gustavo Petro]], the country's first [[Left-wing politics|left-wing]] president]] In June 2018, [[Iván Duque]], the candidate of the right-wing [[Democratic Center (Colombia)|Democratic Center]] party, won the presidential [[2018 Colombian presidential election|election]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Colombia's president-elect Duque wants to 'unite country' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-44513368 |publisher=BBC News |date=18 June 2018 |access-date=21 April 2021 |archive-date=18 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618011841/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-44513368 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 7 August 2018, he was sworn in as the new [[President of Colombia]] to succeed Juan Manuel Santos.<ref>{{cite news|title=Iván Duque: Colombia's new president sworn into office|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45107063|publisher=BBC News|date=8 August 2018|access-date=8 July 2021|archive-date=30 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030105110/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45107063|url-status=live}}</ref> [[2010 Colombia–Venezuela diplomatic crisis|Colombia's relations with Venezuela]] have fluctuated due to ideological differences between the two governments.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-10926003 |title=Colombia and Venezuela restore diplomatic relations |publisher=BBC News |date=11 August 2010 |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613030309/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-10926003 |url-status=live }}</ref> Colombia has offered [[Humanitarian aid|humanitarian support]] with food and medicines to mitigate the shortage of supplies in Venezuela.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://es.presidencia.gov.co/noticia/180111-Colombia-reitera-ofrecimiento-de-ayuda-humanitaria-a-Venezuela |title=Colombia reitera ofrecimiento de ayuda humanitaria a Venezuela |trans-title=Colombia reiterates offer of humanitarian aid to Venezuela |date=11 January 2018 |language=es |website=Presidencia.gov.co |access-date=12 January 2018 |archive-date=12 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112025350/http://es.presidencia.gov.co/noticia/180111-Colombia-reitera-ofrecimiento-de-ayuda-humanitaria-a-Venezuela |url-status=live }}</ref> Colombia's Foreign Ministry said that all efforts to resolve [[Crisis in Venezuela (2012–present)|Venezuela's crisis]] should be peaceful.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://es.presidencia.gov.co/noticia/170812-Comunicado-de-prensa-del-Ministerio-de-Relaciones-Exteriores |title=Comunicado de prensa del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores |trans-title=Press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs |date=2 June 2017 |language=es |website=Presidencia.gov.co |access-date=13 August 2017 |archive-date=13 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813113834/http://es.presidencia.gov.co/noticia/170812-Comunicado-de-prensa-del-Ministerio-de-Relaciones-Exteriores |url-status=live }}</ref> Colombia proposed the idea of the [[Sustainable Development Goals]] and a final document was adopted by the United Nations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Caballero |first=Paula |author-link=Paula Caballero |date=20 September 2016 |title=A Short History of the SDGS. |url=http://impakter.com/short-history-sdgs/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008122103/http://impakter.com/short-history-sdgs/ |archive-date=8 October 2017 |access-date=8 October 2017 |website=Impakter.com}}</ref> In February 2019, Venezuelan president [[Nicolás Maduro]] cut off diplomatic relations with Colombia after Colombian President Ivan Duque had helped Venezuelan opposition politicians deliver humanitarian aid to their country. Colombia recognized Venezuelan opposition leader [[Juan Guaidó]] as the country's legitimate president. In January 2020, Colombia rejected Maduro's proposal that the two countries restore diplomatic relations.<ref>{{cite news|title=Colombia rejects Venezuelan proposal to resume diplomatic relations|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-venezuela-idUSKBN1ZT30R|publisher=Reuters|date=30 January 2020|access-date=8 July 2021|archive-date=21 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421065909/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-venezuela-idUSKBN1ZT30R|url-status=live}}</ref> [[2021 Colombian protests|Protests]] started on 28 April 2021 when the government proposed a tax bill that would greatly expand the range of the 19 percent [[value-added tax]].<ref name="nyb220721">{{cite news |last1=Guillermoprieto |first1=Alma |title=Confrontation in Colombia {{!}} by Alma Guillermoprieto {{!}} The New York Review of Books |url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2021/07/22/confrontation-in-colombia/ |date=22 July 2021 |access-date=2 July 2021 |language=en |archive-date=1 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701142820/https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2021/07/22/confrontation-in-colombia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The 19 June 2022 [[2022 Colombian presidential election|election]] run-off vote ended in a win for former guerrilla, [[Gustavo Petro]], taking 50.47% of the vote compared to 47.27% for independent candidate [[Rodolfo Hernández Suárez|Rodolfo Hernández]]. The single-term limit for the country's presidency prevented President Iván Duque from seeking re-election. On 7 August 2022, Petro was sworn in, becoming the country's first leftist president.<ref>{{cite news |title=Former guerrilla Gustavo Petro wins Colombian election to become first leftist president |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/20/former-guerrilla-gustavo-petro-wins-colombian-election-to-become-first-leftist-president |work=The Guardian |date=20 June 2022 |language=en |access-date=2 August 2022 |archive-date=2 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802080758/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/20/former-guerrilla-gustavo-petro-wins-colombian-election-to-become-first-leftist-president |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-rebel takes oath as Colombia's first left-wing president |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/8/gustavo-petro-ex-rebel-fighter-sworn-in-as-colombias-president |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en |access-date=8 August 2022 |archive-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808091808/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/8/gustavo-petro-ex-rebel-fighter-sworn-in-as-colombias-president/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
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