Colombia, a republic occupying the north-west corner of the South American continent, and including also the Isthmus of Panamá. Its limits were officially stated in 1887 as 12° 25' N.—5° 8' S. lat., and 70° 40'—82° 40' W. long., and its area was estimated at 513,938 sq. miles (nearly as large as Great Britain, France, and Spain together), exclusive of most of its hundreds of islands and keys, which stretch as far north as the Mosquito coast. The population amounts to about 4,000,000, including some 200,000 uncivilised Indians who inhabit the remote forests. The situation of Colombia, washed by two oceans, with a total coast-line of nearly 3000 miles, possessing all along the Atlantic shore and on the Pacific side of Panamá commodious bays and lagoons, and with several fair harbours even on the less favoured coast to the south, presents great commercial possibilities—though it has lost an expected impulse by the stoppage of the Panamá Canal through the north-west department. The surface of the country is extremely varied, with lofty mountains in the west, and vast plains in the east scarcely above the level of the sea. For the mountains, see ANDES. This system spreads out in three great ranges, like the rays of a fan, from the extensive plateau of Pasto in the south-west; thus forming valleys running from north to south parallel to the three chains, except where disproportionate activity of the volcanic forces has caused an upheaval of the country near them. The fundamental formations of the country are igneous and metamorphic, and everywhere are traces of the disturbances (still not unfrequent in the form of earthquakes) that have upheaved plateaus and opened fractures that now mark the courses of the principal rivers. Of the sections outside the main Cordilleras, the principal are the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in the north, and the low Baudo range, along the north-west coast, which extends into Panamá. From the Central Cordillera descend the two principal rivers of Colombia, the Magdalena and its tributary the Cauca, which flow north into the Caribbean Sea, besides several affluents of the Amazon in the east, and the Patía, which forces its way to the Pacific, through a gorge between cliffs 10,000 to 12,000 feet high, and forms the only notable break in the long wall of the Western Cordillera from Darien to Patagonia. The Eastern Cordillera, by far the largest chain, consists of a series of extensive tablelands, cool and healthily, where the white race flourishes as vigorously as in Europe. This temperate region is the most thickly populated portion of the republic; and on one of its plateaus, at an elevation of 8694 feet, stands the capital, Bogotá (q.v.). Eastward from this Cordillera stretch vast llanos or plains, through which flow the Meta, the Guaviare, and other tributaries of the Orinoco. Besides these, the chief rivers are the San Juan (navigable 150 miles), on the Pacific coast; the Atrato (q.v.) and Zulia (150 miles), flowing north; the Arauca (600), which, as well as the Meta (700) and Guaviare (850), feeds the Orinoco; and the Caquetá (1350), the Putumayo (1100), and the Napo (750), tributaries of the Amazon. The lakes are unimportant.
Climate and Productions.—In the course of one day's journey, the traveller may experience in this country all the climates of the world; perpetual snows cover the summits of the Cordilleras, while the valleys are smothered in the rich vegetation of the tropics. The mean temperature ranges from 32° to 82°, according to the elevation. The climate of Panamá is notoriously unwholesome, and in some parts of Bolívar and Magdalena, in the north, marsh fevers abound. The rainy season falls from November to April, except among the low-lying forests of the south-east, where the rainfall is distributed throughout the year, and in the Chocó coast district of the north-west, where, shut in from the north-east winds, the heavy atmosphere hangs motionless, and mists and torrents of rain alternate. Colombia naturally yields a variety of productions corresponding to this great diversity of climate and of elevation. The hot region, extending to an elevation of about 3200 feet, produces in abundance rice, cacao, sugar-cane, bananas, yams, tobacco, indigo, cotton, caoutchouc, vegetable ivory, and many medicinal plants; and the forests, with their tagua and other stately palms, their rare balsamic resins and valuable dyewoods, are ablaze with flowers and creepers, and steeped in the perfume of the delicate vanilla orchid. In the temperate zone, from 3200 to 8500 feet above the sea, many of these plants are equally common, but the cocoa-nut palm gives place to the oak, the encenillo, groups of laurels, and arborescent ferns, and here flourish the coffee plant, the odorous Cherimoya (q.v.) and curibano, the fig, and the cinchona-tree. The Wax-palm (q.v.) extends beyond this region, and is found at a height of nearly 11,000 feet, and large crops of potatoes, grain, and leguminous plants are raised in the cold region; but from 10,000 feet rises the bleak páramo, with its scanty vegetation, ending in lichens at the snow-line. The fauna of Colombia is very extensive. Both coasts abound with turtles and pearl-oysters; the rivers swarm with fish and alligators, and on their marshy banks the capybara is found; the forests are the haunt of the tapir, armadillo, cavy, opossum, and deer, and during the day are alive with monkeys (of which no less than seventeen species are common), squirrels, paroquets, and numerous bright-plumaged birds, whose notes give place at night to the plaintive cry of the sloth. Beasts of prey are the jaguar, puma, ocelot, margay, and bear. The boa and numerous other snakes are common, but venomous serpents cease at an elevation of 6000 feet, the centipede and the chigoe are not met beyond 9850 feet, while the plague of mosquitoes and ants, and of other more dangerous insects, is mainly confined to the lowlands. In the northern departments, and in the immense llanos of the east, great herds of cattle, descended from those imported by the Spaniards, are reared; in the central districts, shorthorns and other English, Dutch, and Norman cattle and horses have been introduced, and are largely raised throughout the temperate zone. Fish life ceases in the lakes at 13,000 feet; and in the solitudes above, the condor dwells alone. In minerals the country is exceedingly rich, although its scanty population, their poverty, and the absence of roads have combined to limit the exploitation of the precious metals. Nevertheless, in 1887, claims were presented to 751 mines in Antioquia; and from this department alone over £400,000 worth of gold is annually exported. The department of Tolima is the richest in silver. It is estimated that gold to the value of £125,000,000, and silver to the value of nearly £7,000,000, have been exported since the 16th century; and over 95 per cent. of this ore has been found west of the Magdalena. Iron, copper, lead, coal, sulphur, zinc, antimony, arsenic, cinnabar, rock-salt, crystal, granite, marble, lime, gypsum, jct, amethysts, rubies, porphyry, and jasper are also found; while much of the world's platinum is obtained from the upper San Juan, and the principal source of the finest emeralds is at Muza in Boyacá, although there are other mines near Nomocon, in Cundinamarca.
Commerce, Finance, &c.—The only industries common to all the departments of Colombia are agriculture and the rearing of cattle. Coarse cloth fabrics for the inland trade are manufactured to some extent in Santander and Boyacá, and china-ware and cardboard in Antioquia; also soap, matches, and candles are made in Bogotá, and there are two foundries and a shoe factory in Cundinamarca; but straw-hats, known abroad by the name of Panamá, although they are made only in certain parts of Tolima, Antioquia, and Santander, are perhaps the only manufactured article exported from the country. The transit trade across the Isthmus of Panamá, valued at £15,000,000 per annum, is of far more consequence than the direct commerce. The foreign trade proper is mainly with Great Britain and the United States. The imports are mostly food-stuffs, textiles, machinery, and iron-wares; the exports, coffee, gold, silver, and other ores, caoutchouc, ivory-nuts, divi-divi, tobacco, cacao, cotton, cinchona, cattle, balsams, timber and dyewoods, hides and wool. The average annual value of imports in the period 1875-84 was 9,662,806, of exports, 13,584,890; in 1893 the value of imports was 13,403,300, and of exports, 14,630,330; but it is difficult to reduce these figures to British currency, for although the dollar has a nominal value of four shillings, the rate of exchange has since 1878 varied between five and a half and nine dollars to the pound sterling. The nation has repeatedly undergone a severe financial crisis. For the fiscal year 1895-96 the expenditure was estimated at 26,203,950, and the revenue at 33,801,900, showing a very considerable nominal surplus; in 1894 the internal debt, floating and consolidated, amounted to 9,413,060, the foreign debt was calculated at 16,400,000, and $26,135,600 of government paper-money was in circulation. There appears, however, some reason to expect that the measures adopted to meet the nation's liabilities may prove effectual, and the present financial condition of the republic is said to be comparatively hopeful. For the rest, the government can only look to rigid economy and the development of its rich mines, which it is endeavouring to encourage to the utmost, for relief from its embarrassments. All enterprise, however, is sadly hampered by the difficulty of communication. The Magdalena and the other great streams are the principal arteries of commerce, and a good deal of steamer traffic is carried on; but, besides that of Panamá, there were in 1895 eight railways open for traffic, with only a total length of 220 miles, although several others were expected to be completed shortly. The telegraph system has 6900 miles of lines, and this and the postal service (including a parcel post with Great Britain since 1888) are worked as efficiently as the condition of the country will permit. For the railway, canal, and other information as to the Isthmus, see the article PANAMÁ.
Population.—The chief aborigines of the country, the Chibchas or Muyscas, who inhabited the plateau of Bogotá, ranked among the nations of the New World second to the Aztecs and Peruvians alone. They worshipped the sun, had a calendar, and a government closely resembling that of Japan, lived in communes, were industrious farmers, and dressed in garments of cotton. Their rich, beautiful language has been forgotten by their descendants, but is preserved in a grammar published at Madrid by the Dominican missionary, Bernardo de Lugo, in 1619. The rest of the country was occupied by a great number of tribes, with as many dialects as divisions, sinking from the grade of the Chibchas to the naked savages of the plains, who were little above the level of the brutes they hunted. Some of the intermediate races, while understanding Spanish, have preserved their primitive speech; the uncivilised Indians are now mostly confined to the eastern plains, the northern portion of Magdalena, and the district of Darien and the Atrato. The pure whites form about a fifth of the entire population, and the Indian half-breeds more than half; there are now scarcely any pure negroes left in the country, but the mulattoes and zambos, resulting respectively from the union of negroes with whites and Indians, exceed a sixth of the whole. Slavery was finally abolished in 1852, and in 1870 a system of compulsory education was adopted which has on the whole proved successful. Parochial, secondary, normal, and technical schools are now within general reach, and all the departments boast universities of more or less efficiency, except Magdalena, Tolima, and Panamá. Journalism is largely represented in most of the large towns; and at the capital a considerable number of books are published every year. The state church is the Roman Catholic, which in the management of its own affairs is independent of the civil authority; religious orders were suppressed in 1863, and toleration in matters of religion is guaranteed; but, by the terms of a concordat entered into with the holy see in 1888, in the universities and all educational establishments public instruction is directed in conformity with the dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church, religion is one of the obligatory subjects of study, and diocesans are empowered to suspend teachers or professors who neglect or disobey this order.
History.—The northern coasts of Colombia were visited by Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci in 1499, and afterwards by Bastidas; in 1502 Columbus explored part of the country, and endeavoured to found on the Isthmus of Panamá the first Spanish colony on the American mainland. In 1513 Balboa (q.v.) discovered the Pacific, and Pizarro and Almagro sailed along the western coast of Colombia on their way to Peru in 1526. Ten years later Jimenez de Quesada broke the power of the Muyscan empire, and the Nuevo Reino de Granada was formed. As the country was opened up, the Indians sank, in spite of legislation designed for their protection, to the condition of serfs, and the policy of the crown, aided by the Inquisition, which was introduced in 1571, put an end to the democratic institutions of the early settlers. The region was administered by the Council of the Indies; nearly all posts were sold to Spanish speculators, who recouped themselves at the expense of the colonists; and even the commerce of the new possessions was granted as a monopoly to the merchants of Seville. The country formed a presidency (except during the years 1718–24) from 1564 to 1739, a period memorable for the disastrous descents of Drake, Morgan, Dampier, and others on the coast towns; it was then raised to a viceroyalty, which lasted until the war of independence.
On the 20th July 1810 the colony shook off the yoke of the mother-country, and entered upon the long struggle which ended in the election of Bolívar (q.v.) to the presidency of the Republic of Colombia, a term which, like the viceroyalty, embraced all that now belongs to Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. Independently of the singular difficulties of communication, and of the resulting absence of anything like natural unity, this unwieldy state contained from the beginning the germs of its own dissolution in the national character of its inhabitants. So long as union was necessary to meet external dangers, it maintained an imposing attitude in the eyes of the world; but gradually sectional interests and political jealousies did their work, and in 1831 the ill-assorted elements of the confederation were separated for ever. What is now Colombia was then formed under the title of the Republic of New Granada; but in 1861 a fresh civil war led to the establishment of the United States of Colombia. In 1863 a constitution was adopted, based on that of the United States of America, with a president elected for two years; but this proved altogether unsuited to the Colombians, and, after twenty years' trial, brought about the revolution of 1884–85. In 1886 a fresh constitution was adopted for the new Republic of Colombia, placing the central authority in the strengthened hands of the federal government, and reducing the nine former self-governing states of Antioquia, Bolívar, Boyacá, Cauca, Cundinamarca, Magdalena, Panamá, Santander, and Tolima to subordinate departments, which still, however, retain the management of their own finances. The executive authority is vested in a president, whose term is extended to six years, assisted by a vice-president, seven ministers, and a council of state; and the legislative power rests with a senate and House of Representatives. Capital punishment has been again established, and the members of the supreme court of justice are made immovable. The strength of the army is fixed at 6500 in time of peace, but in case of war the executive can raise this as circumstances may require.
See E. Reclus, Voyage à la Sierra-Nevada de Sainte-Marthe (Paris, 1861); Colonel F. Hall, Colombia (Phila. 1871); Esguerra, Diccionario Geográfico de Colombia (Bogotá, 1879); Pereira, Les États-Unis de Colombie (Paris, 1883); Perez, Geografia General (Bogotá, 1883); Etienne, Nouvelle Grenade (Geneva, 1887); Dr W. Sievers, Reise in der Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Leip. 1887); and the same author's Cordillere von
Mérida (Vienna, 1888) contains some notes on eastern Santander. See also the Descripcion published by the Colombian government in 1887, with the supplement on the trade with Spain, published at Barcelona in 1888; F. Bianconi's Notice Descriptive et Carte Commerciale (Paris, 1888); and papers by F. A. A. Simons (1879, '81, '85) and R. B. White (1883) in the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society.