The arrival of the Spanishs meant the disappearance or the assimilation of the large majority of the indigenous cultures, distributed between the influences chibcha, caribe and arawak. The culture chibcha - known by its ceramics and its goldsmithery - dominated the center of the Eastern Cordillera. Taironas, in North, also counted goldsmiths and brilliant potters; since the discovery, in the years 1970, of the “cities lost” - on the sides of the sierra Nevada de Santa Marta - with their complex network of terraces, staircases and ways gravelled, one knows best the social organization, very elaborate, of these people. In the south, at San Agustín, large stylized, human or animal statues, preserve a certain mystery.

Conquest with independence

Moved by the thirst for gold, the Spanishs meet a strong resistance on the part of the “Indians” in their progression of the Caribbean coast towards the interior; Santa Fe of Bogotá, the future capital, is founded in 1538 by Jiménez de Quesada. If first half of the XVI E century is one period of conquest, the second will be rather that of colonization. The new Spanish, rich colony of its gold mines, takes the name of News-Grenade. It develops to the XVII E century agriculture and the breeding, by exploiting African labor, brought to compensate for the reduction in the indigenous population.  

The Spanish colony becomes viceroyalty in 1717. A “creole” middle-class - i.e. on the spot born - emerges and is sensitized with the ideas of the Lights: towards the end of the XVIII E century, inter alia under the influence of the French revolution, the power of the Spanish metropolis is disputed. The rising of the “comuneros del Socorro” against of too heavy taxes, in 1781, starts a process which will succeed, in 1810, with the first declaration of independence. The Spanishs launch the reconquest in 1815, thus causing the war of independence and release the campaign carried out by Simón Bolívar, the “Libertador”, in 1819.

Birth of a nation

Bolívar gives the name of Large-Colombia - in honor of Christophe Colomb - to the Union formed by Venezuela, the News-Grenade, joined by Ecuador and Panamá. In spite of the desire of Libertador to see the countries of the continent remaining plain, the appetites for power cause quarrels which will be right of the Union. Venezuela and Ecuador separate some in 1830. Many civil wars burst (52 on the whole) during the XIX E century; they are poked by the opposition exacerbated between the two great parties (liberal and conservative) and their chiefs, buildings and nationals; the importance of this opposition results in the alternation of the modes, sometimes federal, sometimes with centralizing vocation. The Thousand Day old war (1899-1902) establishes a certain tradition of violence.  

During first years of the XX E century, the influence of the United States starts to be felt, with in particular the support brought by the Americans to the independence of Panamá (1903). After the First World War, the country knows one fast economic period of growth, with correlative development of industry and the urban areas. But this progress is accompanied by inequalities and social conflicts; the army will not hesitate to massacre the workmen of the North-American banana companies.

The era of violences

Second half of the XX E century starts with a clap of thunder: the populist leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitán is assassinated in Bogotá on on April 9th, 1948, which involves a violent popular insurrection. The larval civil period of war (called “Violencia”) which follows will make nearly 200 ' 000 deaths in ten years. This violence, which will continue in various forms, causes the formation of movements of guerilla and causes an important rural depopulation, which contributes to inflate the shantytowns girdling the great urban areas.

In 1953, Colombia knows one of the rare military coups d'etat of its history, with the come to power of the general Rojas Pinilla. To be opposed to its populist mode, the two traditional parties are combined and formed, in 1958, a National front which envisages alternation with the power during sixteen years of a liberal president and a conservative. Since 1974, liberals and conservatives continue to assume the power.  

Years 1970 are remembered by the increasing activity of the movements of guerilla and by that of the drug traffickers (marihuana in the years 1970, cocaine then). Years 1980 see the governments trying to negotiate with the guerilla, in particular with the Movement of April 19th (M 19), which signs agreements of cease-fire.  

It is also in years 1980 that, under the pressure of the Western countries, where the drug taking became a plague, the government, with the assistance of the United States, engages the fight against the Maffias, which culminates with death, in 1993, of the principal “godfather”, Pablo Escobar, one of ten larger fortunes in the world.  

The differences between the two parties - the laic and social liberal opposes to the conservative, plus traditionalist and attache with the order - grew blurred little by little, recruitment being done in the same leading class. Also these parties succeeded in overcoming their divisions to manage the joint country for the period of the National front, then in the years 1970. This monopoly of the traditional parties contributed to maintain corruption, nepotism and populism.

The collapse of the two-party system

With beginning of the year 80, the democratic power is weakened by the omnipresence of the countervailing powers: drug traffickers, guerilla, paramilitary groups related to the army. Scissions cross the two traditional parties; thus, Luis Carlos Galán, which will be assassinated in 1989, launches “new liberalism”.

Its political heir, César Gaviria Trujillo, are elected president in 1990. A president preserving, Belisario Betancur, “more liberal than the liberals”, elected since 1982, had before started the negotiations with the movements of guerilla. Most important of them, the M 19, which accepts the amnesty, will be constituted in political party

The liberals gain the legislative elections of March 1994, marked by a rate of abstention record (31 % from voters), and, on on June 19th of the same year, Ernesto Samper is elected president of the Republic. Four years later, E. Samper, whose presidency was paralyzed by the accusations of corruption by the narco-traffickers of which it was the object on the part of the United States, is beaten with the presidential elections by the conservative candidate Andres Pastrana who succeeds to him in charge of the State (1998).