Colombia travel guide

As the point of transition between Central America, the Caribbean, the Andes and the Amazon, some 200 tribes settled in Colombia’s fertile landscapes, most notably the Muisca in the high central Andean plateaus, and the Tairona in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, both of whom spoke Chibcha. The Muisca developed complex political systems, and along with the Tairona they became highly skilled metalworkers, fusing gold and copper, creating intricate filigree jewellery and using lost wax casting techniques. The communities of the Caribbean coast conquered this seasonally flooded landscape by digging vast networks of channels which enabled them to live and farm on what was previously uninhabitable territory.

By the time the first Europeans arrived from Spain in 1499, there were estimated to be between 1.5 and 2 million inhabitants in the region now known as Colombia. The first Spanish settlement was established in 1525 at Santa Marta, on the Caribbean coast, with Cartagena de Índias founded eight years later. The region’s seemingly bottomless gold supplies lured the Spaniards ever deeper inland, and the Spanish colonisation of the Americas began.

Aquiminzaque, the last ruler of the Muisca, was decapitated by the Spanish in 1537. The following year, Santa Fé de Bogotá was founded on the Muisca village of Bacata, and subsequently became the capital of New Granada, a territory which corresponded roughly with modern day Colombia.

New Granada remained under Spanish rule until the pro-independence leader Simon Bolívar arrived from Venezuela in 1819. A short battle led to his capture of the region, which then became the Republic of Gran Colombia, with Bolívar as its first president. The new republic clung fiercely to liberal values with free elections, but two strong political parties – Liberal and Conservative – wrestled for control. This resulted in two bloody civil wars which killed hundreds of thousands of people, including the notorious La Violencia of the 1940s and 1950s. This was brought to an end by a military coup in 1957.

The subsequent ‘National Front’ system of government allowed the two parties to alternate in power, and land reforms issued land titles to farmers and workers. However, such rapid bouncing between two opposing political systems put a strain on the country, and accusations of corruption and military attacks resulted in the founding of three Communist groups which would impact the lives of Colombians for the next half century: the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and the ELN (National Liberation Army) and the M-19 guerrilla movement.

Quashing rebellions by these groups took up much of the time, energy and resources of Colombia’s subsequent governments. Military skirmishes flared up across the country which impacted increasingly on civilians, and there were reports of human rights abuses against captured guerrillas by the military. Offers of negotiations were rejected, ceasefires failed, and all the while, the illegal drug trade grew, and became increasingly entangled in the rival insurgent forces. Across the country, land was forcibly seized, villages were razed, landmines were laid, kidnappings were widespread and the death toll soared. As of 2016, the UN estimated there were almost 7 million internally displaced refugees in Colombia – higher than any other country in the world, and around 15 percent of its population. The violence and killings affected every single level of society: peasants were forcibly evicted from their land and their homes torched, while three presidential candidates were assassinated.

The death of Pablo Escobar, the notorious head of the Medellín drug cartel, did not diminish the unrest; it simply dispersed it. With all government energy channelled towards the cartels, insurgents and paramilitaries, there was little energy to deal with actually running the country. Development was sluggish, and unemployment soared. The FARC was slowly weakening, but peace was slow to come.

After decades of thwarted talks, the Colombian government and FARC finally signed a historic peace deal in November 2016, earning President Juan Santos a Nobel Peace Prize. Understandably, after 52 years of war, the country remains scarred, and a Truth Commission and Search Unit for Missing Persons have been set up in an attempt to bring closure and a greater understanding of what happened. This is especially important as amnesty has been offered to many of those involved in the insurgencies over the years.

While there are still pockets of violence and drug production continues in Colombia, life has been much easier for many since the agreement was reached. However, with critics of the agreement now seeking to run for parliament, the next few years will be crucial to ensure that Colombia really does manage to secure peace for its people.