Colombia

COLOMBIA

Capital : Bogotá Santa Fé de Bogotá was the original name founded in 1538. The capital was shortened to Bogotá after independence from Spain
Population: 45,013,674 (July 2008 est.)
Geographic Coordinates: 4 00 N, 72 00 W

Official Language: Spanish
Independence: July 20 1860 (from Spain)
Natural Hazards: highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts
Religion: 90% Roman Catholic
Population below poverty line: 49.2%

ECONOMY

Agriculture Products: coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp
Industry: textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds

HISTORY

Colombia is the only South American country with coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Three mighty north-south Andean cordilleras separate the western coastal lowlands from the almost empty eastern jungles, with 54 percent of Colombia’s land but only 3 percent of the people. Most Colombians are of mixed ethnicity; about 20 percent claim European descent. Native Indians, about one percent of the population, live in the eastern jungles.

The Andes contribute to the concentration of Colombia’s people into separate clusters. Some live in the Caribbean lowlands in cities like Barranquilla and Cartagena; some live in isolated mountain valleys in cities like Cali and Medellin. Bogotá, the capital and largest city, is in a remote mountain basin at 2,500 meters (8,200 feet).

Colombia has had a turbulent history. Civil war (1899-1902) claimed 100,000 lives, and La Violencia (1948-1957) cost 300,000 more. Starting in the 1980s, as the government worked with the U.S. to disrupt the lucrative illicit drug trade, violence came from cocaine traffickers, who targeted judges, newspaper editors, and community officials. The drug cartels continue to be a disruptive force into the 21st century, in spite of efforts to arrest the more powerful leaders.

Farmers raise world-renowned coffee on the Andean slopes. Colombia sells much of the world’s emeralds and considerable amounts of gold, silver, and platinum and has the continent’s highest coal production—most from the Guajira Peninsula. However, oil development suffers from sabotage by guerrilla groups, and large parts of Colombia are beyond government control.

SOURCE: National Geographic

PLACES OF INTEREST

Cartagena de Indias

The fortress of San Felipe de Barajas. Cartagena was a strategic port of the Spanish Americas and still retains many well preserved colonial buildings. Photo by O. Louis Mazzatenta National Geographic

In 1501 Rodrigo de Bastidas disembarked nearby the present city’s location. He named the bay “Bahía de Baru”. Two years later, its name was changed to “Bay of Cartagena”, since it had similarities with the Caratgenan landscape on the Spanish Mediterranean coast.

The first settlement was founded by Pedro de Heredia in 1533. In order to distinguish it from the Spanish city of the same name, first “Cartagena de Poniente” was added to it (of the West) and later “Cartagena de Indias” (of the Indies).

The seaport rapidly developed into the most important trade and exchange center of Spain and its American colonies. It also became a major center for trading African slaves.

Due to Cartagena’s wealth, it was continuously targeted by pirates. Buccaneers of legendary Sir Francis Drake ravaged it repeatedly in 1544, 1560 and 1586. Hence, a massive fortification - the greatest in South America - was built as protection and has been preserved to a large extent until today.

SOURCE: Universe in Universes

Quick View

Stefan Ruiz/ The New York Times

COLOMBIAN RECIPES

If you’re in the mood to cook some traditional Colombian food, or just to try some out then you’ve come to the right place! Happy eating! (Note: this segment is still being added to. If you have some recipes you would like to submit, feel free to do so!)

Colombian Chicken Soup

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Yield: 6 to 8 first-course servings