The history of the Atlantic Age of Revolution cannot be talked about without taking into account the democratic and republican developments of European Spanish America. The country of Colombia is named after the infamous Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus, who was sent by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to reach the coast of Asia. But despite popular belief, the country was not actually founded by Christopher Columbus. The land of Colombia was actually discovered by Columbus’s companion, Alonso de Ojeda, who arrived at Cabo de la Vela. 

Colombia is a country with a strong history that reflects its mother country, which is Spain. Colombia is a colony of Spain and it is predominantly made up of Mestizo people, which are a mixture of European and Indian descent. With Spanish colonization came Spanish culture and religion, which is the Roman Catholic religion. One of the main central focuses that Columbus had on his journey to the Americas was in fact the idea of spreading the European ideology of religion to new lands for people to adapt to. We know from journals and scripts that this was not entirely true, due to the violent actions that Columbus and his fellow companions carried out once they reached the Americas. 

The economy is largely based around agriculture. as Colombia is very rich in coffee and fruit. The Spanish used the Indians to their advantage by basically making them work their own crops for European benefit. As we know by history, these crops that were native to Colombia were crucial in the economy of not only Colombia and Spain, but it also would become an important part of many African nations’ economies, as we know that slavery would play a major part in not only setting a foundation, but this inhumane practice would sadly spread and sustain many countries’ economies across the world. 

The country’s capital is Bogota, which was founded in 1538 by Gonzalo Jimenez, who had recently defeated the Chibcha’s. The territory of Santa Fe de Bogota was fought over for territorial reasons dealing with the constant struggle for the battle of supremacy between three different explorers. These advancements inland were from Nikolaus Federmann, Sebastian de Benalcazar, and Jimenez de Quesada. These men were fascinated with finding new riches from the Indians of the land. They finally would end up meeting on the Música territory, but none of the men had intended on meeting here. This struggle for power lasted until about 1550, when King Charles V of Spain established a court of justice at Bogota. This placed the colony under the established sister colony of Peru. 

Understanding the importance of Spanish colonization of the New World is extremely important because it lays the foundation that we will see for centuries to come. I feel that even today, we can still feel the effects that decisions made by the early inhabitants of this area, and how these decisions have a huge impact on the world today.  The Spanish set the foundation that will carry over and expand to newer lands over the course of history. 

U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, history.state.gov/countries/colombia.

Deas, Malcolm. “Colombia.” The Cambridge History of Latin America, 1995, pp. 470–474., doi:10.1017/chol9780521395250.078.