Pre-Columbian era Prior to the arrival of the
Spaniards, the territory now known as Santander was inhabited by
Amerindian ethnic groups:
Muisca,
Chitareros,
Laches,
Yariguí,
Opón,
Carare and
Guanes. Their political and social structure was based on
cacicazgos, a federation of tribes led by a
cacique, with different social classes. Their main activity was planting
maize,
beans,
yuca,
arracacha,
cotton,
agave,
tobacco,
tomato,
pineapple and
guava, among others. Their agricultural skills were sufficiently developed to take advantage of the different mountainous terrains. The Guanes utilized
terraces and an artificial system of
irrigation. They had a knowledge of arts and crafts based on ovens to produce
ceramics. They had cotton to make clothing and accessories such as hats and bags.
Colonization Spanish conqueror
Antonio de Lebrija led the first expedition through the area in 1529. The area was later invaded c. 1532 by
German Ambrosius Ehinger in a quest to find
El Dorado. This disrupted or destroyed many of the Amerindian villages. Some ethnic groups like the Yariguíes, Opones, and Carares fought the conquerors until they became extinct. Explorer
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada later went to the area in an effort to appease the tribes. The colonization process in the area was started by
Martín Galeano who founded the village of
Vélez on July 3, 1539 and
Pedro de Ursúa and
Ortún Velázquez de Velasco founded the village of
Pamplona (now part of the
Norte de Santander Department) in 1549. Once the
Amerindian tribes were dominated, the Spanish organized the territory based on
Cabildos (councils) to maintain the dominance and administer justice in the conquered territory. Amerindians were assimilated and subject to the encomienda regime to work in agriculture, manufacturing goods, and mines. These two villages functioned as centers for the Cabildos' territories. In 1636 the Cabildo of Vélez was transferred to a new jurisdiction centered on the village of
Girón, comprising from the
Sogamoso River, and
Río del Oro to the
Magdalena River. The village of
San Gil was created in 1689, segregated from the Jurisdiction of Vélez. In 1789 the village of
Socorro was also segregated from Vélez and they were all put under the mandate of the
Province of Tunja, a subdivision of the
Viceroyalty of New Granada. On July 9, 1795 the
corregimiento of Vélez – San Gil – Socorro was created due to the unsustainability of the Province of Tunja, and local government was established in the village of Socorro. == Culture ==