Chimichagua is a city and municipality in the central region of the Department of Cesar, 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...

. Approximately one third of the municipality of Chimichagua is water. The municipality seat lies by the Cienaga de Zapatosa

Ciénaga de Zapatosa

Ciénaga de Zapatosa is a large marsh in a depression located between the Colombian departments of Cesar and Magdalena covering an area of approximately 40,000 ha and containing one million cubic meters of water....

 marshes.

Etymology

Chimichagua was the name of Chimila Cacique

Cacique

Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...

 that inhabited the area at the time of the Spanish conquest. Chimichagua is the name of a Muisca

Muisca

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 deity. Muiscas and Chimilas pertain to the same language family; the Chibchas.

Pre-Columbian

The territory of the municipality of Chimichagua was inhabited by the indigenous group known as the Chimilas who at the time of the Spanish arrival were established in most of the Cesar River

Cesar River

The Cesar River is a river in northern Colombia which is a part of the Magdalena Basin. It separates the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta from the mountain ranges of the Serrania del Perija an extension of the Cordillera Oriental...

 basin and its valley between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is an isolated mountain range apart from the Andes chain that runs through Colombia. Reaching an altitude of 5,700 metres above sea level just 42 km from the Caribbean coast, the Sierra Nevada is the world's highest coastal range...

 and the Serrania del Perija

Serrania del Perija

The Serranía del Perijá, Cordillera de Perijá or Sierra de Perijá is a mountain range, an extension of the eastern Andean branch , in northern South America, between Colombia and Venezuela, ending further north in the Guajira Desert, a total distance of about 310 km...

 mountain ranges and bordering the Magdalena River

Magdalena River

The Magdalena River is the principal river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, in spite of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of its delta, as...

.

Spanish conquest and colonization

Chimichagua was founded by Jose Fernando de Mier y Guerra on December 8, 1748 accompanied by Sebastian de Eslava

Sebastián de Eslava

Sebastián de Eslava y Lazaga was a Spanish general and colonial official. From April 24, 1740 to November 6, 1749 he was viceroy of the newly reestablished Viceroyalty of New Granada. He was governing the colony at the time of the defeat of British Admiral Edward Vernon at Cartagena de Indias...

 who was in representation of the Viceroy. The village was first named Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Chimichagua. The population of this village migrated to other nearby villages such as Tamalameque

Tamalameque

Tamalameque is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Cesar.-External links:...

, Santa Cruz de Mompox

Santa Cruz de Mompox

Mompox or Mompós, officially Santa Cruz de Mompox, is a town and municipality in northern Colombia, in the Bolívar Department, which has preserved its colonial character. Located on an island in the Magdalena River where it joins the Cauca River, 249 kilometers from Cartagena. Mompox depends upon...

, Valencia de Jesús

Valencia de Jesús

Valencia de Jesús is a Colombian town and corregimiento of Valledupar in the Department of Cesar. The village is known for preserving one of the oldest churches in the Americas.-History:...

 and Valledupar

Valledupar

Valledupar is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Cesar Department and was founded in 1550 by the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Santana. Its name, Valle de Upar , was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; Cacique Upar...

due to accessibility problems.

Republicanism

Chimichagua became a municipality by Ordinance 54 of 1892. In 1967 with the creation of the Department of Cesar Chimichagua became one of its municipalities.

Corregimientos

Chimichagua has 9 corregimientos:

• Candelaria
• El Guamo
• Las Vegas
• Mindinguilla
• Saloa
• Sempegua
• Soledad
• La Mata
• El Jobo

External links

chimichagua.gov.co Chimichagua official website