history

The history of Colombia dates back long ago to 200 BCE when the Zenú people were living there. Additionally in the ninth century CE, the Muisca people came into the picture and made a life in Colombia, after migrating. Later, around 1550, The Spanish Colonization began in Colombia; the Spaniards established different labor services, including the Encomienda. When they arrived, they also brought with them slaves from Africa. In the days that the slaves lived in Colombia, there were frequent slave revolts, and some could purchase their own freedom. However, it wasn’t until 1851, that slavery was fully abolished. Shortly before this, Colombia became an independent nation in 1810, writing a constitution for the government. Taking a closer look at the government, in the government, there were two main political parties that ruled: the Liberal party and the Conservative party. Throughout Colombia’s history, there have been a few wars between the two parties, the most famous being La Violencia and the War of a Thousand Days, in which a combined amount of 300,000 people died. La Violencia occurred in 1948-1958, and the War of a Thousand Days happened in 1899–1902. In the presidential term of 1990-1994 César Gaviria Trujillo gained power and under his administration, a new constitution was written. Throughout Colombia’s history, drug cartels were dominant among certain territories, the most infamous head of them being Pablo Escobar. These drug cartels were detrimental to the country's health and weakened the socioeconomic system. At this time, the current Liberal party president was assassinated, and Virgilio Barco Vargas was elected president. And he declared war on said drug cartels. However, money from these drug cartels were in fact funding parts of the government. Back in the 1990s, after César Gaviria Trujillo’s presidential term, a new Liberal party supporting president stepped into office, and was actually accused of stealing money from the drug cartels of Medellín. After this incident, the drug cartels of Colombia grew even stronger; some even feared for the survival of the country. This caused Colombia’s economy to take a turn for the worse. Around this time as well, there were many poverty crisis problems that lots of people complained were not being addressed. Because of the conflicts between drug cartels, drug cartels and the government, and the different political parties, civil wars had been going on and off throughout the country for nearly five decades! But when Juan Manuel Santos served as president, he ordered a ceasefire, and all of these stopped! But not before they could affect the majority of civilians; around 220,000 lives were lost, and 7 million people were displaced from their homes and hometowns. Overall, Colombia has a very complicated, diverse, and interesting history that has formed a country with very rich history and culture. 

The cultures in Colombia are just as different and diverse as its history. For starters, the three main ethnic groups of people are the Amerindians, Africans, and Caucasians. There are also many people of indigenous descent. In fact, 35% of Colombian territory is dedicated to private land owned by indigenous people and communities. They are called resguardos. Another very big part of Colombian peoples’ culture is their religion. The Roman Catholic church has always had a strong influence on Colombian’s, and many people are specifically either Franciscans, Augustinians, or Jesuits. There are also some different main social classes that fit into the ethnic groups as well. These include Peninsulars - people born in Spain, Creole people - those of Spanish descent, and Mestizos - people of Spanish and Amerindian descent. Additionally, there were also people of African or mixed African descent, both free and enslaved. Other elements of culture are a country’s typical music, art, even sports. In Colombia, the most popular forms of music are salsa, contemporary pop, and jazz, while the most popular forms of art are sculptures, pottery, goldwork, basketry, tapestry and weaving. And for their most famous sport, it has always been football or soccer as we call it in America. However, throughout the years, other sports like basketball, baseball, golf, tennis, swimming, volleyball, and cycling have risen in popularity. Overall, the cultures and demographics of Colombia are just as unique as the history, and that is part of what makes Colombia such a great country.