The history of the city goes back to the
pre-Columbian era, in which the current city area was inhabited by the
Quimbaya and
Pijao cultures, widely recognized for their goldsmiths. In this region, Marshal
Jorge Robledo founded the city of
Cartago (Carthage) on August 9, 1540, but due to the siege of the pijaos or reasons of economic expediency this city was moved in 1691 to the site that currently occupies the north end of the Valley of the Cauca, towards the banks of the La Vieja river. The original site became jungle again and buried the remains of civilization. On the few ruins of the Spanish population, crossed by the route that led from Valle del Cauca to Medellín, through
Manizales, a group of 20
Antioqueno families had already built their homes when a handful of Vallecaucanos appeared to find the population of Carthage La Vieja, today Pereira. Although the formal foundation came from the Caucano group, the emergence of Pereira was another chapter of the Antioqueno colonization, and the contribution of other social groups such as the Caucano was in its beginning relatively scarce. Later, with the ideal of reviving this city, which until then was a jungle area, on August 24, 1863, the presbyter Remigio Antonio Cañarte and Jesús María Ormaza Niño, among others, returned to the ruins of ancient Carthage, where they established a few huts that were blessed on August 30 of the same year. For 6 years the settlement was called Carthage, but in 1869 it was renamed Villa de Pereira, in honor of the doctor Francisco Pereira Martínez, who in 1816 took refuge in the area, along with his brother Manuel Pereira, after the defeat of the Patriotic forces in the
Battle of Cachirí during the
Spanish reconquest of New Granada. From 1870 and especially as a result of the civil wars of 1876 and 1885, the region received a new wave of immigrants from Antioquia. The settler group of 1863 and following years had been formed by forest reclaimers who only aspired to have a single plot of land, while the second group was made up of men of greater ambition and greater entrepreneurial capacity. Some of them were linked to Antioquian capitalists who financed their activities, which involved leveling mountains and starting cattle ranches using peonadas and heavy capital investments. The arrival in the city of a group of merchants and professionals at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th introduced education as a new reason for social differentiation. A new elite group emerged that became a leader of the economic, civic, and political activities of the city. Pereira was the city where the last execution in Colombia took place. David López, 19, was indicted for the murder of Ricardo Torres on November 30, 1888. Lopez unsuccessfully exhausted all appeals to spare his life; he was executed in Pereira on July 26, 1890, after telling the firing squad to shoot directly at his heart. In the 1920s, settlers from
Antioquia moved to Pereira for its economically strategic location, fertile soil, and good weather. The settlers grew large quantities of high-quality
coffee in the mineral-rich, volcanic Andean soil. Other produce included sugarcane and cattle. Settlers also came from cities such as
Valle del Cauca and
Bogotá. In the 1950s, during a period of bipartisan political struggle in the country, Pereira became a refuge for thousands of Colombians, quadrupling its population and creating a national melting pot that changed its community forever. In recent years, the city has achieved an urban identity and a significant growth in its cultural development. Social integration and higher levels of education are providing the city sustained economic and cultural growth. In the economic recession of 1999, and the stagnant years of 2000 and 2001, some residents of Pereira emigrated to the United States and Spain. Towards the years 2005 and 2006, Pereira recovered from decline and went into an economic boom, with new office, retail and housing development, and most importantly Megabus, the main public transportation system, opening to the public. In 2015 the new Biopark Ukumari was opened to the public in its initial phase with 2 bioregions. It is planned to have up to 8 bioregions including the Andean Mountains, African desert, Amazonas and many more, including a section designed for mechanical rides. Up until 2016, Pereira has been an epicenter of massive urban redevelopment with many international companies opening new stores, factories, and logistical centers. The unemployment rate has decreased significantly from being one of the highest in the country, to the national standard of 9%. Pereira is beginning to transform into the capital city of the
Coffee Axis or Eje Cafetero region, with many residents from neighbouring cities such as
Armenia and Manizales coming to Pereira to shop for goods in stores that are unique to Pereira. ==Governance==