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|languages= {{unbulleted_list | Spanish (Official) | Various native languages }}
|currency=Colombian Peso (COP)
|map=RTL_Colombia_map.png}}
'''Colombia,''' officially the '''United Provinces of Colombia''' (''Provincias Unidas de Colombia'') is a country in northern South America. Colombia is bordered to the north by the Caribbean Sea, the northwest by [[Boschland]], the south by [[Peru]], the east by [[Guyana]], the southeast by [[Equador]], and the west by the Pacific Ocean. It comprises six provinces and 64 departments and the capital [[District of San José de Cúcuta]].
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=== Early History ===
Owing to its location, the present territory of Colombia was a corridor of early human civilization from Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to the Andes and Amazon basin.
During Spanish rule, Colombia became a center of imperial power with the growth of the colonial cities of Bogota, Caracas, Quito & Cartagena.
=== Colombian Revolution ===
Starting in the early 1830's southern and central Europe erupted into a wave of revolutions based upon liberalism, republicanism, and nationalism known as the [[Spring of Nations]]. Some of the earliest of these revolutions were in the Iberian peninsula, with revolutionaries calling for the Spanish and Portuguese empires to reform their political systems, with some revolutionaries going as far as
The Colombian Revolution started in 1836 with a series of liberal revolts in Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, and Maracaibo. In March of 1838, the [[Colombian Revolutionary Congress]] organized a militia and occupied the city of Medellín. Over the year, the Colombian highlands erupted into armed revolt under the revolutionary congress; in November of 1839, the revolutionary congress
Additionally, international pressure started to favor the Colombian rebels, with the Dutch and French empires refusing to stop trading the insurgents. In April of 1841, the Spanish began to actively shoot down Dutch merchant ships trying to land in New Granada, which led to the Dutch empire openly arming the Colombian rebels. In October of 1842, Spanish forces retreated from their last strongholds in Barranquilla and Cartagena. In December, Spanish and Colombian diplomats signed the Treaty of Medellín (1842). The Spanish recognized the independence of New Granada but retained sovereignty and control over Ecuador (with the region being reorganized under the authority of the viceroy of Peru).
=== Republic of Colombia ===▼
=== Colombia in the 20th century ===
==== First Colombian-Peruvian War ====
[[File:RTL 1895 Colombia.png|thumb|A map from 1895 showing Quito as disputed territory.]]
Since independence, the Republic of Colombia
After a minor skirmish occurred on the Peruvian-Colombian border that caused the deaths of two Colombian soldiers, the out-of-power conservatives made a ploy to whip up Nationalist fervor, retake the Quito territory, and hopefully retake political control from the Liberals. The conservatives began to launch massive a massive propaganda campaign. In the Colombian election of 1889, the Conservatives won a major political victory and, after a few months of tension, declared war on Peru in January of 1890.
The Colombian army wasn't the most modernized at the start of the war but the country itself was economically prosperous and as such was able to import most of the armaments they needed from Europe. In contrast the Kingdom of Peru was in a state of disarray after the Peruvian-Spanish war (which Spain reinvaded Peru briefly after commerce disputes) with factions of generals not coordinating with each other, frequent supply shortages and an overall unclear war plan. The war itself only lasted 10 months with the Colombians rapidly overwhelming the Peruvian defense of Quito which was due in no small part to internal issues within Peru. After the war for nearly 8 years the Peruvian government refused to acknowledge Colombian sovereignty over the Quito territory. ▼
▲The Colombian army
The aftermath of the war lead to great boons for the Republic of Colombia, not only did they gain a new province, they modernized their military with contemporary European arms and strategies and built stronger economic ties to nations such as France, the British, Genoa (who loaned the nation money during the war) and Venice. The Colombia Conservatives were able to use the victory in the war as a way to justify their continued rule and were able to stay in power for an unbroken 15 years. ▼
▲The aftermath of the war
==== Race to the Pacific and the Panama Canal ====
[[File:PanamaCanalCommission.png|thumb|Logo of the Panama Canal Commission]]Colombia is one of the three main shareholders of the modern-day Panama Canal Commission, along with [[Mexico]] and Genoa. Since the mid-19th century, the three governments
While the Panama Canal itself was a jointly
==== Italian Immigration to Colombia ====
From the
==== Second Colombian-Peruvian War ====
In 1917, Peru, suffering from widespread unemployment and economic troubles stemming from growing economic uncertainties in Europe, entered into secret talks with the Lusophone Republic of Equador and decided to wage a joint war on Colombia to split and annex the rubber producing Colombian Amazon territory.
In 1917 Peru suffering from widespread unemployment and economic troubles stemming from the Economic Crisis in Europe entered into secret talks with the Portuguese speaking Republic of Equador and decided to wage a joint war on Colombia in order to split and annex the rubber producing Colombian Amazon territory. At the time Colombia was suffering from it's own economic troubles as well as a series of strike waves across the nation. On July, 10th 1917 a surprise attack on Colombian airfields started the war with Colombia on the backfoot. Throughout 1917 Colombia lost ground in the Amazon as well as in the much sought over Quito province. By 1918 though Colombia was able to stop the Peruvian-Equadorian advances and mobilize it's new industrial center as well as securing nominal British support (who were worried of the precedent the war would set; themselves owning rubber producing land in Guiana). Additionally in Fall of 1918, the Chilean Revolt started in which the British and Colombian ran weapons and resources to. By the end of the year, Colombia was able to retake Quito province and at that point the war became a drawn out excursion mostly fought in the Amazon. In May 1919, Equador suffering a manpower shortage sued for peace and in that following July Peru signed an armistice with Colombia (themselves dealing with large scale revolts in Chile and the Chaco). On November 5th 1919, Colombia, Equador and Peru signed the Treaty of Leonabelle (mediated by the United Kingdom), in which Peru relinquished all claims to Quito, recognized the independence of Chile and the borders of the Amazon were agreed upon with Colombian claims and land occupied during the war being recognized as sovereign. ▼
▲
The aftermath of the war saw Colombia becoming ingratiated with Britain and British influence in Colombian politics and economic growing to unprecedented levels. Additionally, the war led to a reignition of the Colombian economy and growth of large Anglo-Colombian corporate firms operating in the nation. ▼
▲The aftermath of the war saw Colombia becoming ingratiated with Britain
== Government and politics ==▼
==== The Liberal Renaissance Era (1924-1940) ====
=== Administrative divisions ===▼
===== 1924 National Victory =====
After the end of the First Colombian-Peruvian War (1890), the Conservative Party was able to obtain enough popularity to stay in power for the next almost 40 years. With its economic ties close to Britain, the country’s export of raw materials and slow growing industrial sector. The aftermath of the Second Colombian-Peruvian War (1917-1919), on the other hand, brought to Colombia an unprecedented economic growth, especially in the oil and rubber sectors. But the skyrocketing Colombian economy soon reached its peak, and started its descent only two years later. The European Economic Crisis (1922-1928) hit hard the raw material based economies of most South American countries, and Colombia wasn’t an exception.
The crisis would mark the start of the end of the almost half century long continuation of conservative governments. The disastrous economic policy taken during the early crisis period where tons of products such as rubber, sugar and coffee were overproduced, sending the prices down and devaluing the Colombian currency, as the European colonial powers, Colombia’s major economic partners, started to shift to their closed markets, and hundreds of thousands lost their jobs.
The 1924 national election saw the Liberal Party rising to power with ease. With promises of fixing the economy and work to develop an “independent Colombian economy”, the party managed to elect a president and gain strength in the parliament.
===== 1925 Reformation =====
Now in power, the Liberals would need to solve dozens of issues in Colombia. One of the first moves was to start a process of decentralization by creating new departments in the provinces of Cundinamarca, Quito, and Orinocco and giving the provinces and departments more autonomy. A more balanced financial system was also implemented, so less important departments received a fair amount of money to self-strategize.
By this time, the effects of the European Economic Crisis were still present in the Colombian economy, especially in the agrarian sectors. Among the reforms the newly formed government implemented were monetary support for the unemployed, protection of small businesses, and a fund of investments to promote the creation of more Colombian-controlled industrial businesses in the country to reach a balance between the foreign-owned companies and the local-owned ones.
As the markets began to normalize throughout the end of the 1920s, the country saw its GDP slowly grow again, getting closer to pre-crisis numbers. Urbanization also saw significant growth after suffering a decrease during the peak of the crisis. The late 1920s and early 1930s weren't only marked by an economic reformation; the first work laws were passed due to popular pressure. With basically no rules dictating the workspace, hours of work, days off, or safety at work, a growing number of employers began to join unions and promote public demonstrations and strikes in most of the major economic centers of the country. After a year of pressure, the government finally ceded and created the first work regulations in 1931. The year was also marked by the creation of the Ministry of Work and Welfare.
After the Great War (1935–1939), a new world order was established and marked by a dispute of influence between the British Empire, the former only superpower in the world, and Russia, a power in rapid growth: the Silent War. Colombia, being close to the British since its beginnings, was elected to be a member of the Organization of Democratic Nations in 1947 but declined to have a more neutral approach to the situation and was on a middle ground between the spheres of influence. Although self-declared non-aligned, Colombia participated directly in proxy conflicts sparked by the Silent War. Such as the Peruvian Civil War (1944–1963), participated in the embargo over Equador in 1944, and was a founding member of the Organization of the Southern Cross in 1966.
===== Colombia role in the Peruvian Civil War (1944-1963) =====
Colombia had a direct role in the Peruvian Civil War from 1944 to 1963. Started by a rebellion of National Republican character inside the military of Peru in Lima, it soon turned into a bloody conflict. Colombia, fearing the consequences of another National Republican regime along Equador's borders, assembled with Brasil, Carolina, and Paraguay in Quito to organize a coalition in support of the Peruvian Monarchy. The Quito Coalition lasted through the totality of the conflict and was the root of the creation of the Organization Of The Southern Cross as a way to integrate more of the nations of South America.
===== Amazonic Skirmishes (1953-1962) =====
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Colombia experienced rapid economic and population growth. Large-scale agriculture became more common and started advancing more on the country savannas and part of the Amazon, which at the time was very much untouched land only inhabited by traditional communities and native tribes. This advance was encouraged by eastern departments to accelerate their economic development, received the nickname "march to the east," and soon started to threaten the way of life of the rural traditional population.
Conflituous interests soon became skirmishes due to the advancing deforestation. At first, not so much attention was paid to the situation by the government, but in 1956, aerial photos showed signs of an Equadorian presence near the border with Roraima and traces of improvised paths through the jungle for supplies. After the discovery, the Colombian government started a more aggressive approach to end the hostilities once and for all, as a National Republican rebellion was feared. From 1957 to 1962, the Colombian National Guard and Army conducted several pacification operations. But peace only came after the San Felipe Compromise in 1962 between the federal government and the traditional leaders. The compromise vows to protect traditional and native communities way of life and the creation of several full environmental protection and semi-protection territories in the east of the country. Most of them are located in Cundinamarca and Orinocco. This move made Colombia one of the first South American nations to develop a strong environmental policy.
===== Annexation of Genoese territories (1953) =====
===== Founding of the Organization Of The Southern Cross (1966) =====
▲== Government and politics ==
▲=== Administrative divisions ===
Colombia is broken up into six provinces: Cundinamarca, Venezuela, Quito, Panama, Orinoco and Trinidad. The six provinces are also divided in departments. 64 in total.
[[File:COLOMBIA PROVINCES AND DEPARTMENTS.png|thumb|Map showing the six Colombian provinces (left) and its 64 departments (right).]]
{{Nations of the World}}
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