After much time under Spanish rule, the residents seemed to
develop not a love for the Spanish but the ability to withstand them. Now, that
doesn’t mean they were happy with Spanish rules, laws, and how they were
treated not even close. And those the strict laws eventually caught up to the
Spanish and in the years 1780 and 1781 many protests occurred, fueled by the
residents anger of the new taxes that were placed on them. These protests
didn’t last long and were cleared out in a short period of time, but one thing
happened that was very important to the gaining of Colombia’s independence, and
that is that Colombia’s residents just got a taste of freedom and were ready to
fight for more. The most recent separation from Spain
power was in 1804 when what is today known as Haiti declared their freedom.
Which would lead to support for Colombia from the leaders of the rebellion
Simon Bolivar and Francisco de Paula Santandar. The French army had been
occupying Spain at the time[1].
And the residents of the South American colonies knew it was a good time to
attack while Spain was week. At this time Colombia was split up into many
separate governments. And after the defeat of France in 1814, Spain sent troops
to Colombia to fight the rebellions, and many wars and fights occurred. In 1812
Simon Bolívar was pushing for independence in individual provinces but the lack
of support from outside nations frustrated him and he fled to Jamaica[2].
After the leaving of Simon, a man named Morillo took control of the revolt,
through smart tactics like granting freedom to slaves who helped fight and
actually made great progress with the rebellion, through these actions Simon
Bolívar’s confidence grew in the revolt and for the first time believed that
the war was winnable and returned to finish what he started. Two big battles
really gained the upper hand the rebellion needed for their independence. On
was when Francisco de Paula Santander defeated the Spanish Royalists in April
1819. And the Battle of Boyacá in august 1819 let independent forces enter
Bogato without resistance, and through both those battles Spain became very
weak and eventually lost their rule over Colombia which finally gave Colombia
the independence they had been fighting for, for so long.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Take over control
Conquest
Modern
day Colombia is nothing like it was back then. Actually it wasn’t even called
Colombia, the natives who were the true first residents of the island actually
never gave it a name, they just called it home. Well that didn’t last long
because in the year 1499 the Crew of Alonso de Ojeda slowly made their way
towards the colombia. Ojeda’s sole purpose of his expedition was to explore the
Colombian coast and find people to trade gold and pearls with and did not have
the intentions to colonize or conquer. Ojeda found what he was looking for with
the natives traded with them and after time delvolped a want for the land and
ignored his sole purposes and in 1510 became governor of the Colombian coast as
far as Uraba in the west and in 1525 established the capital at Santa Marta
which “would later serve as a base for conquest of the Muiscas.”[1]
After the capital was established Spanish rule spread like wild fire through
Colombia. As more people came to Colombia, more Spanish settlements were being
built. Because of Colombians rich land filed with precious gems like emeralds,
platinum, and some gold, Spanish colonists forced natives of the island to work
in mines. The Spaniards even imported African slaves to work along side the
natives on ranches and plantations.[2] The Spaniards had many important
expeditions to colonize and conquest lands in Colombia. One that was an
important building point for Spanish rule was Gonzalo Jimenez and his
conquering of the Muisca. Gonazalo
Jimenez was a lawyer turned commander, and had a craving to explore. So in 1536
he and his crew headed “inland up the Magdalena toward the land of the
Muiscas.”[3]
After completing the journey in 1537 but losing half his crew on the journey
from disease and shipwreck he was faced resistance from the natives. But after
a short time eventually controlled all of the Muisca territory. And on August
6, 1538 found the city of Santafe, which is now, present day Bogota, the
capital of Colombia. Life under Spanish rule was no walk in the park and included
chores like mining and farming.
Them Spanish not cool
Spanish rule
Life
under Spanish rule for the natives was no friendly relationship. The Spaniards
and the natives basically shared the Colombian land as if neighbors. In the
beginning one did not mess with the other, the Spaniards main purpose was just
trade. But after a while the Spaniards started to develop a want for the land.
And in no time at all, the Spaniards controlled most of what used to belong to
the natives. Now the natives didn’t just let the Spanish men come in and waltz
all over them, there was a slight resist but the natives did not stand a chance
against the raw power the Spanish had. After the Spanish took much land from
the natives, they began to make them work. Not simple things like herding cows
or peeling potatoes. No, shortly after there arrival the Spanish found out that
the Colombian ground was rich in emeralds, platinum and some gold. They forced
the natives to fish these precious gems out of the land for there own personal
wealth. They even began bringing African slaves to work along side the enslaved
natives on Spanish owned plantations. The Spanish ran a strict government
creating the rules that the residents were forced to follow. Freedom was given
between the Spanish and native people and “Some Indians and Spaniards intermarried”[1].
The government was strictly Spanish owned; many of the Spanish men that had
high titles in Spain were given a good spot within the Colombian government.
Natives did have the chance to move up in power in the society but it was quit
rare. All of these restrictions and rules eventually played a toll on the
natives and many were sick of how they were treated.
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