| Conquest of New Granada | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofSpanish colonization of the Americas | |||||||||
_-_Carta_I_-_Rutas_de_los_conquistadores_de_Colombia.jpg) Conquest map of Colombia | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Klein-Venedig |  Muisca ConfederationCalima Nariño Quimbaya San Agustín Tairona Zenú | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Gonzalo Jiménez de QuesadaHernán Pérez de QuesadaGonzalo Suárez RendónBaltasar MaldonadoPedro de HerediaNikolaus Federmann | Tisquesusa †Sagipa (POW)Quemuenchatocha (POW)Aquiminzaque  Sugamuxi  Saymoso † | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 5,250,000 deaths as a result of the conquest (87.5% of the population)[1][2] | |||||||||
TheSpanish conquest of New Granada refers to theconquest between 1525 and 1540 by theSpanish monarchy of theChibchan-speaking nations of modern-dayColombia andPanama, mainly theMuisca andTairona that inhabited present-dayColombia, beginning theSpanish colonization of the Americas.[3] It is estimated that around 5.25 million people died as a result of Spanish Conquest, either by disease or direct conflict. This represents 87.5% of thePre-Columbian population of Colombia.[4][2]
The first inhabitants of Colombia were migrating members of theMesoamericans who established themselves in the area c. 1200 BC followed by two other waves c. 500 BC and a third one between 400 and 300 BC. Later on the group ofArawak coming from southernSouth America made presence in the area, and a third wave of migrating groups, the warringCaribs established in the lower lands and pushed the Mesoamericans to the mountains. The southern areas of present-day Colombia were also part of theInca Empire.[5]
There were two main tribes that were socially and economically developed at the time of the Spanish arrival: theMuisca, and theTairona. Both were within the Chibchan Nations.
By the 16th century, the Chibchas, were divided into two main groups: the Muisca, located in the plateaus of Cundinamarca and Boyacá, and the Tairona, who settled along the northern spur of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in present-day Magdalena, Cesar and La Guajira departments.
The territory was first sighted by Spanish explorerAlonso de Ojeda in 1499,[6] though he never landed. A short time later,Juan de la Cosa, another Spanish explorer, landed on what is today calledCabo de la Vela (Cape of Sails) in theGuajira Peninsula.[7]
In 1502, on another coast of present-day Colombia, near theGulf of Urabá, Spanish explorers led byVasco Núñez de Balboa explored and conquered the area near theAtrato River. There they foundedSanta María la Antigua del Darién (c. 1509) and the now-vanished town of San Sebastian de Urabá (c. 1508–1510), the first two European settlements on the mainland of theAmericas.[8]
On July 29, 1525, the city ofSanta Marta was founded in the northern coast of Colombia by the Spanish conquerorRodrigo de Bastidas.
In April 1536 the Spanish conquistadorGonzalo Jiménez de Quesada ledthe main expedition into the heart of the Andes, where theMuisca Confederation was located, with around 800 Spanish soldiers and 85 horses. Around the settlements ofSuesca andNemocón the de Quesada expedition faced the first attempt of Muisca active resistance in March 1537: the MuiscazipaTisquesusa made a failed effort to oust the invaders who then gave the first demonstration of their superior weaponry.
In April of the same year, De Quesada, was continuously attacked by Tisquesusa's subjects on theBogotá savanna, but managed to take advantage of rivalries among various indigenous chiefs to go weakening the power of thezipa of Bacatá. Thecaciques ofChía andSuba were among the first to submit and collaborate with the Spanish, while men of Tisquesusa suffered defeat after defeat and failed to oppose the Spanish, who had horses, dogs, and firearms, rather than primitive wooden weapons: spears, clubs, and darts thrown with shuttles. Tisquesusa continued to harass and attack the Spanish, but in some obscure skirmish, late 1537, he died, without the Spanish knowing immediately and without knowing anything of his treasure.[9]
Tisquesusa's successor, his nephewSagipa (also described as Saquesazipa), submitted soon to the conquistadors. Soon the relations between the Spanish and Sagipa deteriorated. Those eager to locate the lost treasure of thezipa apprehended Sagipa and subjected to trial, accusing him of rebellion against the Spaniards and refusing to reveal the site where the fabulous treasure was hidden.
Tundama was anothercacique who had appeared ready to fight. This bellicose leader called his subjects and requested the assistance of neighboringcaciques from Cerinza, so whenHernán Pérez de Quesada, brother of Gonzalo, came, he found the most ordered troops and more martial aspect to here they had been among Muisca, formed by steps in different bodies, all festooned with feathers of different colors. In this battle, called the Battle of Bonza, indigenous forces formed a desperate resistance. Hernán de Quesada was in danger of losing his life by falling from his horse in the midst of enemies, but at last, broke the indigenous people and trampled them by horses, staining the marshes of Bonza with indigenous blood.[10]
Finally on August 6, 1538, the city ofBogotá (named originallySanta Fé de Bogotá) was founded on the remains of the original southern Muisca capital Bacatá.
The Ngäbe or Guaymí people are anindigenous group living mainly within theNgäbe-Buglé comarca in the WesternPanamanian provinces ofVeraguas,Chiriquí andBocas del Toro. The Ngäbe also have five indigenous territories in southwesternCosta Rica encompassing 23,600 hectares: Coto Brus, Abrojos Montezuma, Conte Burica, Altos de San Antonio and Guaymi de Osa.[11] There are approximately 200,000-250,000 speakers of Ngäbere today.
Guaymí is an outdated name derived from theBuglere term for them (guaymiri). Local newspapers and other media often alternatively spell the name Ngäbe asNgobe orNgöbe becauseSpanish does not contain the sound represented byä, a low-back roundeda, slightly higher than the Englishaw in the wordsaw and Spanish speakers hearä as either ano or ana. Ngäbe means people in their native language-Ngäbere. A sizable number of Ngäbe have migrated toCosta Rica in search of work on thecoffeefincas.Ngäbere andBuglere are distinct languages in theChibchan language family. They are mutually unintelligible.
The Bokota people, also called Bogotá,[12] or Buglere, are anAmerindian ethnical group inPanama. They live inBocas del Toro and north ofVeraguas.[13] Bokota Indians live in the same region as theTeribe or Naso Indians.
As of 2000, there were 993 Bogota living in Panama. They are the smallest tribe in Panama and live in the west of the country.[13]
The Tairona inhabit the northern and central parts of the isolated mountain range of theSierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The Tairona were divided into two groups the coastal Tairona by theCaribbean Sea, and the mountain Tairona in higher altitude cloud forests of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The lowland Tairona fished and produced salt, which they traded for cotton cloth and blankets with the Andes civilisation of the Muisca, the Guane and Chimila and other neighbouring groups. Both Tairona populations lived in numerous small and well-organized towns, connected by stone roads.
Of the four indigenous groups living in theSierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the Kankuamo are the least contacted and still retained their independency.
The Arhuacos live in the upper valleys of thePiedras River,San Sebastian River,Chichicua River,Ariguani River, andGuatapuri River, in anindigenous territory in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Their traditional territory before theSpanish colonization, was larger than today's boundaries which exclude many of their sacred sites that they continue to visit today, to pay offerings. These lost territories are the lower parts by the steps of the mountains, lost to colonization and farming.
The Nutabe traded with neighboring tribes, for which they used a strategic bridge over the San Andreas River.
Their society was organized into small hereditary chiefdoms, individually scattered and lacking any central power. However, faced with theSpanish conquest (and against other situations overall incidence), these tribes used to work together in confederations. Mainly a peaceful group, when the Spanish conquistadors arrived, they defended their territories When the Spanish arrived, the leadership of the tribe was exercised by acacique namedGuarcama.
| Settlement | Department | Year explored | Note(s) | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jericó | Boyacá | 1541 | [15] |  |
| Guacamayas | Boyacá | 1541 | [16] |  |
| Chiscas | Boyacá | 1541 | [17] |  |
| Chita | Boyacá | 1541 | [16] |  |
| Panqueba | Boyacá | 1541 | [16] |  |
| Güicán | Boyacá | 1541 | [18] |  |
| El Cocuy | Boyacá | 1541 | [16][19] |  |
| Name bold is founded | Department | Date | Year | Note(s) | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vélez | Santander | 14 September | 1539 | [20] |  |
| Oiba | Santander | 28 February | 1540 | [21] |  |
| Charalá | Santander | 23 July | 1540 | [22] |  |
| Simacota | Santander | 1551 |  |
 | Feb 1537 | First contact @Chipatá | ||
| Mar-Apr 1537 | Expedition into Muisca Confederation | |||
| 20 Apr 1537 | Conquest ofFunza uponzipaTisquesusa | |||
| May-Aug 1537 | Expedition & conquest inTenza Valley | |||
| 20 Aug 1537 | ConquestHunza,zaqueQuemuenchatocha | |||
| Early Sep 1537 | ConquestSugamuxi,iracaSugamuxi | |||
 | Oct 1537-Feb 1538 | Other foundations on Altiplano & valleys | ||
| 6 Aug 1538 | FoundationSantafé de Bogotá, byGonzalo | |||
| 20 Aug 1538 | B. of Tocarema; Spanish &zipa beatPanche | |||
| 6 Aug 1539 | FoundationTunja, byGonzalo Suárez | |||
| 15 Dec 1539 | ConquestTundama, byBaltasar Maldonado | |||
| Early 1540 | Decapitation lastzaqueAquiminzaque,Hernán | |||
| TheMuisca established on theAltiplano Cundiboyacense one of the fourgrand civilisations of the pre-Columbian Americas | ||||
 |  |  |  | |
| El Dorado | Sun Temple | tunjo | El Infiernito | |
| Their southwestern neighbours, inhabiting the highest parts underpáramo conditions; theSutagao were the southernmost Chibcha speakers | ||||
In the centuries before theSpanish conquest of the Muisca in 1537, theAltiplano Cundiboyacense, high plateau of theEastern Ranges of the ColombianAndes, was inhabited by the Muisca people. They were an advanced civilisation of mainlyfarmers andtraders.[23]
The Muisca did not construct stone architecture, as theMaya,Aztec andInca did; theirhouses, temples and shrines were built with wood and clay. They were called "Salt People" because of their extraction ofhalite from various salt mines on the Altiplano, predominantly inZipaquirá,Nemocón andTausa.
The Muisca were polytheistic and theirreligion andmythology was closely connected with the natural area they were inhabiting. They had a thorough understanding ofastronomical parameters and developed a complexluni-solar calendar; theMuisca calendar. According to the calendar they had specific times for sowing, harvest and the organisation of festivals where theysang, danced and played music and drank their national drinkchicha in great quantities.
The most respected members of the community weremummified and the mummies were not buried, yet displayed in theirtemples, in natural locations such as caves and even carried on their backs duringwarfare to impress their enemies.
Theirart is the most famous remnant of their culture, as living spaces, temples and other existing structures have been destroyed by the Spanish who colonised the Muisca territories. A primary example of their fine goldworking is theMuisca raft, together with more objects made of gold,tumbaga, ceramics and cotton displayed in theMuseo del Oro inBogotá, the ancient capital of the southern Muisca.
The Muisca were a predominantly agricultural society with small-scale farmfields, part of more extensive terrains. To diversify their diet, they traded mantles,gold,emeralds andsalt for fruits, vegetables,coca,yopo andcotton cultivated in lower altitude warmer terrains populated by their neighbours, the Muzo, Panche, Yarigui, Guane, Guayupe, Achagua, Tegua, Lache, Sutagao and U'wa. Trade of products grown farther away happened with theCalima,Pijao and Caribbean coastal communities around theSierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
The people used a decimal counting system and counted with their fingers. Their system went from 1 to 10 and for higher numerations they used the prefixquihicha orqhicha, which means "foot" in theirChibcha languageMuysccubun. Eleven became thus "foot one", twelve "foot two", etc. As in the otherpre-Columbian civilizations, the number 20 was special. It was the total number of all body extremities; fingers and toes. The Muisca used two forms to express twenty: "foot ten";quihícha ubchihica or their exclusive wordgueta, derived fromgue, which means "house". Numbers between 20 and 30 were countedgueta asaqui ata ("twenty plus one"; 21),gueta asaqui ubchihica ("twenty plus ten"; 30). Larger numbers were counted as multiples of twenty;gue-bosa ("20 times 2"; 40),gue-hisca ("20 times 5"; 100). The Muisca script consisted ofhieroglyphs, only used for numerals.[24]
The conquest of the Muisca was the heaviest of all four Spanish expeditions to the great civilisations of the Americas.[25] More than 80 percent of the soldiers and horses that started the journey of a year to the northern Muisca Confederation didn't make it.[26][27][28] Various settlements were founded by the Spanish between1537 and1539.[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]
The Sutagao are theChibcha-speaking[39] indigenous people from the region ofFusagasugá,Bogotá savanna,Cundinamarca,Colombia. Knowledge about the Sutagao has been provided byscholarLucas Fernández de Piedrahita.[40]
Before the Spanish conquest, the Sutagao were in conflict with the Muisca to the northeast.ZipaSaguamanchica conquered the Sutagao around 1470 when thecacique of the Sutagao lost theBattle of Pasca.ConquistadorJuan de Céspedes, under command ofGonzalo Jiménez de Quesada submitted the Sutagao to the new rule of theNew Kingdom of Granada.[39][41]
The Sutagao inhabited the region until a new town was founded by Bernardino Albornoz between 5 and 13 February in 1592. During the visit of Miguel de Ibarra there were 759 indigenous people residing inFusagasugá.
When Aróstequi arrived in February 1760, the indigenous population had dwindled to 85, and there were 644 new settlers divided among 109 families.
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