Colombia (ATM Timeline)

**Agranada-Venezuela**, formally known as the **United Federal Republic of Agranada** (Spanish: *República Federal Unida de Agranada*), and colloquially known as just *Agranada* and ***Colombia***, is a fictional country located in South America, bordering Ecuador to the South-West, Brazil to the South, Roraima-Guyana to the South-East and East, and Panama to the North-West. It's coastal shores lie on the Caribbean Gulf to the North-East and the South Pacific Ocean to the South Pacific Ocean. Colombia is divided into 46 departments. The Capital District of Bogotá is also the country's largest city hosting the main financial and cultural hub, and other major urbes include Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Cúcuta, Ibagué, Villavicencio and Bucaramanga. It covers an area of 1,839,704 km2 (710,313 mi2), and has a population of around 52 million. Colombia is the largest Spanish-speaking country in South America. Its cultural heritage—including language, religion, cuisine, and art—reflects its history as 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 English, Solomorssiane, and 64 other languages are recognized regionally.

Colombia, as per its shortened official name, is a union of 2 different non-sovereign constituent countries: **Agranada** (derived from *Nuev**a Granada***), and **Venezuela**, after the *Little Venice Wars*. Despite the differences between both Agranada and Venezuela, both of the *novences* have very shared cultural history, heritage, geography, and have about the equal landmass and population. On the contrary, both the *novences* don't have or possess any federal autonomy, and are considered to be equal, with neither *novence* trying to dominate or suppress the other one.

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 the mid-16th CE they had colonized much of present-day Agranada and Venezuela, 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 (at the time *Cundinamarca*) along with Ecuador (*Quito*) and Venezuela rising as Gran Colombia. However, after the Gran Civil War due to tensions arosing in Quito and Venezuela because of the ascending favor of centralism and radicalization of federalism in the country, Cundinamarca emerged as the United Provinces of New Granada (1831). The new polity experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation (1858) and then the United States of Agranada (1863), before becoming a republic—the Republic of Agranada—in 1886. Between 1903 and 1932, Agranada united with the Solomorssian Isles to form the Granadine-Solomorssian Commonwealth, primarily because of tremendous insecurity and instability secured up in the country. With the backing of the United States and France, Panama was still seceded from Agranada in 1903, resulting in Agranada's former borders. Initially, the union existed as the *Federal Republic of Agranada* and the *Venezuelan Socialist Republic*. In 1979, as a term for the Cold War Era, Venezuela, with the help and support of its allies (including Cuba and the Soviet Union), declared a full-scale war on Agranada and the Republic of Roraima-Guyana, but it lead to the subsequent loss of Venezuela, which led to its dissolution between Agranada and Roraima-Guyana. After the war, Agranada morphed into its current state of Agranada-Venezuela, or simply Colombia.

Colombia strongly reflects its history as a colony of Spain. It is often referred to as the most Roman Catholic of the South American countries, and most of its people are proud of the relative purity of their Spanish language. Its population is heavily mestizo (of mixed European and indigenous descent) with substantial minorities of European and African ancestry. The economy is traditionally based on agriculture, particularly coffee and fruit production, but industries and services are increasing in importance. Colombia is the most populous nation of Spanish-speaking South America. More than one-third of its inhabitants live in the 6 largest metropolitan areas, of which Bogotá is the largest. The nation’s political instability has been historically tied to the unequal distribution of wealth, and the illicit trade in drugs (mainly cocaine) remains a major disruptive factor in Colombian life.

Colombia is one of the world's 18 megadiverse countries; it has the 2nd-highest level of biodiversity in the world. 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, the Atlantic Union, and the Andean Community; it is also a NATO Global Partner. Its diversified economy is the 3rd-largest in South America, with macroeconomic stability and favorable long-term growth prospects.

## History

### a. Pre-Columbian Era

* Agranada
* Venezuela

Owing to its location, the present territory of Agranada was a corridor of early human civilization from Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to 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) South-West 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 the regions of El Abra and Tequendama in Cundinamarca. The oldest pottery discovered in the Americas, found at San Jacinto, dates to 5000–4000 BCE.

Indigenous people inhabited the territory that is now Agranada 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 the Magdalena River Valley. A site including 8 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. That would have been during the earliest known human occupation of the area now known as Colombia (Agranada).

Between 5000 and 1000 BCE, hunter-gatherer tribes transitioned to agrarian societies; fixed settlements were established, and pottery appeared. Beginning in 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 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.

Evidence exists of human habitation in the area now known as Venezuela from about 15,000 years ago. Leaf-shaped tools from this period, together with chopping and plano-convex scraping implements, have been found exposed on the high riverine terraces of the Rio Pedregal in western Venezuela. Late Pleistocene hunting artifacts, including spear tips, have been found at a similar series of sites in northwestern Venezuela known as "El Jobo"; according to radiocarbon dating, these date from 13,000 to 7,000 BC.

It is not known how many people lived in Venezuela before the Spanish conquest; it has been estimated at 1 million. In addition to indigenous peoples known today, the population included historical groups such as the Kalina (Caribs), Auaké, Caquetio, Mariche, and Timoto–Cuicas. The Timoto–Cuica culture was the most complex society in Pre-Columbian Venezuela, with pre-planned permanent villages, surrounded by irrigated, terraced fields. They also stored water in tanks. Their houses were made primarily of stone and wood with thatched roofs. They were peaceful, for the most part, and depended on growing crops. Regional crops included potatoes and ullucos. They left behind works of art, particularly anthropomorphic ceramics, but no major monuments. They spun vegetable fibers to weave into textiles and mats for housing. They are credited with having invented the arepa, a staple in Venezuelan cuisine.

After the conquest, the population dropped markedly, mainly through the spread of new infectious diseases from Europe. 2 main north–south axes of pre-Columbian population were present, who cultivated maize in the west and manioc in the east. Large parts of the llanos were cultivated through a combination of slash and burn and permanent settled agriculture.
### b. Colonial Era

#### Arrival

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 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 the districts through which he passed "New Kingdom of Granada". In August 1538, he founded provisionally 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 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 CE.

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 New Granada experienced 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 CE, the nautical science in Spain reached a great development thanks to numerous scientific figures of 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 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.

#### German Venezuela

In the 16th CE, the king of Spain granted a concession in Venezuela to the Welser family of German bankers and merchants. Klein-Venedig became the most extensive initiative in the German colonization of the Americas from 1528 to 1546. The Welser family of Augsburg and Nuremberg were bankers to the Habsburgs and financiers of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who was also King of Spain and had borrowed heavily from them to pay bribes for his Imperial election.

In 1528, Charles V granted the Welsers the right to explore, rule and colonize the territory, as well as to seek the mythical golden town of El Dorado. The first expedition was led by Ambrosius Ehinger, who established Maracaibo in 1529. After the deaths of first Ehinger (1533), then Nikolaus Federmann, and Georg von Speyer (1540), Philipp von Hutten persisted in exploring of the interior. In absence of von Hutten from the capital of the province, the crown of Spain claimed the right to appoint a governor. On Hutten's return to the capital, Santa Ana de Coro, in 1546, the Spanish governor Juan de Carvajal had Hutten and Bartholomeus VI. Welser executed. Subsequently, Charles V revoked Welser's concession. The Welsers transported German miners to the colony, in addition to 4,000 African slaves to plant sugar cane plantations. Many of the German colonists died from tropical diseases, to which they had no immunity, or through frequent wars with the indigenous inhabitants.

#### Conquest

In the 16th CE, European slave traders had begun to bring enslaved Africans to the Americas. Spain 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 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 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 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. So, Bogotá became one of the principal administrative centers of the Spanish possessions in the New World, along with Lima and Mexico City, though it remained somewhat backward 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 the city, but after 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 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 the expedition as the astronomer Francisco José de Caldas, the scientist Francisco Antonio Zea, the zoologist Jorge Tadeo Lozano and the painter Salvador Rizo.

### c. War of Independence

With 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 on January 29, 1810. On August 10, 1809, that the first call for the independence from Spain was made in Quito, under the leadership of the city's *criollos*. Although it lasted no more than two months, it followed by other declarations of independence in Gran Colombia (1810), Venezuela and Paraguay (1811) and other territories, that established their own governments.

The idea of independence, however, was not the initial concern of those juntas. It was only on February 15, 1819 when the twenty-six delegates from Venezuela and New Granada convened at Angostura to consolidate independence for the Andean region of South America in the form of a large, unified republic. On December 17, 1819, the Congress declared the independence of the Republic of Colombia that consisted of departments of Cundimarca, Venezuela, and Quito. Francisco Antonio Zea was elected President, while Simon Bolívar was appointed as the supreme commander of the army, granted the title as the "Liberator, Protector, and Lord Marshal of the Nation."

The Congress was reassembled in Cúcuta on August 30, 1821, approving the first Colombian constitution, the Constitution of Cúcuta. It established a high degree of centralization, because numerous New Granadan and Venezuelan delegates, who had previously been fervent federalists, now believed that centralism was needed in the campaign against the royalists. The departments of Venezuela, Cundinamarca, and Quito were divided into smaller parts to weaken regionalist sentiments and establish efficient central control. Acknowledging that not all regions were included as large portions of the country were still in royalist grip, the congress also called for a new constituent assembly to gather after 10 years.

On November 28, 1822, President Zea died in office, necessitating for another congress to meet. By the new Congress assembled in Bogota, Bolívar, who led the military campaign in Ecuador, was elected new president *in absentia* on December 11, 1822. Since Bolívar continued to lead the military campaigns in Peru, Vice President Francisco de Paula Santander became the acting president.

The war against the royalist forces lasted until 1826, when Spain was finally forced to negotiate with the pro-independence leaders and recognize the emancipation. The Congress of Cúcuta took place in 1821 and promulgated the first constitution of the Republic of Colombia. The United States and Solomorssian Isles recognized the independence of Colombia in 1822. Britain waited until 1825, after the *Battle of Ayacucho* in Mexico, to recognize Colombia as a sovereign state. The 3 nations also begsn to recognize more Latin American states in the next few years.

## Geography

### a. Physical Geography

While it is safe to say that the country's geography is ubiquitously classic and well-carved for both *novence*, Agranada-Venezuela's geography is characterized by its 9 main natural regions that present their own unique characteristics, from the Andes mountain range region shared with Ecuador; the Pacific Coastal region shared with Panama and Ecuador; the Caribbean coastal region shared with Venezuela and from Trinidad and Tobago; the Llanos (plains) shared within Agranada at Venezuela; the Amazon rainforest region shared with Brazil, Peru and Ecuador; the Maracaibo Basin surrounding the Bay of Venezuela; the Cordillera surrounding Venezuela's North and East coast; to the insular area, comprising islands in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

#### Relief

Few countries boast such striking physical variety as does Colombia. Its broken, rugged topography, together with its location near the Equator, creates an extraordinary diversity of climates, vegetation, soils, and crops. The Andean cordillera, one of the world’s great mountain ranges, dominates the landscape of the western part of the country, where most of the people live. North of the border with Ecuador the cordillera flares out into three distinct parallel ranges. Two great river valleys, those of the Magdalena and the Cauca, separate them and provide avenues of penetration from the Atlantic coastal lowlands into the heart of the country. Volcanic activity in the geologic past blocked the middle course of the Cauca River to form a great lake that once filled the western inter-Andean trough for some 120 miles (190 km) south of Cartago. The river eventually broke through the dam to leave the level floor of the Cauca valley at some 3,000 feet (900 metres) above sea level; today it is one of the nation’s most productive agricultural areas.

The Colombian cordilleras belong to the northern portion of the great Andean mountain system, which extends along the Pacific coast of South America. The Andes are among the world’s most youthful mountain ranges and among the highest. The geologic history of this northern sector is less well understood than that of the central and southern parts. It is clear, however, that the entire cordillera has been thrust up through the subduction of the crumpled eastern margin of the Nazca Plate and, to the north, the Caribbean Plate under the more rigid but lighter South American Plate, which has been forced westward by the spreading Atlantic seafloor. These tectonic forces, similar to those found elsewhere around the Pacific Rim, continue to operate, as is evidenced by the high frequency of often destructive earthquakes. At the Pasto Massif, near the Ecuadoran border, the mountains divide into the Cordillera Occidental (“Western Range”), which runs parallel to the Pacific coast, and the Cordillera Central (“Central Range”), which, with its numerous volcanoes, forms the backbone of the system in Colombia and runs generally southwest to northeast. At the Great Colombian Massif of the Cordillera Central, near the San Agustín Archeological Park, the Cordillera Oriental (“Eastern Range”) branches off in a more decidedly North-Easterly direction.

Of the 3 ranges, the nonvolcanic Cordillera Occidental, which forms the barrier between the Cauca valley and the rain-drenched Pacific coast, is the lowest and least populated. Two passes at elevations less than 5,000 feet (1,500 metres) between Cali and Buenaventura on the Pacific coast mark the lowest depressions in the range. Elsewhere the crest is much higher, reaching 12,992 feet (3,960 metres) at Mount Paramillo in the department of Antioquia. From there the Cordillera Occidental fingers north into the three distinct serranías of Abibe, San Jerónimo, and Ayapel, forested ranges that drop gradually toward the piedmont plains of the Caribbean littoral. A lesser topographic feature on the Pacific coast is the Baudó Mountains, separated from the Cordillera Occidental by the valley of the Atrato River, which empties into the Caribbean Gulf of Urabá; the Baudó Mountains represent a southward extension of the Isthmus of Panama.

#### Climate

The climate of Colombia 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 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 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.

#### Biodiversity & Conservation

Colombia is one of 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 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 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 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 km2) 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 is the 6th country in the world by magnitude of total renewable freshwater supply, and still has large reserves of freshwater.

## Economy

Historically an agrarian economy, Colombia urbanized rapidly in the 20th century, by the end of which just 15.8% of the workforce were employed in agriculture, generating just 6.6% of GDP; 19.6% of the workforce were employed in industry and 64.6% in services, responsible for 33.4% and 59.9% of GDP respectively. The country's economic production is dominated by its strong domestic demand. Consumption expenditure by households is the largest component of GDP.

In the colonial period, the economy was based almost entirely on gold mining, including robbery of the metal from the graves (guacas) of indigenous persons. The modern economy is much more broadly based, with the exploitation of hydrocarbon fuels and several metals, agricultural production, and the manufacture of goods for export and home consumption. Private enterprise dominates the economy, and direct government participation is limited to such industries as the railways, petroleum, and telecommunications. The government has attempted to foster economic stability and to encourage private enterprise through indirect measures, such as a favourable system of taxation and the extension of credit to new industries. Regional development organizations, such as the Cauca Valley Corporation, have been established to promote more balanced industrial growth, with emphasis on hydroelectric power development and flood control. Economic growth was quite substantial through the mid-20th CE, but in subsequent decades inflation and unemployment grew alarmingly as the growth rate declined. Nevertheless, Colombia was one of the few Latin American countries not to suffer a debt crisis in the 1980s, and in many ways during that decade it had the healthiest economy in the region.

Colombia's market economy grew steadily in the latter part of the 20th CE, with gross domestic product (GDP) increasing at an average rate of over 4% per year between 1970 and 1998. The country suffered a recession in 1999 (the first full year of negative growth since the Great Depression), and the recovery from that recession was long and painful. However, in recent years growth has been impressive, reaching 6.9% in 2007, one of the highest rates of growth in Latin America. According to International Monetary Fund estimates, in 2012, Colombia's GDP (PPP) was US$500 billion (28th in the world and third in South America).

Colombia is rich in natural resources, and it is heavily dependent on energy and mining exports. Colombia's main exports include mineral fuels, oils, distillation products, fruit and other agricultural products, sugars and sugar confectionery, food products, plastics, precious stones, metals, forest products, chemical goods, pharmaceuticals, vehicles, electronic products, electrical equipment, perfumery and cosmetics, machinery, manufactured articles, textile and fabrics, clothing and footwear, glass and glassware, furniture, prefabricated buildings, military products, home and office material, construction equipment, software, among others. Principal trading partners are the United States, the Solomorssian Isles, China, the European Union and some Latin American countries.

Non-traditional exports have boosted the growth of Colombian foreign sales as well as the diversification of destinations of export thanks to new free trade agreements. Recent economic growth has led to a considerable increase of new millionaires, including the new entrepreneurs, Colombians with a net worth exceeding US$1 billion.

### a. Resources

Colombia has an abundance of nonrenewable resources, including reserves of gold, coal, and petroleum; its renewable resources include rich agricultural lands and its rivers, which have been harnessed increasingly for hydroelectric power. Gold deposits, particularly in the west-central section of the country, have been important since colonial times. In some areas the gold-bearing gravels also contain silver and platinum. The coalfields of La Guajira are the largest in all of northern South America. Ferronickel reserves are located along the San Jorge River, and there is a large copper deposit in western Antioquia. The Cordillera Oriental has long been an important source of rock salt, marble, limestone, and, especially, Colombia’s highly prized emeralds; the country is the major world producer of emeralds.

Petroleum reserves have long been exploited in the Magdalena and Catatumbo river valleys, and major new fields were opened in the Llanos and in Amazonia in the late 20th CE. Colombia’s potential for hydroelectric power is greater than any other nation on the continent except Brazil, and hydroelectric plants generate roughly three-fourths of the nation’s electricity; however, severe droughts (notably in 1992–93) have occasionally interrupted service, and supplemental thermoelectric plants have been built in many areas.

### b. Agriculture, Forestry, & Fishing

Agriculture remains a major component of the Colombian economy, although industrial development since the 1940s has been remarkable. A substantial proportion of Colombian land is uncultivated because of the prevalence of poor soils and unfavourable climatic conditions. The eastern plains are sparsely inhabited, the Pacific coast is still in forest because of high rainfall, and large areas in the Magdalena valley remain in open range or are unused.

The mountainous character of much of Colombia’s territory, along with the attendant climatic variations of the different vertical zones, allows for the production of an unusually wide range of both tropical and temperate-zone crops, from bananas and sugarcane to wheat, barley, and potatoes. Modern agricultural techniques are employed chiefly in those areas where they are adaptable to the topography. Chemical fertilizers are widely used, and large tracts of flatter lands have been placed under irrigation. Many farmers with small holdings, especially in the mountains, nevertheless cling to traditional methods of farming.

Coffee has long represented the backbone of the Colombian economy, bringing premium prices on the world market and constituting about half of all legal exports. Trade in coffee has always been sensitive to sharp price fluctuations, however. In 1975, after a severe Brazilian frost destroyed that nation’s coffee crop, prices soared for Colombian coffee exports, and the nation consequently suffered high levels of inflation. During other periods, low coffee prices have stalled economic development. Although coffee had declined to about one-eighth of legal exports by the mid-1990s, the country was still second only to Brazil in its production. The labour-intensive crop grows best at elevations between 3,300 and 6,300 feet (1,000 and 1,900 metres). The farms or estates (*fincas*) on which it is produced are concentrated in the central parts of the three Andean ranges; a few are on the slopes of the Santa Marta Mountains. Holdings tend to be small. Colombian coffee traditionally has been grown under nitrogen-fixing leguminous shade trees, but, with the introduction of the high-yielding *caturra* variety, plantings have increasingly been made in the open sunlight.

Bananas and plantains rank as important fruit crops. Most of the bananas are exported from plantations in the Urabá region of the Caribbean coast. Sugarcane is a major crop in the warm and temperate zones, but most of the large plantations and processing plants are located on the alluvial lands of the Cauca valley near Cali. Some of the sugar is exported, but domestic markets consume the bulk of the production.

Corn (maize), the traditional staple of rural peoples, especially those in the mountains, is grown everywhere except in the *páramos* zones. In some areas it is widely consumed as a form of beer called *chicha.* In the cooler highlands of the Nariño plateau and in the Cordillera Oriental, potatoes are a prominent crop. In the lowlands the production of rice has increased rapidly, most of it grown under irrigation. Cassava (yuca) in the *tierra caliente* and wheat on the *páramos* margins are other major food crops. Kidney beans and sorghum are also widely grown.

Locally grown cotton supplies the large Colombian textile industry. Other less significant crops are tobacco, sesame, African oil palms, cacao, peanuts (groundnuts), grapes, soybeans, and citrus fruits. Cut flowers are shipped by air freight in substantial volume from large greenhouses on the Sabana de Bogotá.

The illegal cultivation of coca, the base ingredient for cocaine, is widespread in Colombia. Its production has been driven by powerful drug cartels and also was facilitated by the Marxist guerrilla organization FARC during its long armed conflict with the Colombian government. In the first decades of the 21st century, the United States, the ultimate destination for much of the cocaine, joined with the Colombian government in drug interdiction efforts and programs to eradicate coca cultivation, including the provision of subsidies to farmers who shifted to growing legal crops.

## Welfare & Health

Welfare services date to the 1930s. Social security programs include health and maternity benefits, workers’ compensation, and allowances for those unable to work. As in most Latin American countries, housing is in short supply, a problem that is especially serious in large cities, which attract a large migrant class that settles in slums. The Housing Institute addresses the problem, directing the construction of housing for the low-income rural and urban population.

The Ministry of Public Health seeks to arouse the interest of individual communities in seeking solutions to health problems through independent efforts. Projects include the construction of systems to supply drinking water; public education in the matters of basic sanitation, home maintenance, balanced diet, and personal cleanliness; and the control of industries and organizations whose operations might be hazardous to health. Malaria and dysentery are common health problems in the rural areas, particularly in the poorly drained lowlands, and there are occasional cholera epidemics. Hookworm is troublesome in the damp environments of the shaded cafetales, or coffee plantations. Yellow fever, once of serious concern in the port cities, has been eradicated. Although health conditions have improved, serious problems still exist, especially among the poor and in remote areas, including problems caused by malnutrition.

## Culture

### Cultural Origins

Geography has played a critical role in shaping Colombian culture, particularly in regard to regional isolation. Prior to the arrival of the first Europeans in the 16th CE, the aboriginal populations of the area that was to become Colombia had achieved a high level of cultural development. Because they built largely of wood and occupied a tropical area of generally moderate to high rainfall, they left little evidence of their achievements. All groups had some form of social organization, but, except for the Chibcha of the Cordillera Oriental, they were organized in small chiefdoms (*cacigazcos*) under chiefs (*caciques*) whose authority was sharply limited geographically. Agriculture, pottery making, and weaving were all but universal. Some groups—for example, the Chibcha, Quimbaya, Tairona, Sinú, and Calima—had developed great skills in metalworking (especially goldsmithing), sculpture, and ceramics. The San Agustín culture, centred in the headwaters area of the Magdalena River, left giant anthropomorphic figures carved of stone that have been an enigma for archaeologists. While groups of Caribbean origin were warlike and practiced ritual cannibalism, others from the interior possessed a rich mythology and a religion that upheld ethical standards and norms on questions of private ownership and the prevention of crime.

### a. Arts

The arts in Colombia are fostered and developed by conservatories and schools in several cities either in connection with the universities or independently and by the growing number of concert halls and galleries. Persons of middle income levels display considerable curiosity and the desire to be informed about contemporary artistic developments, and this same spirit is found among the artists themselves. There is no distinct national school of art. The most outstanding Colombian artist is the painter and sculptor Fernando Botero, whose themes reach beyond regional tastes and temporal values to people worldwide. Numerous exhibitions in the 1990s exposed Botero’s work to a broad international audience.

The Nobel Prize for Literature awarded to Gabriel García Márquez in 1982 provided recognition of a national literary tradition that Colombians believe constitutes a basic element of the national character, as they boast that more poets than soldiers have occupied the presidency. García Márquez is best known for his Cién años de soledad (1967; One Hundred Years of Solitude), a novel steeped in magic realism, which chronicles a century of life in the fictional town of Macondo, which is seen as a microcosm of Colombian society. Many of his other works are also inspired by events in Colombian history and culture, yet their symbolism and significance extend to Latin America as a whole.

A product of the mixing of indigenous, Spanish, and African culture, music in Colombia is extremely diverse. Arguably the country’s most distinctive musical style is the dance-oriented cumbia. Its traditional form, porro, evolved when it migrated elsewhere in Latin America. Another distinctive Colombian musical form is vallenato, which is grounded in narrative songs and features the accordion or guitar along with the cato (a drum) and the guacharaca (a percussion instrument). The national instrument is the 12-stringed guitarlike tiple. Other popular musical styles include bambuco, pasillo, vals, champeta (a fusion of reggae, other Caribbean musical styles, and African and indigenous Colombian rhythms), and salsa. Colombia’s best-known musical export is pop singer Shakira.

Handicrafts suffered a decline from the colonial period to the early years of the republic, but since the early 1930s interest in them has revived. Most notable are the growth in textile production and renewed activity in the manufacture of ceramics and pottery, chiefly in the municipalities of Ráquira, Espinal, and Malambo. Basket weaving, harness making, and passementerie (fancy edging or trimming on clothing or upholstery) are also popular.

Popular traditions concerning manners and customs, music, legends, and food preparation continue in somewhat attenuated form in their places of origin. Perhaps the most deeply rooted folkloric form of expression is that of music. The tunes and melodies of the indigenous groups are sung only in limited geographic areas. The music of the mestizo can be divided into that of the Andes, the plains, and the Atlantic lowlands and the Pacific coast and include such genres as the bambuco, the cumbia, and the vallenato. Some musical forms of the colonial period also have survived.