Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/182

Rh 156 COLOMBIA when the first white foot left its print on their shores. According to Uricoechea there are at least twenty-seven native languages spoken in the western part of Colombia, fourteen in Tolima, thirteen in the region of the Caquita, twelve in Panama, Bolivar, and Mag- dalena, ten in Bogota and Cundinamarca, and thirty-four in the region of the lleta, while twelve have died out in the course of the last century. The tribes of the Atlantic seaboard, from Chiriqui to Goahira, attach themselves to the great Carib stock ; those of the Eastern portion. of the country show affinities with the contiguous Brazilian race ; those of the Tuquerus district are of the Peruvian type ; while the tribes of Autioquia, Cauca, Popayan, and Neiva preserve characteristics more akin to those of the Aztecs than to any other race. At the time of the Spanish Conquest the most important of all the tribes was the Miuscas or Chibchas, who had attained a con siderable degree of civilization, and established their authority over the table-lands of Bogota and Tunja. They are now represented by some bands that wander about the Meta ; their ancient language is partly preserved by the labours of Gonzalo Bermudez, Jose Dadei, and Bernardo de Lugo; and they have been the subject of a special study by Uricoechea in his Gramatica, Vocabulario, &c., de la Lengua Ckibcha, Paris, 1871. The Chibchas, says this author, were divided into three independent nations and several caciqucships; three chiefs exercised supreme power the Zipa, who resided in Muequeta (the present Funza), the Zaque, resident at Hunsa (now Tunja), and the Jcque, or chief of Iraca, who held the office of pontiff, was regarded as the successor of the god Nemterequeteba, and had his residence at the city of Suamoz or Sogamoso. Another remarkable tribe, which has now totally disappeared, was the Tayronas, of the Sierra Nevada of Sautamarta. They like wise were well advanced in civilization, as is proved not only by the reports of their conquerors, but also by such remains of their skill as the gold ornaments which are found from time to time in their territory, and the well-made roads by which it is still traversed. The most important of the tribes that still retain their savage state are the Mesayas, the Caquetas, the Mocoas, the Arnariz- anos, the Guipanabis, and the Andaquies in the eastern part of the republic ; the Goahiros, the Motilones, the Guainetas, and the Cocinas, in the districts of Rio Hacha, Upar, and Santamarta ; and the Dariens, the Cunacunas, and the Chocos, on the banks of the Atrato and its affluents. These tribes have all along been a thorn in the side of the country. In the 18th century we have in the vice regal reports continued complaints of the raids of the Chimilas, the Goahiros, the Andaquies, and the Motilones, who defied equally the military and the ecclesiastical method of reduction. The mission aries who were scattered through the country had a hard time of it with their converts, who even after they were baptized and in structed, &quot;take advantage of their knowledge to elude and assail us.&quot; To the present day the settlement and Cliristianization of this part of the population is one of the political problems of Colombia, and as recently as 1874 a bill was brought in for the purpose. The exact number of the uncivilized Indians is hardly ascertained ; it was roughly calculated by Mosquera as ranging from 108,000 to Population. 120,000. The rest of the population is composed mainly of Spanish Creoles, Negroes, and mixed races. According to Samper it was divided in 1858 as follows : 1,527,000 whites and white crossbreeds, 447,000 crossbreeds in which the Indian blood is more distinctly present, 90,000 Africans, and 446,000 crossbreeds in which the Negro or Indian blood is plainly predominant. Accord ing to a communication supplied to Behm and &quot;Wagner s Bcv olk- erung der Erde, 1874, the distribution of the population, exclusive of the uncivilized Indians, was in 1871 as it appears in the follow ing table: Area in sq. miles. Males. Females. Capitals. Top. of Capitals. Antioquia Bolivar 22,790 27,027 33,349 257,451 79,845 26,950 31,921 16,293 18,476 181,492 114,306 232,727 210,363 196,843 40,682 113,009 204,551 110,791 184,482 125,042 250,147 224,715 212,759 44,573 107,533 220,876 120,100 Medellin, Cartagena, Tunja, Popayan, Bogota, Santamarta, Panama, Socorro, Guamo, 30,000 7,800 8,000 16,000 50,000 3,500 18,378 20,000 7,000 Boyaca Cauca Cundinamarca Magdalena, ... Panama Santander Tolima ... History. ^ Owing to the discordant claims of Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil, the area of the frontier states is very variously given accord ing to the limits selected, and the calculation of the population is open to the same irregularity. History. The coast of Colombia was one of the first parts of the American continent visited by the Spanish navigators. Alonso do Ojeda touched at several points in 1499 and 1501 ; and Columbus himself visited Ycragua, 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 Anda- lucia and Castella de Oro were united in 1514 into the province of Tierra-firma, and entrusted to Pedro Arias de Avila. 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, 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 Ecu ador. 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 (see BOLIVAR), 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 Quito or Ecuador followed her example. The Republic of New Granada was founded November 21, 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 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 llerran, 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 inde pendent, 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 con cluded with the English creditors of the republic. Further progress was made under General 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 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 altera tion of the constitution took place, by which the right was granted to every province to declare itself independent, and to enter into merely federal connection with the central republic. 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 1 859, which was fostered by the ex-president Mosquera, and finally took the form of a regular civil war. Bogota was captured by the demo crats 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 victo rious in the west ; and their leader, Arboleda, formed an alliance with Don Garcia Moreno, the president of Ecuador. He was assas sinated, however, in 1862 ; and his successor, Canal, came to terms with Mosquera at Cali. The dictatorship was resigned into the hands of a convention 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 (1864-66) 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 resigna tion, 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 con-