Antioquia Department
Encyclopedia
Antioquia is one of the 32 departments of Colombia
, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea
. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valley
s, much of which is part of the Andes
mountain range. Antioquia has been part of many territorial divisions of former countries created over the present day territory of Colombia, and prior to the Colombian Constitution of 1886
, Antioquia State
was a sovereign government in their own right.
The department covers an area of 63,612 km² (24,427 sq mi), and has a population of 5,819,358 (2006 estimate); 6,6 million (2010 estimate). Antioquia borders with the Córdoba Department
and the Caribbean Sea
to the north, Chocó
to the west, to the east it borders the departments of Bolivar
, Santander
and Boyaca
, and to the south the departments of Caldas
and Risaralda
.
Medellín
is Antioquia's capital city, and the second largest city in the country. Other important towns are Santa Fe de Antioquia, the old capital located on the Cauca, and Puerto Berrío
on the Magdalena.
. The Cordillera Central, further divides to form the Aburrá valley, in which the capital Medellín
is located. The Cordillera Central forms the plateaus of Santa Rosa de Osos
and Rionegro
.
Despite 80% of the department's territory being mountainous, Antioquia also has a coast on the Caribbean Sea
, in the lowland area of the Urabá
. This area has a tropical climate and is of high strategical importance due to its location.
s, inhabited this part of modern day Colombia. There is still much uncertainty regarding the origin of these tribes–historical evidence suggests that both groups migrated from Brazil
.
Antioquia was primarily populated by Caribs, although some scattered groups of Muiscas were present in the Darién
region (in modern day Panama
), a coastal region in the far north of Antioquia. However, there are no historical records for these groups of Muiscas in Antioquia.
The Caribs present in Antioquia were further classified into smaller groups, called families. Some of the most prominent indigenous families in the region include the Catías, Nutabes and Tahamíes, which all inhabited the central region of Antioquia.
An important group that inhabited southern Antioquia was the Quimbaya
.
There were other groups, but the Quimbaya, Carib and Muisca tribes were the most prominent groupings that were found by the conquistador
s upon their arrival in Antioquia. The Quimbayas had little to do with the evolution of the department, because Jorge Robledo
, the main conquistador of Antioquia, quickly subjected the few Quimbaya that he found and the rest disappeared.
The history was centered then in the turbulent relationships of the Spaniards with the Caribs. Despite the number of Caribs and their well-known warring culture, they would end up dominated or exterminated by the Spaniards in the process of conquest
and colonization.
During these processes bloody confrontations were presented that caused the surviving natives to disperse, and even commit suicide, before they were subjected. Many of the survivors fled to the department of Chocó. Thus, in Antioquia, the natives disappeared almost completely. At present, the indigenous population of the department of Antioquia scarcely reaches 0.5% of the total population.
(Euskera) in the present territory of Colombia goes back to the early exploration occurred in 1499, during the third voyage of Columbus
, it is said that from that time the territory was felt a strong presence of Basques. Some figures such as the pilot and geographer Juan de la Cosa
, nicknamed "El Vizcaino" (although some sources claim that reputable and solvent was not a native of the Basque Country, but was born in Santona
, Cantabria).
Thereafter, the Basques began to come regularly and are distributed throughout the country. Due to this presence is that the Colombian department of Antioquia has been considered a major route of the Basque-Navarre
immigration, mainly during the colonial era, when hundreds of Basque migrated to be linked to the Spanish colonization companies.
People who were interested in investigating the presence of Euskal Herria in the department of Antioquia and Colombia, one of the questions that troubled them relates to the use and retention of the Basque language in their current territories.
It is estimated (for example for small Antioquia, a region where hundreds of Spaniards arrived, of which a good portion were Basque, some limited aspects of the culture and traditions brought by Basque settlers, without even mention his particular language, it has been unclear to track the use of Euskara in the current Antioquia and Colombia, because the Basque language was always an outcast, which apparently left no written evidence in Antioquia.
In this regard, it is hardly likely that the Spanish crown to maintain the monopoly of overseas companies, to maintain policies that restrict citizens not belonging to the then Spanish rule, much less allow it to speak languages other than Castilian language . Basques so that those invited to participate in the colonization of Indian companies, and foreigners in general, had to learn the official language, i.e., Castilian, hence the dominance of Castilian-Basque-speaking or bilingual.
Despite these restrictions, it is still possible to trace the history of Colombia present references to the ancient language of the Basques. A reference that has very ancient use of Euskara in Colombian territory, occurred in relation to Lope de Aguirre
, a native of Gipuzkoa nicknamed "The Madman". Aguirre's rebellion defied the Spanish empire, carrying out acts against the subjects of the Spanish crown. Pedro de Ursua
, a Navarrese faithful to the Spanish king, who was also the founder of Pamplona
in eastern Colombia, said that he could persuade the soldiers to be told of Aguirre's revolt, if they spoke in Euskera.
After the Spanish Civil War
, several Basque families migrated to Colombia. Many of these families were Basque-speakers and were wrote works in Euskera, and likewise, translated from Castilian Euskera literary works of Colombian authors.
who was in Darién in the year 1500. Ten years later, Alonso de Ojeda
founded San Sebastián de Urabá, 2 km from the present-day town of Necoclí
, which would be destroyed later by the natives. However, the first Spanish incursion in Antioquia only took place in 1537, when an expedition commanded by Francisco César traveled the lands of Indian chief Dabeiba, arriving at the Cauca River
and taking an important treasure from the indigenous tombs. However, men of chief Nutibara harassed the Spaniards, forcing them to return to Urabá
.
In 1541, Marshal Jorge Robledo left the now-gone Spanish establishment of Arma, a little below Aguadas in the south of Antioquia, for an expedition toward the north on the Cauca River.
Farther north, in 1541, Robledo would found Santa Fe de Antioquia. In 1813, Santa Fe de Antioquia was declared the capital of the County of Antioquia, and this lasted until 1826 when Medellin was made the capital.
n (now Turkish
), Hellenistic city of Antioch on the Orontes (Arabic: Antākiyyah, today Antakya
) was used, as the region known as the Coffee Zone in Colombia, in which many towns and cities are named after cities in the middle east, has a very strong Judeo-Arabic influence, both demographically and culturally; Additionally the city in mention played a significant role in the development of early Christian communities thus religiously important for Roman Catholic Spaniard conquerors. Others state that it is named after some of the other many Hellenistic ancient cities in the middle east named Antiochia
which were founded as well by some of the Antiochus
Kings during the Seleucid Empire (312–63 BC).
as of 2011. Large, remote parts of the department are controlled by FARC's 5th, 34th, 36th and 58th Fronts, in addition to the mobile fronts Héroes y Mártires del Cairo, Raúl Eduardo Mahecha Front and Jacobo Arenas Urban Front, which operates in Medellín. Between January and September 2011 FARC has launched dozens of attacks against the security forces in Antioquia, killing some 15 soldiers and wounding 37.
New paramilitary groups, known collectivly as 'Bacrim', have a strong presence in Antioquia as of 2011. Los Rastrojos
and Los Urabeños are two of these.
. The racial composition is:
The local inhabitants of Antioquia are known as antioqueños. Of the five main regional groups in Colombia
, the predominant group in Antioquia are known as paisa, referring to those living in the Paisa region
, which covers most of Antioquia, as well as the departments of Caldas
, Risaralda
and Quindío
.
Colombia°N date=June 2009°W
Departments of Colombia
Colombia is an unitary republic formed by thirty-two departments and a Capital District . Each department has a Governor and a Department Assembly , elected by popular vote for a four-year period. The governor cannot be re-elected in consecutive periods...
, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
s, much of which is part of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
mountain range. Antioquia has been part of many territorial divisions of former countries created over the present day territory of Colombia, and prior to the Colombian Constitution of 1886
Colombian Constitution of 1886
The Colombian Constitution of 1886 was the constitution that created the Republic of Colombia. Before 1886, the country was called United States of Colombia. The coalition of moderate Liberals and Conservatives that ended the liberal hegemony and placed Rafael Nuñez in power repealed the...
, Antioquia State
Antioquia State
Antioquia State was one of the states of Colombia. Today the area of the former state makes up most of modern day Antioquia Department, Colombia.- Limits :In 1863 it bordered:* Santander State and Boyacá State in the East.* Tolima State in the South....
was a sovereign government in their own right.
The department covers an area of 63,612 km² (24,427 sq mi), and has a population of 5,819,358 (2006 estimate); 6,6 million (2010 estimate). Antioquia borders with the Córdoba Department
Córdoba Department
Córdoba is a Department of the Republic of Colombia located to the north of this country in the Colombian Caribbean Region. Córdoba faces to the north with the Caribbean sea, to the northeast with the Sucre Department, east with the Bolívar Department and south with the Antioquia Department...
and the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
to the north, Chocó
Chocó Department
Chocó is a department of Colombia known for its large Afro-Colombian population. It is in the west of the country, and is the only Colombian department to have coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It also has all of Colombia's border with Panama. Its capital is...
to the west, to the east it borders the departments of Bolivar
Bolívar Department
Bolívar is a department of Colombia. It was named after one of the original nine states of the United States of Colombia. It is located to the north of the country, extending from the coast at Cartagena near the mouth of the Magdalena River, then south along the river to a border with Antioquia.Its...
, Santander
Santander Department
Santander is a department of Colombia. Santander inherited the name of one of the nine original states of the United States of Colombia. It is located in the central northern part of the country, east of the Magdalena River, bordered to the south and southeast by Boyacá, to the northeast by Norte...
and Boyaca
Boyacá Department
Boyacá is one of the 32 Departments of Colombia, and the remnant of one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end...
, and to the south the departments of Caldas
Caldas Department
Caldas is a department of Colombia named after Colombian patriotic figure Francisco José de Caldas. It's part of the Paisa Region and its capital is Manizales. The population of Caldas is 1,030,062, and its area is 7,291 km²...
and Risaralda
Risaralda Department
Risaralda is a department of Colombia. It is located in the western central region of the country and part of the Paisa Region. Its capital is Pereira.It was divided from the department of Caldas in 1966...
.
Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
is Antioquia's capital city, and the second largest city in the country. Other important towns are Santa Fe de Antioquia, the old capital located on the Cauca, and Puerto Berrío
Puerto Berrío
Puerto Berrío is a municipality and town in the Colombian department of Antioquia.-Geography:Puerto Berrío is located in a region of Antioquia known as the Middle Magdalena...
on the Magdalena.
Geography
Antioquia is the 6th largest Department of Colombia. It is predominantly mountainous, crossed by the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Occidental of the AndesAndes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
. The Cordillera Central, further divides to form the Aburrá valley, in which the capital Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
is located. The Cordillera Central forms the plateaus of Santa Rosa de Osos
Santa Rosa de Osos
Santa Rosa de Osos is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. Part of the subregion of Northern Antioquia. Colombian poet Porfirio Barba-Jacob was born in this town.-External links:* http://dsro.org...
and Rionegro
Rionegro, Antioquia
Rionegro is a city and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia, located in the subregion of Eastern Antioquia. The official name of the City is "Ciudad Santiago de Arma de Rionegro" but is named after the Negro River which is the most prominent geographical feature of the municipality...
.
Despite 80% of the department's territory being mountainous, Antioquia also has a coast on the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
, in the lowland area of the Urabá
Urabá
Urabá or Uraba may refer to:* Gulf of Urabá, a gulf in the Caribbean sea in Colombia.* Urabá Region, a subregion of Colombia.* Urabá Region, a subregion of Colombia.* Urabá Antioquia, a subregion of the Antioquia Department, Colombia....
. This area has a tropical climate and is of high strategical importance due to its location.
The aboriginal peoples of Antioquia
Before Spanish colonization (a time referred to as the prehispanic era), two large tribes, the Caribs and the MuiscaMuisca
Muisca was the Chibcha-speaking tribe that formed the Muisca Confederation of the central highlands of present-day Colombia. They were encountered by the Spanish Empire in 1537, at the time of the conquest...
s, inhabited this part of modern day Colombia. There is still much uncertainty regarding the origin of these tribes–historical evidence suggests that both groups migrated from Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
Antioquia was primarily populated by Caribs, although some scattered groups of Muiscas were present in the Darién
Darién Province
Darién is a province in eastern Panama. It is also the largest province in Panama. It is hot, humid, heavily forested, and sparsely populated, having 48,378 habitants...
region (in modern day Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
), a coastal region in the far north of Antioquia. However, there are no historical records for these groups of Muiscas in Antioquia.
The Caribs present in Antioquia were further classified into smaller groups, called families. Some of the most prominent indigenous families in the region include the Catías, Nutabes and Tahamíes, which all inhabited the central region of Antioquia.
An important group that inhabited southern Antioquia was the Quimbaya
Quimbaya
Quimbaya is a Pre-Columbian term. It may mean:*The Quimbaya civilization of western Colombia*Quimbaya, Quindío, a municipality in the department of Quindío in Colombia*Quimbaya, an extinct Choco language...
.
There were other groups, but the Quimbaya, Carib and Muisca tribes were the most prominent groupings that were found by the conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
s upon their arrival in Antioquia. The Quimbayas had little to do with the evolution of the department, because Jorge Robledo
Jorge Robledo (conquistador)
Jorge Robledo was a Spanish conquistador. He traveled in Colombia, Guatemala, and Peru.He founded the cities of Santa Ana de los Caballeros , Cartago, Valle del Cauca and Santa Fe de Antioquia...
, the main conquistador of Antioquia, quickly subjected the few Quimbaya that he found and the rest disappeared.
The history was centered then in the turbulent relationships of the Spaniards with the Caribs. Despite the number of Caribs and their well-known warring culture, they would end up dominated or exterminated by the Spaniards in the process of conquest
Conquest (military)
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. One example is the Norman conquest of England, which provided the subjugation of the Kingdom of England and the acquisition of the English crown by William the Conqueror in 1066...
and colonization.
During these processes bloody confrontations were presented that caused the surviving natives to disperse, and even commit suicide, before they were subjected. Many of the survivors fled to the department of Chocó. Thus, in Antioquia, the natives disappeared almost completely. At present, the indigenous population of the department of Antioquia scarcely reaches 0.5% of the total population.
Basque influence in Antioquia
After the debate initiated by the idea of Jewish origin of Antioquia from mid-nineteenth century to the twentieth century, came the hypothesis of Basque origin. From this it commissioned especially two American historians: Everett Hagen and Leonard Kasdan. Hagen looked up the phone in Medellin in 1957 and found that 15% of the surnames were Basques, of Basque origin, finding then that employers in the percentage of surnames was up to 25%, which led it to conclude that the inheritance Basque was very important to explain the increased industrial development of Antioquia in the Colombian context. These ideas were supported by representatives of developmental theories, who sought to justify business growth based on "the character of social groups."Euskera (Basque language) in Antioquia.
The use of the Basque languageBasque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
(Euskera) in the present territory of Colombia goes back to the early exploration occurred in 1499, during the third voyage of Columbus
Voyages of Christopher Columbus
In the early modern period, the voyages of Columbus initiated European exploration and colonization of the American continents, and are thus of great significance in world history. Christopher Columbus was a navigator and an admiral for Castile, a country that later founded modern Spain...
, it is said that from that time the territory was felt a strong presence of Basques. Some figures such as the pilot and geographer Juan de la Cosa
Juan de la Cosa
Juan de la Cosa was a Spanish cartographer, conquistador and explorer. He made the earliest extant European world map to incorporate the territories of the Americas that were discovered in the 15th century, sailed first 3 voyages with Christopher Columbus, and was the owner/captain of the Santa...
, nicknamed "El Vizcaino" (although some sources claim that reputable and solvent was not a native of the Basque Country, but was born in Santona
Santoña
Santoña is a town in the eastern coast of the autonomous community of Cantabria, on the north coast of Spain. It is situated by the bay of the same name. It is 45 km from the capital Santander. Santoña is divided into two zones, an urban plain, and a mountainous area, with Mount Buciero at its...
, Cantabria).
Thereafter, the Basques began to come regularly and are distributed throughout the country. Due to this presence is that the Colombian department of Antioquia has been considered a major route of the Basque-Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
immigration, mainly during the colonial era, when hundreds of Basque migrated to be linked to the Spanish colonization companies.
People who were interested in investigating the presence of Euskal Herria in the department of Antioquia and Colombia, one of the questions that troubled them relates to the use and retention of the Basque language in their current territories.
It is estimated (for example for small Antioquia, a region where hundreds of Spaniards arrived, of which a good portion were Basque, some limited aspects of the culture and traditions brought by Basque settlers, without even mention his particular language, it has been unclear to track the use of Euskara in the current Antioquia and Colombia, because the Basque language was always an outcast, which apparently left no written evidence in Antioquia.
In this regard, it is hardly likely that the Spanish crown to maintain the monopoly of overseas companies, to maintain policies that restrict citizens not belonging to the then Spanish rule, much less allow it to speak languages other than Castilian language . Basques so that those invited to participate in the colonization of Indian companies, and foreigners in general, had to learn the official language, i.e., Castilian, hence the dominance of Castilian-Basque-speaking or bilingual.
Despite these restrictions, it is still possible to trace the history of Colombia present references to the ancient language of the Basques. A reference that has very ancient use of Euskara in Colombian territory, occurred in relation to Lope de Aguirre
Lope de Aguirre
Lope de Aguirre was a Basque Spanish conquistador in South America. Nicknamed El Loco, 'the Madman', Aguirre is best known for his final expedition, down the Amazon river, in search of the mythical El Dorado...
, a native of Gipuzkoa nicknamed "The Madman". Aguirre's rebellion defied the Spanish empire, carrying out acts against the subjects of the Spanish crown. Pedro de Ursua
Pedro de Ursúa
Pedro de Ursúa was a Spanish Basque conquistador from Baztan in the 16th century. In Panama, Ursúa subdued a Cimarron revolt by tricking Cimarron leader Bayano into coming unprepared to negotiate a truce, but then captured him and sent him back to King Philip II of Spain...
, a Navarrese faithful to the Spanish king, who was also the founder of Pamplona
Pamplona, Colombia
Pamplona is a municipality and city in Norte de Santander, Colombia.-Colonization:Nueva Pamplona del Valle del Espíritu Santo, the name by which Don Pedro de Ursúa and Don Ortún Velasco de Velázquez paid tribute to the capital of the province of Navarre in Spain, was founded on 1 November 1549...
in eastern Colombia, said that he could persuade the soldiers to be told of Aguirre's revolt, if they spoke in Euskera.
After the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, several Basque families migrated to Colombia. Many of these families were Basque-speakers and were wrote works in Euskera, and likewise, translated from Castilian Euskera literary works of Colombian authors.
Antioquia Basque speech
The current Spanish dialect in Antioquia, closely observed, has obvious influences from Basque. Basque influence is evident in words such as 'ma' (mother), 'coscorria' (useless, inept) and 'tap' (tap), to name only a few cases.. Basque also influenced the pronunciation of the letter 's' apico-alveolar, so in the Antioquia, and the letter "ll" (double L) Africa, not to overlook the inclusion of the letter "a" before certain initial Rs: arrecostarse, arrecoger, arrecordarse, instead of lying down, collect, remember, etc.The Spaniards in Antioquia
The first Spaniard that came to Antioquia was Rodrigo de BastidasRodrigo de Bastidas
Rodrigo de Bastidas was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who mapped the northern coast of South America and founded the city of Santa Marta.-Early life:...
who was in Darién in the year 1500. Ten years later, Alonso de Ojeda
Alonso de Ojeda
Alonso de Ojeda was a Spanish navigator, governor and conquistador. His name is sometimes spelled Alonzo and Oxeda.-Early life:...
founded San Sebastián de Urabá, 2 km from the present-day town of Necoclí
Necoclí
Necoclí is a town and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia. It was originally founded as a Spanish city called San Sebastián de Buena Vista. It was founded by Pedro de Heredia who died in 1555, but the city lives on....
, which would be destroyed later by the natives. However, the first Spanish incursion in Antioquia only took place in 1537, when an expedition commanded by Francisco César traveled the lands of Indian chief Dabeiba, arriving at the Cauca River
Cauca River
The Cauca River is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. Born in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Pinillos in Bolívar Department, and the combined river eventually flows out into the Caribbean Sea. It has a...
and taking an important treasure from the indigenous tombs. However, men of chief Nutibara harassed the Spaniards, forcing them to return to Urabá
Urabá
Urabá or Uraba may refer to:* Gulf of Urabá, a gulf in the Caribbean sea in Colombia.* Urabá Region, a subregion of Colombia.* Urabá Region, a subregion of Colombia.* Urabá Antioquia, a subregion of the Antioquia Department, Colombia....
.
In 1541, Marshal Jorge Robledo left the now-gone Spanish establishment of Arma, a little below Aguadas in the south of Antioquia, for an expedition toward the north on the Cauca River.
Farther north, in 1541, Robledo would found Santa Fe de Antioquia. In 1813, Santa Fe de Antioquia was declared the capital of the County of Antioquia, and this lasted until 1826 when Medellin was made the capital.
Toponymy
The reason behind the chosen name for the Department is not historically clear. The most accepted explanation is that the name for the, then SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n (now Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
), Hellenistic city of Antioch on the Orontes (Arabic: Antākiyyah, today Antakya
Antakya
Antakya is the seat of the Hatay Province in southern Turkey, near the border with Syria. The mayor is Lütfü Savaş.Known as Antioch in ancient times, the city has historical significance for Christianity, as it was the place where the followers of Jesus Christ were called Christians for the first...
) was used, as the region known as the Coffee Zone in Colombia, in which many towns and cities are named after cities in the middle east, has a very strong Judeo-Arabic influence, both demographically and culturally; Additionally the city in mention played a significant role in the development of early Christian communities thus religiously important for Roman Catholic Spaniard conquerors. Others state that it is named after some of the other many Hellenistic ancient cities in the middle east named Antiochia
Antiochia
Antiochia or Antiocheia or Antiochea or Antiokheia may refer any of several Hellenistic cities in the Near East most, of which were founded or rebuilt by the several rulers named Antiochus during the Seleucid Empire:*Antioch , now Antakya, Turkey**Principality of Antiochia, a...
which were founded as well by some of the Antiochus
Antiochus
-The Seleucid Empire:* Antiochus , father of Seleucus I Nicator, founder of the Hellenstic Seleucid Empire* Antiochus I Soter , king of the Seleucid Empire...
Kings during the Seleucid Empire (312–63 BC).
History of Antioquia from the 16th to the 21st centuries
Due to its geographical isolation (as it is located among mountains), Antioquia suffered supply problems. Its topography did not allow for much agriculture, so Antioquia became dependent upon trade, especially of gold and gin for the colonization of new land, although much of this trade was due to reformations passed after a visit from an inspector of the Spanish crown, Juan Antonio Mon y Velarde in 1785. The Antioquia became colonizers and traders, contributing to the Antioquian culture.Armed conflict
Antioquia remains one of the departments most affected by the Colombian armed conflictColombian Armed Conflict
The Colombian armed conflict or Colombian Civil War are terms that are employed to refer to the current asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict in Colombia that has existed since approximately 1964 or 1966, between the Colombian government and peasant guerrillas such as the Revolutionary Armed...
as of 2011. Large, remote parts of the department are controlled by FARC's 5th, 34th, 36th and 58th Fronts, in addition to the mobile fronts Héroes y Mártires del Cairo, Raúl Eduardo Mahecha Front and Jacobo Arenas Urban Front, which operates in Medellín. Between January and September 2011 FARC has launched dozens of attacks against the security forces in Antioquia, killing some 15 soldiers and wounding 37.
New paramilitary groups, known collectivly as 'Bacrim', have a strong presence in Antioquia as of 2011. Los Rastrojos
Los Rastrojos
Los Rastrojos is a Colombian neo-paramilitary, armed group engaged in the Colombian armed conflict...
and Los Urabeños are two of these.
Regions and Municipalities
Antioquia is divided into 9 subregions to facilitate the Department's administration. These 9 regions contain a total of 126 municipalities. The 9 subregions with their municipalities are:| Southwestern Antioquia Southwestern Antioquia Southwestern Antioquia is a subregion in the Colombian Department of Antioquia. The region is made up of 24 municipalities.-Municipalities:* Amagá* Andes* Angelópolis* Betania* Betulia* Caicedo* Caramanta* Ciudad Bolívar* Concordia* Fredonia... |
Eastern Antioquia Eastern Antioquia Eastern Antioquia is subregion of the Colombian Department of Antioquia. The region is conformed by 23 municipalities.-Geography:... |
Northeastern Antioquia Northeastern Antioquia Northeastern Antioquia is a subregion in the Colombian Department of Antioquia. The region is made up by 10 municipalities.-Municipalities:* Amalfi* Anorí* Cisneros* Remedios* San Roque* Santo Domingo* Segovia* Vegachi* Yali* Yolombo... |
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| Northern Antioquia Northern Antioquia Northern Antioquia is a subregion in the Colombian Department of Antioquia. The region is made up by 17 municipalities.-Municipalities:* Angostura* Belmira* Briceño* Campamento* Carolina del Príncipe* Don Matías* Entrerríos* Gómez Plata* Guadalupe... |
Western Antioquia Western Antioquia Western Antioquia is a subregion in the Colombian Department of Antioquia. The region is made up by 18 municipalities.-Municipalities:* Abriaquí* Antioquia* Anza* Armenia* Buritica* Cañasgordas* Dabeiba* Ebejico* Frontino* Giraldo* Heliconia... |
Bajo Cauca Antioquia Bajo Cauca Antioquia Bajo Cauca Antioquia is a subregion in the Colombian Department of Antioquia. The region is made up by 6 municipalities. The region cover most of the lower valley of the Cauca River with the department of Antioquia.-Municipalities:* Cáceres* Caucasia... |
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| Magdalena Medio Antioquia Magdalena Medio Antioquia Magdalena Medio Antioquia is a subregion in the Colombian Department of Antioquia. The region is made up by 6 municipalities. The region is determined by its location within the Middle Magdalena Region which covers the central area of the Magdalena River basin.-Municipalities:* Caracolí* Maceo*... |
Urabá Antioquia Urabá Antioquia Urabá Antioquia is a subregion in the Colombian Department of Antioquia. The region is made up by 24 municipalities. Most of this region northern portion is part of the Colombian Caribbean Region bordering the Caribbean sea.-Municipalities:* Apartadó... |
Medellín Metropolitan Area |
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Demography
The population of Antioquia is 5,819,358 (2005 estimate), of which more than half live in the metropolitan area of MedellinMedellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
. The racial composition is:
- WhiteWhite peopleWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
/ MestizoMestizoMestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
(81,66%) - BlackBlack peopleThe term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
or Afro-ColombianAfro-ColombianAfro Colombians refers to Colombians of African ancestry, and the great impact they have had on Colombian culture. Notable Afro-Colombians include Colombian scientists like Raul Cuero, writers like Manuel Zapata Olivella and politicians:...
(10.83%) - Amerindian or Indigenous (7.00%)
- Gypsies (0.51%)
The local inhabitants of Antioquia are known as antioqueños. Of the five main regional groups in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, the predominant group in Antioquia are known as paisa, referring to those living in the Paisa region
Paisa Region
The Paisas are a people who inhabit a region over the northwest Colombia in the Andes.The region is formed by the departments of Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío. Some regions of Valle del Cauca Department and Tolima Department belong to the cultural identity of paisas...
, which covers most of Antioquia, as well as the departments of Caldas
Caldas Department
Caldas is a department of Colombia named after Colombian patriotic figure Francisco José de Caldas. It's part of the Paisa Region and its capital is Manizales. The population of Caldas is 1,030,062, and its area is 7,291 km²...
, Risaralda
Risaralda Department
Risaralda is a department of Colombia. It is located in the western central region of the country and part of the Paisa Region. Its capital is Pereira.It was divided from the department of Caldas in 1966...
and Quindío
Quindío Department
Quindío is a department of Colombia. It is in the western central region of the country, crossed by the Andes mountains. Its capital is Armenia. It is famous for the quality of the coffee plantations, colorful architecture, benign weather, variety of hotel accommodations and touristic landmarks...
.
See also
- List of municipalities in Antioquia
- Postage stamps of AntioquiaPostage stamps of AntioquiaAntioquia was one of the states in the original "United States of Colombia", and is now a department in the northwest of the Republic of Colombia...
Further reading
Secretary of Education – Government of Colombia The article is available here http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/ANC_APO/ANTIOQUTA.htmlColombia°N date=June 2009°W