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122-600: The First Republic of New Granada , known despectively as the Foolish Fatherland ( la Patria Boba ), is the period in the history of Colombia immediately following the declaration of independence from Spain in 1810 and until the Spanish reconquest in 1816. The period between 1810 and 1816 in the Viceroyalty of New Granada (which included present-day Colombia ) was marked by such intense conflicts over

244-531: A seven-part plan to overturn the election, and engaged in an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to remain in power . Trump's fellow Republicans had varied reactions to Trump's false election-fraud claims. On 6 January 2021, a pro-Trump mob, inflamed by the outgoing president's false claims, attacked the Capitol in Washington, D.C., in a failed attempt to keep Trump in power. The mob disrupted

366-516: A union of the current territories of Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela, parts of Guyana and Brazil and north of Marañón River . The Congress of Cúcuta in 1821 adopted a constitution for the new Republic. Simón Bolívar became the first President of Colombia , and Francisco de Paula Santander was made Vice President . However, the new republic was unstable and the Gran Colombia ultimately collapsed. Modern Colombia comes from one of

488-449: A "rare and a recent practice." The same study found that once a country has an initial peaceful transfer of power (an "alternation"), it is very likely to keep doing so, making the peaceful transition of power a habit-forming activity. In a stable institutionalized democracy, a peaceful transition is the expected outcome of an election. Peaceful transitions require a number of strong democratic institutions and norms to exist, such as

610-681: A colony, fusing cultural elements brought by immigration from Europe and the Middle East , with those brought by the African diaspora , as well as with those of the various Indigenous civilizations that predate colonization. Spanish is the official language , although Creole, English and 64 other languages are recognized regionally. Colombia has been home to many indigenous peoples and cultures since at least 12,000 BCE. The Spanish first landed in La Guajira in 1499, and by

732-526: A decline in population due to conquest as well as Eurasian diseases, such as smallpox , to which they had no immunity. Regarding the land as deserted, the Spanish Crown sold properties to all persons interested in colonized territories, creating large farms and possession of mines. In the 16th century, the nautical science in Spain reached a great development thanks to numerous scientific figures of

854-549: A delegate to form an interim government while a general congress was summoned to establish a Constitutional Assembly for the whole New Granada. The congress was irregular from the start as it was formed by delegates from barely a handful of provinces (Santa Fe, Socorro , Neiva , Pamplona , Nóvita , and Mariquita ), and was deeply divided on whether the cities of Mompós (part of the Cartagena province) and Sogamoso , which had sent delegates, should be considered provinces. In

976-428: A new Constitution was promulgated. The changes generated by the new constitution are viewed as positive by Colombian society. The administration of President Álvaro Uribe (2002–2010) adopted the democratic security policy which included an integrated counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency campaign. The government economic plan also promoted confidence in investors. As part of a controversial peace process,

1098-431: A number of controversies, the democratic security policy has ensured that former President Álvaro Uribe remained popular among Colombian people, with his approval rating peaking at 76%, according to a poll in 2009. However, having served two terms, he was constitutionally barred from seeking re-election in 2010. In the run-off elections on 20 June 2010 the former Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos won with 69% of

1220-578: A peaceful transfer of power if he lost his election bid. In September 2020, after Trump's statements, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution committing to a peaceful transition of power and opposing any attempt "by the President or any person in power to overturn the will of the people of the United States"; many senators cited the peaceful transition of power's centrality to U.S. democracy. Business leaders also made statements calling for

1342-451: A peaceful transfer. Trump stated on 15 October 2020 that he would accept a peaceful transfer (after a long period of ambiguous answers to the question) while still falsely alleging fraud and waging a legal battle to attempt to overturn the election results. Trump was defeated in the 2020 election by Joe Biden in both the popular vote and the electoral vote , but refused to accept defeat. Trump falsely claimed election fraud, initiated

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1464-561: A republic—the current Republic of Colombia—in 1886. With the backing of the United States and France, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, resulting in Colombia's present borders. Beginning in the 1960s, the country has suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict and political violence, both of which escalated in the 1990s. Since 2005, there has been significant improvement in security, stability, and rule of law, as well as unprecedented economic growth and development. Colombia

1586-716: A sort of stalemate, which nevertheless allowed Cundinamarca to organize an expedition against the royalist regions of Popayán and Pasto , and Quito in July 1813. Nariño assembled his 'Army of the South,' numbering 1500 to 2000 men, and managed to capture Popayán in January 1814, but was then defeated by the Royalist forces in Pasto , after which he was arrested in May 1814, and then sent to

1708-492: A strategy that involved annexing neighboring regions and towns, while attempting to create alliances with Venezuela to balance out the power of the big provinces, such as Cartagena and Popayán. During this period, Antonio Nariño became an ardent critic of federalist ideas and the key promoter of the idea of a strong republican government centered in Santafé. Nariño created a newspaper, La Bagatela , on July 14, 1811, which became

1830-515: A tyrant, and pledged loyalty to the Congress. Nariño used the opportunity to request extraordinary powers from the legislature of Cundinamarca, which allowed him to be appointed as a dictator. On November 26, 1812, Nariño left with his army to conquer Tunja. On December 2, 1812, his army faced a federalist army commanded by Antonio Ricaurte and Atanasio Girardot in the Battle of Ventaquemada , and

1952-666: Is a country primarily located in South America with insular regions in North America . The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuela to the east and northeast, Brazil to the southeast, Ecuador and Peru to the south and southwest, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Panama to the northwest. Colombia is divided into 32 departments . The Capital District of Bogotá

2074-441: Is also the country's largest city hosting the main financial and cultural hub. Other major urban areas include Medellín , Cali , Barranquilla , Cartagena , Santa Marta , Cúcuta , Ibagué , Villavicencio and Bucaramanga . It covers an area of 1,141,748 square kilometers (440,831 sq mi) and has a population of around 52 million. Its rich cultural heritage —including language, religion, cuisine, and art—reflects its history as

2196-541: Is approximately 7 times bigger. Colombia has about 2,000 species of marine fish and is the second most diverse country in freshwater fish . It is also the country with the most endemic species of butterflies , is first in orchid species, and has approximately 7,000 species of beetles . Colombia is second in the number of amphibian species and is the third most diverse country in reptiles and palms . There are about 1,900 species of mollusks and according to estimates there are about 300,000 species of invertebrates in

2318-462: Is characterized for being tropical presenting variations within six natural regions and depending on the altitude, temperature, humidity , winds and rainfall. Colombia has a diverse range of climate zones, including tropical rainforests , savannas , steppes , deserts and mountain climates. Mountain climate is one of the unique features of the Andes and other high altitude reliefs where climate

2440-476: Is determined by elevation. Below 1,000 meters (3,281 ft) in elevation is the warm altitudinal zone , where temperatures are above 24 °C (75.2 °F). About 82.5% of the country's total area lies in the warm altitudinal zone. The temperate climate altitudinal zone located between 1,001 and 2,000 meters (3,284 and 6,562 ft) is characterized for presenting an average temperature ranging between 17 and 24 °C (62.6 and 75.2 °F). The cold climate

2562-417: Is institutionalized through symbolic acts like the presidential inaugurations . Outgoing U.S. presidents traditionally attend the inaugurations of their successors, a symbol of the peaceful passage of power from one administration to the next. During the 2020 presidential election , experts described a risk of democratic backsliding in the U.S., as President Donald Trump publicly refused to commit to

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2684-408: Is present between 2,001 and 3,000 meters (6,565 and 9,843 ft) and the temperatures vary between 12 and 17 °C (53.6 and 62.6 °F). Beyond lies the alpine conditions of the forested zone and then the treeless grasslands of the páramos . Above 4,000 meters (13,123 ft), where temperatures are below freezing, the climate is glacial , a zone of permanent snow and ice. Colombia is one of

2806-628: Is recognized for its healthcare system , being the best healthcare in Latin America according to the World Health Organization and 22nd in the world. Its diversified economy is the third-largest in South America, with macroeconomic stability and favorable long-term growth prospects. Colombia is one of the world's seventeen megadiverse countries ; it has the highest level of biodiversity per square mile in

2928-478: Is the sixth country in the world by magnitude of total renewable freshwater supply, and still has large reserves of freshwater. The government of Colombia takes place within the framework of a presidential participatory democratic republic as established in the Constitution of 1991. In accordance with the principle of separation of powers , government is divided into three branches: the executive branch,

3050-806: Is today celebrated as Colombia's Independence Day .) The viceroy Antonio José Amar y Borbón initially presided over the junta in Bogotá, but due to popular pressure, he was deposed five days later. Following the creation of the Supreme Governing Junta of Santa Fe , other juntas were established in Honda in July, Antioquia , Popayán , Neiva , Quibdó and Nóvita in August and September, and then Tunja in October. By then, smaller provinces and cities started making claims for larger autonomy within

3172-614: The AUC (right-wing paramilitaries) had ceased to function formally as an organization . In February 2008, millions of Colombians demonstrated against FARC and other outlawed groups. After peace negotiations in Cuba , the Colombian government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the guerrillas of the FARC-EP announced a final agreement to end the conflict. However, a referendum to ratify

3294-672: The Alliance for Progress . Despite the progress in certain sectors, many social and political problems continued, and guerrilla groups were formally created such as the FARC , the ELN and the M-19 to fight the government and political apparatus. Since the 1960s, the country has suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict between government forces , leftist guerrilla groups and right wing paramilitaries . The conflict escalated in

3416-586: 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. 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

3538-527: The Amazon rainforest . Together these lowlands make up over half Colombia's territory, but they contain less than 6% of the population. To the north the Caribbean coast , home to 21.9% of the population and the location of the major port cities of Barranquilla and Cartagena , generally consists of low-lying plains, but it also contains the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range, which includes

3660-644: The Andean Community ; it is also a NATO Global Partner and a major non-NATO ally of the United States . The name "Colombia" is derived from the last name of the Italian navigator Christopher Columbus ( Latin : Christophorus Columbus , Italian : Cristoforo Colombo , Spanish: Cristóbal Colón ). It was conceived as a reference to all of the New World. The name was later adopted by

3782-714: The Andes and Amazon basin . The oldest archaeological finds are from the Pubenza and El Totumo sites in the Magdalena Valley 100 kilometers (62 mi) southwest of Bogotá. These sites date from the Paleoindian period (18,000–8000 BCE). At Puerto Hormiga and other sites, traces from the Archaic Period (~8000–2000 BCE) have been found. Vestiges indicate that there was also early occupation in

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3904-636: The Casa de Contratación and nautical science was an essential pillar of the Iberian expansion . 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 . In 1547, New Granada became a separate captaincy-general within the viceroyalty, with its capital at Santa Fe de Bogota. In 1549, the Royal Audiencia

4026-517: The Congress , a bicameral institution comprising a 166-seat Chamber of Representatives and a 102-seat Senate . The Senate is elected nationally and the Chamber of Representatives is elected in electoral districts. Members of both houses are elected to serve four-year terms two months before the president, also by popular vote. The judicial branch is headed by four high courts , consisting of

4148-687: The Llanos Orientales and went over the Cordillera Oriental in a search for El Dorado , the "city of gold". 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. The conquistadors made frequent alliances with the enemies of different indigenous communities. Indigenous allies were crucial to conquest, as well as to creating and maintaining empire. Indigenous peoples in Colombia experienced

4270-669: The Magdalena River Valley. A site including eight miles (13 km) of pictographs that is under study at Serranía de la Lindosa was revealed in November 2020. 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

4392-720: The Pacific Coastal region; the Caribbean coastal region; the Llanos (plains); the Amazon rainforest region; to the insular area , comprising islands in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It shares its maritime limits with Costa Rica , Nicaragua , Honduras , Jamaica , Haiti , and the Dominican Republic . Colombia is bordered to the northwest by Panama , to the east by Venezuela and Brazil, and to

4514-566: The Republic of Colombia of 1819, formed from the territories of the old Viceroyalty of New Granada (modern-day Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, and northwest Brazil). When Venezuela, Ecuador, and Cundinamarca came to exist as independent states, the former Department of Cundinamarca adopted the name " Republic of New Granada ". New Granada officially changed its name in 1858 to the Granadine Confederation . In 1863

4636-810: The Supreme Court which deals with penal and civil matters, the Council of State , which has special responsibility for administrative law and also provides legal advice to the executive, the Constitutional Court , responsible for assuring the integrity of the Colombian constitution, and the Superior Council of Judicature , responsible for auditing the judicial branch. Colombia operates a system of civil law , which since 1991 has been applied through an adversarial system . Despite

4758-635: The United Provinces of New Granada (the Congress now located in the province of Tunja) engaged in constant conflict, and soon became embroiled in Civil War. Nariño ordered General Antonio Baraya to defeat the federalist leaders in Tunja, but Baraya decided to switch sides and support the federalist forces, and many important leaders like Santander and Caldas joined him. Baraya and the rebels with him signed an act that declared Nariño an usurper and

4880-491: The United Provinces of New Granada . Each state would have a representational government elected by its own people, and would exert the legislative and executive powers with full responsibility falling on internal administration. The Act also provided some power to the General Congress, which had as its function the issues of common defense, international affairs, and war and peace. An extremely weak president position

5002-411: The counting of the electoral votes by a joint session of Congress for several hours. Five people died either shortly before, during, or following the attack. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell noted that "if this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral." On 7 January 2021, Trump condemned the riots and committed to

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5124-572: The inauguration of Abdurrahman Wahid , and in 2014 for the first inauguration of Joko Widodo . The transfer of power resulting from the 2012 Georgian parliamentary election was considered an important case of peaceful transfer of power in the post-Soviet political development of Georgia, which, since the Soviet period, had earlier gone through changes such as the Rose Revolution in 2003. A peaceful transition of power has historically been

5246-476: The juntas , they managed to become a source of destabilization which both maintained the idea of reconciliation with Spain alive, and drained the resources and energy of the patriotic governments. Some of these royalist cities became fundamental later in the military campaign for the reconquest of New Granada . Such division hence prevented the creation of a unified state in New Granada. In addition to this,

5368-569: The megadiverse countries in biodiversity , ranking first in bird species . Colombia is the country with the planet's highest biodiversity, having the highest rate of species by area as well as the largest number of endemisms (species that are not found naturally anywhere else) of any country. About 10% of the species of the Earth live in Colombia, including over 1,900 species of bird, more than in Europe and North America combined. Colombia has 10% of

5490-492: The 1200s, Malayo-Polynesians and Native Americans in Colombia made contact, thereby spreading Native American genetics from Precolonial Colombia to some Pacific Ocean islands. Alonso de Ojeda (who had sailed with Columbus) reached the Guajira Peninsula in 1499. Spanish explorers, led by Rodrigo de Bastidas , made the first exploration of the Caribbean coast in 1500. Christopher Columbus navigated near

5612-426: The 1990s, mainly in remote rural areas. Since the beginning of the armed conflict, human rights defenders have fought for the respect for human rights, despite staggering opposition. Several guerrillas' organizations decided to demobilize after peace negotiations in 1989–1994. The United States has been heavily involved in the conflict since its beginnings, when in the early 1960s the U.S. government encouraged

5734-793: The 1st millennium BCE, groups of Amerindians including the Muisca , Zenú , Quimbaya , and Tairona developed the political system of cacicazgos with a pyramidal structure of power headed by caciques . The Muisca inhabited mainly the area of what is now the Departments of Boyacá and Cundinamarca high plateau ( Altiplano Cundiboyacense ) where they formed the Muisca Confederation . They farmed maize, potato, quinoa, and cotton, and traded gold, emeralds , blankets, ceramic handicrafts, coca and especially rock salt with neighboring nations. The Tairona inhabited northern Colombia in

5856-472: The Bogotá junta called itself the "Supreme Junta of the New Kingdom of Granada," the splintering of political authority continued as even secondary cities set up juntas that claimed to be independent of their provincial capitals, resulting in military conflicts. There were two fruitless attempts at establishing a congress of provinces in the subsequent months. Just as the local councils were fundamental in

5978-490: The Caribbean in 1502. 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. Santa Marta was founded in 1525, and Cartagena in 1533. Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada led an expedition to the interior in April 1536, and christened

6100-712: The Colombian Conservative Party and the Colombian Liberal Party agreed to create the 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. The National Front ended "La Violencia", and National Front administrations attempted to institute far-reaching social and economic reforms in cooperation with

6222-461: The Colombian Declaration of Independence, issued on 20 July 1810, the day that is now celebrated as the nation's Independence Day. 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. A movement was initiated by Antonio Nariño , who opposed Spanish centralism and led

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6344-478: The Colombian military to attack leftist militias in rural Colombia. This was part of the U.S. fight against communism. Mercenaries and multinational corporations such as Chiquita Brands International are some of the international actors that have contributed to the violence of the conflict. Beginning in the mid-1970s Colombian drug cartels became major producers, processors and exporters of illegal drugs , primarily marijuana and cocaine . On 4 July 1991,

6466-525: The Cordillera Central and Cordillera Oriental they reach 5,000 m (16,404 ft). At 2,600 m (8,530 ft), Bogotá is the highest city of its size in the world. The main rivers of Colombia are Magdalena, Cauca, Guaviare , Atrato , Meta , Putumayo and Caquetá . Colombia has four main drainage systems: the Pacific drain, the Caribbean drain, the Orinoco Basin and the Amazon Basin. The Orinoco and Amazon Rivers mark limits with Colombia to Venezuela and Peru respectively. The climate of Colombia

6588-401: The Democratic Republic of the Congo . Successful transitions during tense political moments such as the Velvet Revolution in Armenia in 2018 are interpreted as signs of improved governance within the country, an important milestone in democratization and functioning civil society. Alternately, the lack of peaceful transfers of power, such as in elections in Georgia from 1995 to 2008 in which

6710-411: The Indies, a sort of ambassador of the Regency to the provinces. Villavicencio arrived to Cartagena de Indias on May 8, 1810, finding the city in political turmoil. Villavicencio used his appointment as commissioner to call for an open cabildo , which stimulated the creation of many provincial juntas just as the one that had been established in Cadiz . On May 22, 1810, with Villavicencio's support,

6832-426: 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, 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

6954-465: The Royal prison at Cádiz . The failure of the campaign and the capture of Nariño left an enfeebled Cundinamarca, so the United Provinces took the opportunity to send an army against it, headed by Simón Bolívar , who had fled Venezuela for the second time after the fall of the Second Republic of Venezuela . Bolívar and his army forced the submission of Cundinamarca to the United Provinces by December 1814. Meanwhile, Cartagena had been engaged in war against

7076-431: The Spanish Crown. To protect the indigenous peoples, several forms of land ownership and regulation were established by the Spanish colonial authorities: resguardos , encomiendas and haciendas . 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

7198-402: The United Provinces," meanwhile, started meeting again. Despite Cundinamarca's opposition, the Congress finally achieved an agreement and delivered the Act of Federation of the United Provinces of New Granada on November 27, 1811, which was written by Camilo Torres and signed by the deputies of five provinces. The Act established a confederation of equal and independent, sovereign states called

7320-408: The Venezuelan-born Simón Bolívar , who finally proclaimed independence in 1819. The pro-Spanish resistance was defeated in 1822 in the present territory of Colombia and in 1823 in Venezuela. During the Independence War, between 250 and 400 thousand people (12–20% of the pre-war population) died. The territory of the Viceroyalty of New Granada became the Republic of Colombia , organized as

7442-485: The area (especially the Panama Canal construction and control) led to the separation of the Department of Panama in 1903 and the establishment of it as a nation. The United States paid Colombia $ 25,000,000 in 1921, seven years after completion of the canal, for redress of President Roosevelt 's role in the creation of Panama, and Colombia recognized Panama under the terms of the Thomson–Urrutia Treaty . Colombia and Peru went to war because of territory disputes far in

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7564-471: The armed conflict and to satisfy victims' right to justice . During his visit to Colombia, Pope Francis paid tribute to the victims of the conflict. In June 2018, Iván Duque , the candidate of the right-wing Democratic Center party, won the presidential election . On 7 August 2018, he was sworn in as the new President of Colombia to succeed Juan Manuel Santos. Colombia's relations with Venezuela have fluctuated due to ideological differences between

7686-419: The arrival of news in May 1810 that southern Spain had been conquered by Napoleon's forces , that the Spanish Supreme Central Junta had dissolved itself and that juntas had been established in Venezuela , cities in New Granada (modern-day Colombia) began to do the same and established their own. Antonio Villavicencio had been sent by the Spanish Cortes as a commissioner of the Regency Council of Spain and

7808-411: The attainment of a peaceful transfer of power , particularly in the large cities, they soon became a source of strife and territorial disintegration following the ousting of the regal authorities. In New Granada , the elites in the main cities were divided in regard to the support toward the government in Spain, with the juntas supporting sovereignty and other cities instead supporting Ferdinand VII and

7930-404: The authority of the old regime, as it was the most prosperous and populated province in the vice-royalty, and it was in fact the seat of the Spanish viceroyalty. When the Cartagena junta called for a separate General Conference in Medellín , where each province would be represented in proportion to their populations, the Supreme Junta of Santafé decided to counter by inviting each province to send

8052-495: 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 Liberal Party , supported by Venezuela , Ecuador , Nicaragua , and Guatemala rebelled against the Nationalist government and took control of Santander , ultimately being defeated in 1902 by nationalist forces. The United States of America's intentions to influence

8174-431: The city of Cali ; the Cordillera Central , running between the Cauca and Magdalena River valleys (to the west and east, respectively) and including the cities of Medellín , Manizales , Pereira , and Armenia ; and the Cordillera Oriental , extending northeast to the Guajira Peninsula and including Bogotá, Bucaramanga , and Cúcuta . Peaks in the Cordillera Occidental exceed 4,700 m (15,420 ft), and in

8296-414: The city suffering large numbers of civilian casualties due to famine and disease. By May 6, 1816, Morillo and royalists from the south had conquered Bogotá , and hence returned all of New Granada to royalist control, which lasted until August 1819, when forces under the command of Simón Bolívar retook the central part of the region. Colombia Colombia , officially the Republic of Colombia ,

8418-456: 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 . The 18th-century priest, botanist, and mathematician José Celestino Mutis was delegated by Viceroy Antonio Caballero y Góngora to conduct an inventory of

8540-414: The congress, and were convinced that the economic and political power of Cundinamarca would allow it to dominate and unify New Granada. Nariño convened an assembly to revise the constitution of the state and make it even more centralist, and then decided to annex the surrounding provinces of Tunja , Socorro , Pamplona , Mariquita , and Neiva , but was mostly unsuccessful on both enterprises. Nevertheless,

8662-420: The congress, held between December 22, 1810, and February 2, 1811, Antonio Nariño became the leader of a push to establish Congress in Santafé, a proposal that was rejected by the remaining provinces, which saw in this a push for deferral to Santafé. The Congress was finally dissolved amid disagreements when the members stopped attending the sessions. In the meantime, under the guidance of Jorge Tadeo Lozano ,

8784-552: The countries that emerged after the dissolution of Gran Colombia , the other two being Ecuador and Venezuela. Colombia was the first constitutional government in South America, and the Liberal and Conservative parties, founded in 1848 and 1849, respectively, are two of the oldest surviving political parties in the Americas. Slavery was abolished in the country in 1851. Internal political and territorial divisions led to

8906-406: The country's legitimate president. In January 2020, Colombia rejected Maduro's proposal that the two countries restore diplomatic relations. 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 . The 19 June 2022 election run-off vote ended in a win for former guerrilla, Gustavo Petro , taking 50.47% of

9028-603: The country's tallest peaks ( Pico Cristóbal Colón and Pico Simón Bolívar ), and the La Guajira Desert . By contrast the narrow and discontinuous Pacific coastal lowlands , backed by the Serranía de Baudó mountains, are sparsely populated and covered in dense vegetation. The principal Pacific port is Buenaventura . Part of the Ring of Fire , a region of the world subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions , in

9150-491: The country. In Colombia there are 32 terrestrial biomes and 314 types of ecosystems . Protected areas and the "National Park System" cover an area of about 14,268,224 hectares (142,682.24 km ) and account for 12.77% of the Colombian territory. Compared to neighboring countries, rates of deforestation in Colombia are still relatively low. Colombia had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.26/10, ranking it 25th globally out of 172 countries. Colombia

9272-751: The deal was unsuccessful. Afterward, the Colombian government and the FARC signed a revised peace deal in November 2016, which the Colombian congress approved. In 2016, President Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize . The Government began a process of attention and comprehensive reparation for victims of conflict. Colombia shows modest progress in the struggle to defend human rights, as expressed by HRW . 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

9394-456: The dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1830. The so-called " Department of Cundinamarca " adopted the name " New Granada ", which it kept until 1858 when it became the "Confederación Granadina" ( Granadine Confederation ). After a two-year civil war in 1863, the United States of Colombia was created, which became known as the Republic of Colombia in 1886. Internal divisions remained between

9516-591: The districts through which he passed " New Kingdom of Granada ". In August 1538, he provisionally founded its capital near the Muisca cacicazgo of Muyquytá , and named it "Santa Fe". The name soon acquired a suffix and was called Santa Fe de Bogotá. 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; from 1536 to 1539, German conquistador Nikolaus Federmann crossed

9638-458: The expedition as the astronomer Francisco José de Caldas , the scientist Francisco Antonio Zea , the zoologist Jorge Tadeo Lozano and the painter Salvador Rizo . 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

9760-503: The forced Spanish monopoly. 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 Viceroyalties of New Spain or Peru and correspond mainly to today's Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. Bogotá became one of

9882-598: The independence movement, the political and cultural life in the provinces was largely unchanged and still under the powerful influence of Spain. In addition, the Catholic Church had mostly opposed independence. By mid-1815 a large Spanish expeditionary force under Pablo Morillo had arrived in New Granada, which bolstered earlier royalist advances made by Santa Marta . Morillo laid siege on Cartagena in August and it finally fell five months later in December with

10004-597: The interior of Colombia the Andes are the prevailing geographical feature. Most of Colombia's population centers are located in these interior highlands. Beyond the Colombian Massif (in the southwestern departments of Cauca and Nariño ), these are divided into three branches known as cordilleras (mountain ranges): the Cordillera Occidental , running adjacent to the Pacific coast and including

10126-741: The isolated mountain range of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta . The Quimbaya inhabited regions of the Cauca River Valley between the Western and Central Ranges of the Colombian Andes. 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. During

10248-528: The legislative branch and the judicial branch. As the head of the executive branch, the President of Colombia serves as both head of state and head of government , followed by the Vice President and the Council of Ministers . The president is elected by popular vote to serve a single four-year term (In 2015, Colombia's Congress approved the repeal of a 2004 constitutional amendment that changed

10370-527: The main outlet of his views against the adoption of federalism for New Granada. Nariño became president of Cundinamarca in September 1811, vouching for a centralized republic. Following a failed royalist coup d'état, Cartagena became the first province in New Granada to formally declare its independence from Spain on November 11, 1811 (the day is also today a national holiday in Colombia). The "Congress of

10492-409: The members of the Congress had to leave Bogotá as a result of the harassment, and later relocated to Leyva and finally to Tunja . Cartagena had by then become the main rival for the centralist ideas. The animosity between Nariño's centralist factions and the federalist factions in the Congress, led by Torres, soon spread to the respective regions. The Free and Independent State of Cundinamarca and

10614-569: The mid-16th century, they had colonized much of present-day Colombia, and established the New Kingdom of Granada , with Santa Fé de Bogotá as its capital. Independence from the Spanish Empire was achieved in 1819, with what is now Colombia emerging as the United Provinces of New Granada . The new polity experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation (1858) and then the United States of Colombia (1863), before becoming

10736-408: The name was again changed, this time to United States of Colombia , before finally adopting its present name – the Republic of Colombia – in 1886. To refer to this country, the Colombian government uses the terms Colombia and República de Colombia . Owing to its location, the present territory of Colombia was a corridor of early human civilization from Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to

10858-457: The nation's history of coups d'etat before another military coup occurred in 2023. The symbol of peaceful transition of power is when the outgoing president and/or vice president, after their respective successors recite the oath of office , switch chairs, so that the incumbent president is on the furthest left side of the altar at the People's Consultative Assembly main session's room, and

10980-570: 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. 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

11102-613: The nature of the new government or governments that it became known as la Patria Boba (the Foolish Fatherland). Constant fighting between federalists and centralists gave rise to a prolonged period of instability that eventually favored Spanish reconquest. Similar developments can be seen at the same time in the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata . Each province, and even some cities, set up its own autonomous junta , which declared themselves sovereign from each other. With

11224-423: The norm in United States presidential transitions . The transition from John Adams to Thomas Jefferson in 1801 was considered an important milestone for the country's fledgling democracy. It was the first time the presidency was handed over to a political opponent. From then until 2020, the losing party in every presidential election "willingly and peacefully" relinquished power to the opposition. The transition

11346-420: The one-term limit for presidents to a two-term limit). At the provincial level executive power is vested in department governors , municipal mayors and local administrators for smaller administrative subdivisions, such as corregimientos or comunas . All regional elections are held one year and five months after the presidential election. The legislative branch of government is represented nationally by

11468-475: The only transition between presidents was via the 2003 Rose Revolution , may harm the international reputation of the country as a "democracy". Since achieving independence from European colonial powers , Africa has had a mixed record in achieving peaceful transitions of power, with variations among nations. The first peaceful transition of power between civilians in Nigeria took place in 2007, although

11590-434: The open council forced Cartagena's governor to acquiesce to a co-government with two people chosen by the council, and then ousted the governor on June 14, establishing a government junta instead. This elicited the creation of similar juntas all over the viceroyalty: Cali on July 3, Pamplona the next day, and Socorro on July 10. On July 20, the viceregal capital, Santa Fe de Bogotá , established its own junta . (The day

11712-563: The opposition against the Viceroyalty . Cartagena became independent in November 1811. In 1811, the United Provinces of New Granada were proclaimed, headed by Camilo Torres Tenorio . The emergence of two distinct ideological currents among the patriots ( federalism and centralism ) gave rise to a period of instability called the Patria Boba . Shortly after the Napoleonic Wars ended, Ferdinand VII , recently restored to

11834-710: The outgoing and incoming presidents were of the same party and the preceding election was characterized by widespread irregularities. In 2018, Liberia had its first electoral transfer of power since 1944. The first peaceful transition of power in the Democratic Republic of the Congo took place in 2019, with outgoing president Joseph Kabila yielding power to opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi . The first transition of power from one democratically elected leader to another in Niger took place in 2021, briefly overcoming

11956-465: 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. Great Britain declared war 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

12078-749: The province of Santafé transformed itself into a state called the Free and Independent State of Cundinamarca . In March 1811, it convened a "Constituent Electoral College of the State of Cundinamarca," which promulgated a constitution for the state the following month. The constitution followed the model of the Constitution of the United States , and established Cundinamarca as a constitutional monarchy under (absent) Ferdinand VII (it would only declare full independence from Spain in August 1813). The Cundinamarca state also attempted to impose its political model by way of

12200-563: The provinces, as can be seen in the decision by the council of Mompós to disavow the authority of the Cartagena junta and to declare independence on August 6, or those by the recently established "Friend Cities of the Cauca Valley", between 1811 and 1812. These juntas made a case over their legality and legitimacy within the monarchy, and declared loyalty to Ferdinand VII , to the Catholic church, and to maintain ties with Spain. Although

12322-411: The provincial juntas were also divided on the question of the type of government that the new state should have. Disagreements on whether there should be a single state in the place of the old New Kingdom of Granada or whether the provinces should become autonomous and independent states became a matter of heated debate. The Supreme Junta of Santafé (in modern-day Bogotá ) assumed that it would inherit

12444-477: The regal authorities commanded by the Regency Council of Spain. Royalist factions commanded by Spanish officers managed to seize power in the cities of Santa Marta , Panamá (by then, still a part of the vice-royalty of New Granada), Popayán and Pasto , and soon engaged in conflict against the regions with autonomous governments. While the royalist regions were military weak and were often defeated by

12566-578: The regions of El Abra and Tequendama in Cundinamarca . The oldest pottery discovered in the Americas, found in San Jacinto , dates to 5000–4000 BCE. 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

12688-494: The sitting vice president is immediately on the right side of the speaker and deputies speaker's desk. As of 2022 , starting in 1978, the vice presidents always did this symbolic transfer when there was no vacancy in the office except in 2004, when Hamzah Haz did not attend the ceremony, and in 2009, when Jusuf Kalla was already seated on the furthest right side so no switch was needed. For presidents, as of 2022 , this symbol of peaceful transition happened only twice, in 1999 during

12810-587: The south by Ecuador and Peru ; it established its maritime boundaries with neighboring countries through seven agreements on the Caribbean Sea and three on the Pacific Ocean. It lies between latitudes 12°N and 4°S and between longitudes 67° and 79°W . East of the Andes lies the savanna of the Llanos , part of the Orinoco River basin, and in the far southeast, the jungle of

12932-410: The successful transitions of power is used to understand the transition to constitutional democracy and the relative stability of that government. A 2014 study concluded that 68 countries had never had a peaceful transition of power due to an election since 1788. In scholarship examining democratization and emerging democracies, study of the successful transitions of power is used to understand

13054-447: The then-Royalist city of Santa Marta , and was in chaos following its defeat. Impoverished by the civil wars between federalist and centralist factions, as well as the squirmishes and wars against Royalist cities, the provinces were in a precarious position already by the end of 1814. This added to the fact that many in the recently independent provinces had never rejected the legitimacy of Ferdinand VII as sovereign king, and that despite

13176-424: The throne in Spain, unexpectedly decided 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 juntas . The retribution stoked renewed rebellion, which, combined with a weakened Spain, made possible a successful rebellion led by

13298-411: The transition to constitutional democracy and the relative stability of that government ( democratic consolidation ). A 2014 study by Adam Przeworski of 3,000 elections from 1788 to 2008, published in the journal Comparative Political Studies concluded that 68 countries (including Russia and China) had never had a peaceful transition of power between parties following an election, making it

13420-861: The two governments. Colombia has offered humanitarian support with food and medicines to mitigate the shortage of supplies in Venezuela. Colombia's Foreign Ministry said that all efforts to resolve Venezuela's crisis should be peaceful. Colombia proposed the idea of the Sustainable Development Goals and a final document was adopted by the United Nations. 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

13542-600: The two leading political parties, which subsequently ignited after the assassination of the Liberal presidential candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán on 9 April 1948. The ensuing riots in Bogotá, known as El Bogotazo , spread throughout the country and claimed the lives of at least 180,000 Colombians. Colombia entered the Korean War when Laureano Gómez was elected president. It was the only Latin American country to join

13664-400: The vote against the second most popular candidate, Antanas Mockus . A second round was required since no candidate received over the 50% winning threshold of votes. Santos won re-election with nearly 51% of the vote in second-round elections on 15 June 2014, beating right-wing rival Óscar Iván Zuluaga , who won 45%. In 2018, Iván Duque won in the second round of the election with 54% of

13786-432: The vote compared to 47.27% for independent candidate 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. The geography of Colombia is characterized by its six main natural regions that present their unique characteristics, from the Andes mountain range region;

13908-426: The vote, against 42% for his left-wing rival, Gustavo Petro . His term as Colombia's president ran for four years, beginning on 7 August 2018. In 2022, Colombia elected Gustavo Petro, who became its first leftist leader, and Francia Marquez , who was the first black person elected as vice president. Peaceful transition of power In scholarship examining democratization and emerging democracies, study of

14030-417: The war in a direct military role as an ally of the United States. Particularly important was the resistance of the Colombian troops at Old Baldy . The violence between the two political parties decreased first when Gustavo Rojas deposed the President of Colombia in a coup d'état and negotiated with the guerrillas, and then under the military junta of General Gabriel París . After Rojas' deposition,

14152-462: The willingness of opposition parties to serve as a loyal opposition . Transitions by election put power holders in vulnerable positions, as not only do they risk potential changes in policy and practice and thus their means of power, but they also risk political retribution or retaliation. The first peaceful transition of power in a country is often treated as an important stage in a government transition towards democracy such as seen in elections in

14274-717: The world and the second-highest level overall. Its territory encompasses Amazon rainforest , highlands , grasslands and deserts . It is the only country in South America with coastlines (and islands) along both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Colombia is a key member of major global and regional organizations including the UN , the WTO , the OECD , the OAS , the Pacific Alliance and

14396-421: The world's mammals species, 14% of the amphibian species and 18% of the bird species of the world. As for plants, the country has between 40,000 and 45,000 plant species , equivalent to 10 or 20% of total global species, which is even more remarkable given that Colombia is considered a country of intermediate size. Colombia is the second most biodiverse country in the world, lagging only after Brazil which

14518-530: 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. But important decisions were taken from the colony to Spain by the Council of the Indies . In the 16th century, European slave traders had begun to bring enslaved Africans to the Americas. Spain

14640-434: Was created, who would be subordinate to the congress. The establishment of the judicial power was delayed until the risk of war had disappeared. The act, however, failed to integrate New Granada as a whole entity, particularly due to the energetic opposition of Cundinamarca, and only made the differences between centralist and federalist ideas even stronger. Nariño and his followers became ardent opponents to federalism and to

14762-420: Was soundly defeated, having to retreat back to Bogota. The federalist troops, however, only started pursuing more than a week later, giving Nariño's troops enough chance to plan a defense. Santafé was sieged by Baraya's troops on December 24. On January 9, 1813, in the Battle of San Victorino, Nariño's troops proved superior and the federalist armies were completely defeated. The first civil war hence resulted in

14884-564: Was the only European power that did not establish 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. This system brought Africans to Colombia, although many spoke out against the institution. The indigenous peoples could not be enslaved because they were legally subjects of

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