Colombia History Timeline & FactsSouth America - Concise History of the Mesoamerican civilisations Mesoamericans were the ancient civilisations of South America which is now divided into 12 independent countries consisting of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The diverse civilizations of ancient Mesoamerica included the Olmecs, Toltecs, Aztecs, Incas and Mayans Click the following link for details of the ancient South American / Mesoamerican Civilisations History Timeline & Facts Concise History and Timeline of Colombia 1535 Spanish Colombian conquest begins 1525 The first permanent settlement in South America was founded at Santa Marta 1536-1538 Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada (1509-1579) led an expedition into the Andes and obtained massive amounts of emeralds and gold 1538 Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada founded Bogota as the capital of the 'New Kingdom of Granada' 1550 Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada was appointed Marshal of New Granada and councillor of Bogotá for life. He died in 1579 1550 African slaves were shipped to Colombia to work on Colombian plantations 1564 The Spanish government appointed a president to govern the Colombian colony 1700s Spain combined Colombia with neighboring territories into one large colony called the Viceroyalty of New Granada The Viceroyalty of New Granada consisted of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama Venezuelan General Francisco Gabriel de Miranda (1750-1816) participated in major political events for more than three decades 1810 The territories of the Viceroyalty of New Granada set up their own independent governments 1810 Overthrow of the king of Spain by Napoleon 1814 Spain sent troops to South America to quell the uprising of the colonists 1819 General Simon Bolivar defeats royalist forces in the Battle of Boyaca on August 7 and the Republic of Colombia (also known as Gran Colombia) is proclaimed on December 17, consisting of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador 1819 Colombia gained its independence from Spain Simon Bolivar established Gran Colombia and became the first Colombian president 1830 Ecuador and Venezuela left Gran Colombia to became totally independent 1853 Colombia adopted a constitution which abolished slavery 1899-1902 Civil War - The War of the Thousand Days took place 1903 Panama seceded from Colombia with US backing and allows US control over the strip of land now known as the Panama Canal zone 1922 The United States paid Colombia $25 million for the loss of Panama 1939-1945 Colombia helped the United States to keep the Panama Canal open during World War II 1989 USA began supplying the Colombian government with military equipment to help rid Colombia of drug dealers 2002 Alvaro Uribe Velez was elected Colombian president. Click the following link for details of the ancient South American / Mesoamerican Civilisations History Timeline & Facts Colombia History Time line |