History

In the year 1500 Alfonso de Ojeda was the first European to reach the shores of Colombia. At that time Colombia was inhabited by a diverse population of Indian groups. The most advanced were the Chibcha, or Muisca. The Muisca were hunters, fisherman, farmers and goldsmiths. They were hostile to the Europeans, but the gold ornaments they created proved an inviting lure to the Spanish explorers, who spread word of Colombia as a land of fabulous riches. The Spaniards called this treasure “El Dorado.”

In the years 1533-1536, Spain founded the cities of Cartagena, Bogotá, and Cali. Cartagena became Colombia’s main port and center of trade. The Spanish created the Viceroyalty of Granada to administer Colombia, Venezuela and Peru. During the time of the French Revolution, Colombia’s movement for independence began.

When Simon Bolívar defeated the Spanish at Boyaca in 1819, the Republic of Gran Colombia was formed with Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela. Bolívar was elected president of Gran Colombia.  In 1829-30 Gran Colombia was dissolved when Venezuela and Ecuador split off, and Colombia became the Republic of New Granada.

By 1849 Colombia had two distinct political parties: the Conservatives, who aligned themselves closely with the Catholic Church, and the Liberals, who favored a separation of church and state. During this time, the country was divided into nine entities. It was a time of civil strife as the two parties alternated power. Raphael Nuñez ruled as a dictator and made Catholicism the state religion and a centralized power base was restored. "The War of the Thousand Days" was a civil war between the Conservatives and Liberals that occurred between 1899 and 1903. More than 120,000 people died. When peace was restored, Panama became an independent state.

The time of the Great Depression was a difficult period for Colombia. In 1930, the government, under Liberal President Olaya Herrera, began to institute both social and economic reforms. By 1944, Colombia’s labor code provided such things such as minimum wages, employee benefits, and  trade unions.

After World War II the Conservatives returned to power in Colombia. In 1948, with the assassination of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, the period known as “La Violencia” began. Between the years of 1948-57, 250,000 to 300,000 Colombians were killed in this civil war. In 1958, the National Front was formed. The Conservative and Liberal parties agreed to rotate the presidency for sixteen years. Each administration would rule over a coalition government, and other parties were banned.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Colombia saw the rise of guerilla groups. The Leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) and Maoist People's Liberation Army (EPL) were founded in 1965; in 1966 the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia was formed; in 1970 the National People's Alliance formed as a left-wing counterweight to the National Front; and in 1971 the left-wing M-19 guerrilla group emerged.

A 40-year conflict between government forces and anti-government insurgent groups and illegal paramilitary groups, both heavily funded by the drug trade, escalated during the 1990s, according to the CIA World Fact Book website. Most paramilitary members have demobilized since 2002 in an ongoing peace process, although their commitment to ceasing illicit activity is unclear. The conflict has taken a heavy toll on the Colombian people.

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, over three million Colombian people have been forced out of their homes by violence, persecution or gross human rights violations.

"In Colombia, human rights violations, including extra-judicial killings and disappearances, are common. Illegal armed groups recruit children – often forcibly – in many areas of the country," said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Director for the Americas, Philippe Lavanchy. "More than one million children do not go to school, while 77 per cent of previously enrolled children are unable to continue their studies, mostly for financial reasons. It is likely that the displaced population will continue to increase in 2007, with indigenous people and Afro-Colombian groups under the biggest threat."

Source: UNHCR- The UN Refugee Agency

Poverty is pervasive. In 2005, 49.2% of the Colombian population lived below the poverty line.
                        
According to Habitat for Humanity Colombia, more than 11.5 million homes in Colombia do not have satisfactory basic necessities. More than 40 percent of that figure represents inadequate housing and overcrowding, and another 20 percent experience problems with public utilities. Likewise, 9.8 percent of the country’s poor families live in poverty due to inadequate housing, and 10.6 percent due to inadequate utilities.

Source: Habitat for Humanity Colombia

To learn more about modern day Colombia, the coco boom, the rise of the cartels and paramilitaries, and the impact of the conflict on the lives of the people, visit the PBS Wide Angle, “An Honest Citizen: Handbook: Colombia’s Civil Warriors” website