History of Colombia: a paradise that makes the world fall in love

When attempting to sum up a brief history of Colombia, it is important to figure out who Colombians are, but this may be one of the hardest questions to answer. Colombia gained independence from Spanish hegemony on July 20th 1810, when the Cry of Independence was proclaimed in Santa Fe de Bogotá, and since then it has become the country it is today through a series of conflicts and civil wars.

Colombians’ joie de vivre and authenticity is the result of a historical legacy left by multiple cultures and ethnic groups. More than 200 years ago, it was the indigenous, African and Spanish settlers who forged the identity of a people full of joy, blessed with a rich and diverse geography, but also marked by conflict and the victims of their own countless natural riches.

In the years following that much-coveted independence, conflicts erupted and evolved around issues of skin colour, money and political ideologies. These murky decades, in which chaos was the only common denominator, are referred to today as the ‘Patria Boba’.

As Colombia consolidated its path towards statehood, two political-administrative tendencies gained prominence throughout the 19th century: political centralism and federalism. Political tensions and civil wars set the tone during this time, with the leading political groups responsible for stoking the armed conflict.

But in the midst of social upheaval, a few changes occurred in the second half of the 19th century, with the development of new export products including tobacco, cinchona, coffee, and cutting-edge gold and silver mining. The slow economic growth that characterized the second half of the 19th century was replaced by rapid expansion and significant investments in the country’s infrastructure.

The 20th century was much more decisive and prosperous for the country, and in this brief history of Colombia it should be noted that this era began with the culmination of the Thousand Days Civil War. The country finally stopped to take stock of the ruin and economic decline caused by violence and absurd power struggles, and vowed to change – immediately – to avoid even greater socio-economic regression compared to the global system developing in Europe and the United States.

Reform took place at an economic and social level. Politicians grasped that Colombia needed to modernize its public policies, and this served as the foundation for revolutions in technology, politics, culture, education and society.

Colombian university students began to demand a modern educational system, in order to escape the yoke of old-fashioned Spanish doctrines and elites. This was the preamble to one of the most hectic chapters in the history of Colombia.

A revolt known as ‘El bogotazo’ set Bogotá on fire for three days, leading to a death toll of 3,000 and a half-destroyed city. The reason? The murder of one of the country’s most emblematic leaders, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, on April 9th 1948. ‘El bogotazo” marked the turning point.

Social action such as this forced the government to acknowledge that its citizens had moved on to another age. A young, well-informed and critical civil society was using an age-old guide to assess a country which boasted immense wealth (such as coffee, flowers) and extraordinary landscapes such as Cartagena, the Santanderes, the Valle del Cauca and the Amazon, but was also rife with illegal groups created to fight back against the national regime.

This awakening and new recognition of the country led Colombians to promote political and social movements at the end of the century such as the Seventh Papeleta, which is already 30 years old and is the axis of the 1991 Political Constitution, inclusive and highly social. This road map has been constantly adjusted over the years.

With the turn of the century, Colombia began to write a brief history very different from the one before. Once convulsed by the violence from drug trafficking, guerrillas and the 1999 economic crisis, which generated fear and enormous insecurity, today Colombia is recognized as a country of artists, athletes, writers, culture, gastronomy, music and tourism. The Olympic medal count rose, footballers were signed by big clubs, and the country’s restaurants and chefs, as well as the music of Carlos Vives, Shakira and J Balvin, travelled around the world.

On September 26th 2016 an Historical agreement was signed with the FARC guerillas, which didn’t end the war, but became a benchmark in the national debate on the armed struggle. Free trade agreements were also signed with the United States, Canada, Chile, Europe, South Korea, Panama, Costa Rica and Turkey; in addition, the country entered the Organization for Cooperation and Development (OECD).

As a result, the economy skyrocketed. Colombia was filled with franchises, smartphones, vehicles, toys, new technologies, foreign soccer jerseys, artists – and Venezuelan immigrants who began to arrive in 2015, driven by the political and humanitarian crisis unleashed by the Chavista regime.

Above all in this brief history of the last decade, Colombia was filled with foreign tourists, curious to discover our country. Some of them have stayed, as we saw earlier, to tell the world about the wonder of its landscapes, the sunrises and sunsets full of magic; to enjoy the good weather or wrap up a little and head to the mountains, warming their hands with a cup of excellent coffee or a ‘panela water’.

Colombia is one of the 50 happiest countries in the world, according to the ranking published by Gallup in 2019, and despite everything happiness and optimism define the Colombian people. Today, in the face of a new reality and the crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, resilience can also be added to the list of its residents’ traits.

This brief history of Colombia is a summary of this country’s plurality, and its constantly changing spirit. Colombians like how they are: resourceful, creative and striving to improve our image day by day.