Colombia History

Colombia History is the subject that studies the development of the Colombian nation since the discovery of its territory by the Spaniards to current days. Generally it includes the Pre-Hispanic periods, but the existence of many different groups and peoples in the territory of what is today Colombia obliges to consider it separately like Pre-Hispanic Colombia. The history of Colombia is related with the Latin America and South America History.

Normally, the History of Colombia is divided in the following periods of time: the discovery and conquer of the territory by the Spaniards during the 16th century; the colonial time (17th and 18th centuries), the time of the independence from Spain (the first two decades of the 19th century), the consolidation of the Republic (1821 - 1888) and the 20th century.

The 16th century was a period when the Spaniard explorers discovered the Colombian territory, as the rest of South America, subjecting the indigenous population and founding the first European cities in the Americas. At the end of the 17th century the colonial system was already established. The Colombian Colony is one of the most important periods of its history, because it created the main elements of identity of what is today the Colombian nation like its language, traditions, mentality, religiosity and politics. The 17th century had several revolutions and Europe and North America that would have influence in the growing Colombian nationalism. The two first decades of the 19th century were of battles and political discussions in how the new nation would be established. After the expulsion of the Spaniards in 1819, the fathers of the nation founded the new country that included Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama, but it was dissolved in 1830 letting Colombia and Panama together until 1903.

The 19th century was a time of deep political instability trying to form the conception of state. Fights of power among different groups caused 8 big civil wars in that century (1839 - 1841, 1851, 1854, 1859, 1862, 1876 - 1877, 1884 - 1885, 1895 and 1899 - 1902).

The 20th century began in Colombia with the War of the Thousand Days (1899 - 1902]] that destroyed the national economy and led the country to the lost of Panama in 1903. The liberal government of president Rafael Reyes (1904 - 1909) started an industrialization for the country with the development of its infrastructures and foreign investment. Between 1932 and 1934 Colombia had its only international war with Peru defending its sovereignty in the Amazon Basin. In 1949 the charismatic presidential candidate, Jorge Eliecer Gaitán was murdered in Bogotá at the same time that the city was the seat of the Conference of the American Nations that created the Organization of American States. The crime caused national disturbances known as El Bogotazo that led Colombia to political instability for the rest of the century.

After the resign of the dictatorial president Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, the two traditional political parties (Liberals and Conservatives), signed an agreement to share power known as National Front (1958 - 1978) that let besides other political groups. This is the reason of the foundation of the Colombian guerrillas (FARC and EPL). During the 1970's Colombia saw the growing of the drug dealer groups that got a formidable power and influenced the politic and economy of the country while increasing a general state of violence. The drug cartels generated also the creation of paramilitary groups made to fight the Communist guerrillas and worsening the human rights drama in big parts of the territory.

The end of the century was occupied by dialogues of peace between the government of president Andrés Pastrana (1998 - 2001) and the FARC guerrillas, but it was not successful. In 2002 was elected as president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, who introduced a new proposal known as "Democratic Security". With him, the Paramilitary groups surrounded to the state in 2004 and the guerrillas lost control over most part of the Colombian territory.