The coast of Colombia was one of the first parts of the American
continent visited by the Spanish navigators. Alonso de Ojeda touched at
several points in 1499 and 1501; and Columbus himself visited Veragua,
Portobello, and other places in his last voyage in 1502. In 1508 Ojeda
obtained from the Spanish crown a grant of the district from Cape Vela
westward to the Gulf of Darien, while the rest of the country from the
Gulf of Darien to Cape Gracias-a-Dios was bestowed on his
fellow-adventurer, Nicuessa. The two territories designated respectively
Nueva Andalucia and Castella de Oro were united in 1514 into the
province of Tierra-firma, and entrusted to Pedro Arias de Avila. In
1536-1537 an expedition under Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada made their way
from Santa Marta inland by the river Magdalena, and penetrated to
Bogota, the capital of the Muiscas or Chibchas. Quesada gave to the
country the name of New Granada.
By the middle of the century the Spanish power was fairly established,
and flourishing communities arose along the coasts, and in the
table-lands of Cundinamarca formerly occupied by the Muiscas. For the
better government of the colony the Spanish monarch erected a presidency
of New Granada in 1564, which continued till 1718, when it was raised to
the rank of a viceroyalty. In the following year, however, the second
viceroy, D. Jorge Villalonga, Count de la Cueva, expressing his opinion
that the maintenance of this dignity was too great a burden on the
settlers, the viceroyalty gave place to a simple presidency. In 1740 it
was restored, and it continued as long as the Spanish authority,
including within its limits not only the present Colombia, but also
Venezuela and Ecuador. An insurrection against the home government was
formally commenced in 1811, and an incessant war against the Spanish
forces was waged till 1824.
In 1819 the great national hero, Bolivar (q.v.), effected a union
between the three divisions of the country, to which was given the title
of the Republic of Colombia; but in 1829 Venezuela withdrew, and in
1830, the year of Bolivar's death, Quito or Ecuador followed her
example. The Republic of New Granada was founded on the 21st of November
1831; and in 1832 a constitution was promulgated, and the territory
divided into eighteen provinces, each of which was to have control of
its local affairs. The president was to hold office for four years; and
the first on whom the dignity was bestowed was General Francisco de
Paula Santander. His position, however, was far from enviable; for the
country was full of all the elements of unrest and contention. One of
his measures, by which New Granada became responsible for the half of
the debts of the defunct republic of Colombia, gave serious offence to a
large party, and he was consequently succeeded not, as he desired, by
Jose Maria Obando, but by a member of the opposition, Jose Ignacio de
Marquez. This gave rise to a civil war, which lasted till 1841, and not
only left the country weak and miserable, but afforded an evil precedent
which has since been too frequently followed. The contest terminated in
favour of Marquez, and he was succeeded in May 1841 by Pedro Alcantara
Herran, who had assisted to obtain the victory. In 1840 the province of
Cartagena had seceded, and the new president had hardly taken office
before Panama and Veragua also declared themselves independent, under
the title of the State of the Isthmus of Panama. Their restoration was,
however, soon effected; the constitution was reformed in 1843; education
was fostered, and a treaty concluded with the English creditors of the
republic. Further progress was made under General Tomas de Mosquera from
1845 to 1848; a large part of the domestic debt was cleared off,
immigration was encouraged, and free trade permitted in gold and
tobacco. The petty war with Ecuador, concluded by the peace of Santa
Rosa de Carchi, is hardly worthy of mention. From 1849 to 1852 the reins
were in the hands of General Jose Hilario Lopez, a member of the
democratic party, and under him various changes were effected of a
liberal tendency. In January 1852 slavery was entirely abolished. The
next president was Jose Maria Obando, but his term of office had to be
completed by vice-presidents Obaldia and Mallarino.
In 1853 an important alteration of the constitution took place, by which
the right was granted to every province to declare itself independent,
and to enter into merely federal connexion with the central republic,
which was now known as the Granadine Confederation. In 1856 and 1857
Antioquia and Panama took advantage of the permission. The Conservative
party carried their candidate in 1857, Mariano Ospino, a lawyer by
profession; but an insurrection broke out in 1859, which was fostered by
the ex-president Mosquera, and finally took the form of a regular civil
war. Bogota was captured by the democrats in July 1861, and Mosquera
assumed the chief power. A congress at Bogota established a republic,
with the name of the United States of Colombia, adopted a new federal
constitution, and made Mosquera dictator. Meanwhile the opposite party
was victorious in the west; and their leader, Julio Arboleda, formed an
alliance with Don Garcia Moreno, the president of Ecuador. He was
assassinated, however, in 1862; and his successor, Leonardo Canal, came
to terms with Mosquera at Cali. The dictatorship was resigned into the
hands of a convention (February 1863) at Rio Negro, in Antioquia; a
provisional government was appointed, a constitution was drawn up, and
Mosquera elected president till 1864. An unsuccessful attempt was also
made to restore the union between the three republics of the former
federation. The presidency of Manuel Murillo Toro (1864-1866) was
disturbed by various rebellions, and even Mosquera, who next came to the
helm, found matters in such a disorganized condition that he offered to
retire. On the refusal of his resignation, he entered into a struggle
with the majority in the congress, and ultimately resorted to an
adjournment and the unconstitutional arrest of 68 of the senators and
representatives. To the decree of impeachment published by the congress
he replied by a notice of dissolution and a declaration of war; but he
soon found that the real power was with his opponents, who effected his
arrest, and condemned him first to two years' imprisonment, but
afterwards by commutation to two years' exile. The presidency of Santos
Gutierrez (1868-1870) was disturbed by insurrections in different parts
of the republic, the most important of which was that in Panama, where
the most absolute disorganization prevailed. Under his successor,
General E. Salgar, a Liberal candidate elected in opposition to General
Herran, a treaty was finally concluded with the United States in
connexion with an interoceanic canal, a bank was established at Bogota,
and educational reforms instituted. Manuel Murillo Toro (1872-1874) and
Santiago Perez (1874-1876) saw the country apparently acquiring
constitutional equilibrium, and turning its energies to the development
of its matchless resources.
The election for the presidential term 1876-1878 resulted in favour of
Aquiles Parra, who was succeeded in April 1878 by General Julian
Trujillo. His administration was marked by a strong effort to place the
financial position of the government on a more satisfactory footing, and
the internal indebtedness was substantially reduced during his rule. In
April 1880 Senor Rafael Nunez acceded to the presidency. During his term
of office revolutionary disturbances occurred in the provinces of Cauca
and Antioquia, but were suppressed with no great difficulty. Provision
was made in 1880 for a settlement of the boundary dispute with Costa
Rica, and in July of that year the federal Congress authorized the
formation of a naval squadron. A movement was now set afoot in favour of
a confederation of the three republics of Colombia, Ecuador and
Venezuela on the basis of the original conditions existing after the
expulsion of Spanish authority, and a resolution was passed by the
chamber of deputies to that effect. The opposition shown by Venezuela
and Ecuador to this project prevented any definite result from being
achieved. In April 1882 Senor Francisco J. Laldua became president, but
his death occurring a year later, General Jose Eusebio Otalora was
nominated to exercise the executive power for the unexpired portion of
the term. In 1883 the dispute in connexion with the boundary between
Colombia and Venezuela was submitted by the two governments to the
arbitration of Alphonso XII., king of Spain, and a commission of five
members was appointed to investigate the merits of the respective
claims. The decision in this dispute was finally given by the queen
regent of Spain on the 16th of March 1891. In April 1884 Senor Rafael
Nunez was again proclaimed president of the republic in his absence
abroad. Pending his return the administration was left in the hands of
General Campo Serrano and General Eliseo Payan. The Liberal party had
been instrumental in the re-election of Nunez, and looked for a policy
in conformity with their views and political convictions. President
Nunez had no sooner returned to Colombia than the Liberals discovered
that his political opinions had changed and had become strongly
Conservative. Discontent at this condition of affairs soon spread. Nunez
from motives of ill-health did not openly assume the presidential
office, but from his house near Cartagena he practically directed the
government of the republic. The Liberals now began to foment a series of
revolutionary movements, and these led in 1885 to a civil war extending
over the departments of Boyaca, Cundinamarca, Magdalena and Panama.
General Reyes and General Velez were the two principal leaders of the
revolt. In order to protect the passage of the traffic across the
Isthmus of Panama during these disturbed times detachments of United
States marines were landed at Panama and Colon, in accordance with the
terms of the concession under which the railway had been constructed.
After a number of defeats the leaders of the revolt surrendered in
August 1885, and on the 5th of September following peace was officially
proclaimed. Nunez, who had meanwhile assumed the presidential duties,
now brought about a movement in favour of a fresh Act of Constitution
for Colombia, and a new law to that effect was finally approved and
promulgated on 4th August 1886. Under the terms of this act the federal
system of government for Colombia was abolished, the states becoming
departments, the governors of these political divisions being appointed
by the president of the republic. Each department has a local
legislative assembly elected by the people. The national congress is
constituted of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate
is composed of twenty-seven members elected for six years, one-third
retiring every two years, three of whom are nominated by each of the
nine departments. The House of Representatives comprises members elected
for four years by universal suffrage, each department forming a
constituency and returning one member for every 50,000 inhabitants.
Congress convenes every two years. The presidential term of office under
the new act was fixed at six years in place of the two years formerly
prevailing. The judiciary was irremovable, and trial by jury was allowed
for criminal offences. Capital punishment was re-established, and the
press was made responsible for matter published. The unlicensed trade in
arms and ammunition thitherto existing was prohibited. Previous to 1886
the crime of murder was only punishable by 10 years' imprisonment, a
sentence which in practice was reduced to two-thirds of that term;
slander and libel were formerly offences which the law had no power to
restrain, and no responsibility attached to seditious publications.
After the promulgation of this new Act of Constitution President Nunez
was proclaimed as president of the republic for the term ending in 1892.
He was unable, however, in consequence of ill-health, to reside at
Bogota and discharge the presidential duties, and consequently in August
1888 Senor Carlos Holguin was designated to act for him. In 1892
President Nunez was again elected to the presidency for a term of six
years, his continued ill-health, however, forcing him to place the
active performance of his duties in the hands of the vice-president,
Senor Miguel Caro. In 1895 the Liberals made another attempt to seize
the government of the country, but the movement was suppressed without
any very great difficulty. In this same year Nunez died, and
Vice-President Caro became the actual president, an office he had
practically filled during the three previous years. In 1898 Senor M. A.
Sanclemente, a strong Conservative, and supported by the Church party,
was elected to the presidency for the period ending in 1904. In October
1899 the Liberals organized another revolutionary outbreak for the
purpose of trying to wrest the power from Conservatives, but this
attempt had no better success than the movements of 1885 and 1895. In
January 1900, however, Vice-President Jose Marroquin seized upon the
government, imprisoned President Sanclemente (who died in prison in
March 1902), and another period of disturbance began. The rebels were
defeated in May in a desperate battle at Cartagena; and continuous
fighting went on about Panama, where British marines had to be landed to
protect foreign interests. As the year 1900 advanced, the conflict went
on with varying success, but the government troops were generally
victorious, and in August Vice-President Marroquin was recognized as the
acting head of the executive, with a cabinet under General Calderon. In
1901 the rebellion continued, and severe fighting took place about
Colon. Further complications arose in August, when trouble occurred
between Colombia and Venezuela. On the one hand, there were grounds for
believing that the Clericals and Conservatives in both countries were
acting together; and, on the other, it was expected that President
Castro of Venezuela would not be sorry to unite his own countrymen, and
to divert their attention from internal affairs, by a war against
Colombia. The Colombian revolutionary leaders had made use of the
Venezuelan frontier as a base of operations, and the result was an
invasion of Venezuelan territory by Colombian government troops, an
incident which at once caused a diplomatic quarrel. The United States
government in September offered its good offices, but President Castro
refused them, and the state of affairs became gradually more menacing.
Meanwhile both Panama and Colon were seriously threatened by the rebel
forces, who in November succeeded in capturing Colon by surprise. The
situation was complicated by the fact that the railway traffic on the
Isthmus was in danger of interruption, and on the capture of Colon it
became necessary for the American, British and French naval authorities
to land men for the protection of the railway and of foreign interests.
On the 18th of September the Venezuelans, who had entered Colombia, were
totally routed near La Hacha, and after fierce fighting the insurgents
at Colon were compelled to surrender on the 29th of November. But the
Civil War was not yet ended. For another eight months it was to
continue, causing immense damage to property and trade, and the loss of
tens of thousands of lives. In many towns and villages the male
population was almost entirely destroyed. Not till June 1903 was
internal peace finally restored. In the autumn of that same year
Colombia, exhausted and half ruined, was to suffer a further severe loss
in the secession of Panama.
The abrogation of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty in 1901, and the failure of
the second French company to construct a canal between Colon and Panama
(see PANAMA CANAL) had, after many hesitations, induced the United
States government to abandon the Nicaragua route and decide on adopting
that of Panama. Negotiations were set on foot with Colombia, and an
arrangement--under what was known as the Hay-Herran treaty--was made to
the following effect. Colombia agreed (1) to the transfer of the rights,
under the concession, of the French company to the United States; (2) to
cede, on a hundred years' lease, a right of way for the canal, and a
strip of land 5m. broad on either side of the waterway, and the two
ports of Colon and Panama. The United States agreed to pay Colombia (1)
L2,000,000 down in cash, and, ten years later, an annual rental of
L50,000, and further a share of the price paid to the French company,
_i.e._ L8,000,000, in which Colombia held 50,000 shares. This treaty was
signed by the plenipotentiaries and ratified by the United States
Senate. The Colombian Congress, however, refused to ratify the treaty on
the ground that when the negotiations had taken place the country was in
a state of siege, really in the hope of securing a larger money payment.
The adjournment took place on the 31st of October. On the 3rd of
November a revolution broke out at Panama, and the state seceded from
Colombia and declared itself to be an independent republic. This
opportune revolution was no doubt fomented by persons interested in the
carrying through of the United States scheme for piercing the isthmus,
but their task was one that presented no difficulties, for the isthmian
population had been in a state of perennial insurrection against the
central government for many years. Whoever may have instigated the
rising, this much is certain, that American warships prevented the
Colombian troops from landing to suppress the revolt. On the 7th of
November the United States government formally recognized the
independence of the republic of Panama (q.v.). The other powers in
succession likewise recognized the new state; the recognition of Great
Britain was given on the 26th of December. Colombia thus sacrificed a
great opportunity of obtaining, by the ratification of the Hay-Herran
treaty, such a pecuniary recompense for the interest in the territory
through which the canal was to be constructed as would have gone far to
re-establish her ruined financial credit.
In 1904 the troubled term of President Marroquin came to an end, and by
the narrowest of majorities General Rafael Reyes was elected in his
place. He had been sent as a special envoy to Washington to protest
against the recognition of Panama, and to attempt to revive the
Hay-Herran treaty, and to secure favourable terms for Colombia in the
matter of the canal. He failed to do so, but it was recognized that he
had discharged his difficult task with great skill and ability. On his
accession to office as president he found the country exhausted and
disorganized, more especially in the department of finance, and the
congress was on the whole hostile to him. Finding himself hampered in
his efforts to reform abuses, the president dissolved the congress, and
summoned a national constituent and legislative assembly to meet on the
15th of March 1905, and with its aid proceeded to modify the
constitution.
Having personal acquaintance with the success of the rule of President
Porfirio Diaz in Mexico, General Reyes determined to set about the
regeneration of Colombia by similar methods. His tenure of the
presidency was extended to a term of ten years from the 1st of January
1905, and the restriction as to re-election at the end of that term was
withdrawn, other alterations being made in the constitution with the
effect of placing General Reyes really in the position of a dictator. He
soon proved that he had the ability and the integrity of purpose to use
his great opportunity for the benefit of his country. His firm and
masterful government and wise measures did much to allay the spirit of
unrest which had so long been the bane of Colombia, and though an
attempt at assassination was made in the spring of 1906, the era of
revolution appeared to be over.
The chief foreign treaties entered into by Colombia in the last quarter
of the 19th century were:--(1) A treaty with Great Britain, signed on
the 27th of October 1888, for the extradition of criminals; (2) a treaty
of friendship, commerce and navigation with Italy, signed on the 27th of
October 1892; (3) two protocols with Italy, signed respectively on the
24th of May and on the 25th of August 1886, in connexion with the affair
of the Italian subject Cerruti; (4) a consular convention with Holland,
signed on the 20th of July 1881; (5) a treaty of peace and friendship
with Spain, signed on the 30th of January 1881; (6) a convention with
Spain for the reciprocal protection of intellectual property; (7) a
concordat with the Vatican, signed on the 31st of December 1887; (8) an
agreement with the Vatican, signed on the 20th of August 1892, in
connexion with ecclesiastical jurisdiction; (9) an agreement with the
republic of San Salvador, signed on the 24th of December 1880, in regard
to the despatch of a delegate to an international congress; (10) a
treaty of peace, friendship and commerce with Germany, signed on the
23rd of July 1892; (11) a treaty with the republic of Costa Rica, signed
in 1880, for the delimitation of the boundary; (12) the postal
convention, signed at Washington, on the 4th of July 1891; (13) a
convention with Great Britain, signed on the 31st of July 1896, in
connexion with the claim of Messrs Punchard, M'Taggart, Lowther & Co.;
(14) a treaty of friendship, commerce and navigation with Peru, signed
on the 6th of August 1898; (15) an extradition treaty with Peru, signed
on the 6th of August 1898; (16) a treaty of peace, friendship and
defensive alliance with Venezuela, signed on the 21st of November 1896,
and on the same date a treaty regulating the frontier commerce. (G. E.)
AUTHORITIES.--C. E. Akers, _A History of South America, 1854-1904_
(New York, 1905); J. J. Borda, _Compendio de historia de Colombia_
(Bogota, 1890); Salvador Roldan Camacho, _Notas de viaje_ (Bogota,
1890), and _Escritos varios_ (Bogota, 1892); Dr Alfred Hettner,
_Reisen in den colombianischen Anden_ (Leipzig, 1888); Angel Lemos,
_Compendio de geografia de la Republica de Colombia_ (Medellin, 1894);
Albert Millican, _Travels and Adventures of an Orchid Hunter_ (London,
1891); J. M. Cordovez Mauro, _Reminiscencias Santafe y Bogota_
(Bogota, 1899); Norris and Laird (Bureau of Navigation), _Telegraphic
Determination of Longitudes in Mexico, Central America, the West
Indies, and on the North Coast of South America_ (Washington, 1891);
R. Nunez and H. Jalhay, _La Republique de Colombia, geographie,
histoire, &c._ (Bruxelles, 1893); J. M. Q. Otero, _Historia Patria_
(Bogota, 1891); Lisimaco Palau, _La Republica de Colombia_ (1893); M.
Paz and F. Perez, _Atlas geografico e historico de la Republica de
Colombia_ (1893); R. S. Pereira, _Les Etats Unis de Colombia_ (Paris,
1883); Felipe Perez, _Geografia general, fisica y politica de los
Estados Unidos de Colombia_ (Bogota, 1883); F. Loraine Petrie, _The
Republic of Colombia_ (London, 1906); Elisee Reclus, _Geografia de
Colombia_ (Bogota, 1893); W. Reiss and A. Stubel, _Reisen in
Sudamerika. Geologische Studien in der Republik Colombia_ (Berlin,
1893); Ernesto Restrepo, _Ensayo etnografico y arqueologico de la
provincia de los Quimbayas_ (Bogota, 1892), and _Estudios sobre los
aborigines de Colombia_ (Bogota, 1892); Vicente Restrepo, _Estudio
sobre las minas de oro y plata de Colombia_ (Bogota, 1888, translated
by C. W. Fisher, New York, 1886); W. L. Scruggs, _The Colombian and
Venezuelan Republics_ (London, 1899; Boston, 1900); W. Sievers,
_Reisen in der Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta_ (Leipzig, 1887); F. J.
Vergara y Velasco, _Nueva geografia de Colombia_ (Bogota, 1892); Frank
Vincent, _Around and About South America_ (New York, 1890); R. G.
Watson, _Spanish and Portuguese South America during the Colonial
Period_ (2 vols., London, 1884).
See also the diplomatic and consular reports of Great Britain and the
United States; publications of the International Bureau of American
Republics (Washington, D.C.); Bureau of Statistics, _Commercial
America in 1905_ (Washington, 1906).