Exploring The Impressive History of Colombia
Posted on July 16, 2011, under Uncategorized.
The history of Colombia goes back way before the landings of Columbus and the other Spanish explorers. Hunter-gatherer societies existed there at least 12,000 years ago, and more advanced cultures were in place sometime after 1000 BC. The Spanish finally arrived around 1500, as Vasco Nez de Balboa and others began the conquest of the region. The Spanish ruled the area for three hundred years, grouping Colombia with Venezuela and Ecuador in the Viceroyalty of New Granada. The Spanish were finally driven out of Colombia in 1822, by rebels under the leadership of Simon Bolivar and Francisco de Paula Santander. Internal political disputes led to the separation of Venezuela and Ecuador from Colombia in 1830, and in 1903 the region known as Panama separated to form an independent country under the influence of the United States. Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, Colombia experienced political stability, but that ended in 1948 when the assassination of a presidential candidate provoked a civil war that came to be known as La Violencia. The civil war ended by 1958, initiating an extended period period of cooperation and reform. Powerful drug cartels came into being in the 1970′s, but have since declined in power as Colombians regained control of their country.