The Conquest of Colombia: From Discovery to Transformation

🌍 The conquest of Colombia by the Spanish empire involved the discovery and colonization of the region.

⚔️ The conquest spanned from 1499 to 1550 and included the establishment of major cities in the country.

🏰 The process of conquest involved the discovery, occupation, and settlement of lands, leading to the foundation of cities in the Spanish style.

🏰 Cartagena became the main trading center in the region.

⚔️ Two independent expeditions were launched to claim more territories.

🚀 Jiménez de Quesada, with a small army, conquered Colombia and founded Bogotá.

🔍 Quesada's objective was to find El Dorado, so he abandoned the settlement, leaving Friar Domingo in charge.

💥 There was a political battle for control of the newly mentioned territory, leading to the formation of the New Kingdom of Granada.

🌍 The region became part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, but its difficult geography and distances made it a challenging area to govern.

📚 The Spanish established the Royal Audience and Chancellery of Santa Fe to govern the region collectively.

🏛️ The power was later centralized by appointing a president who controlled the civil and military government.

🌎 The New Kingdom of Granada was elevated to a viceroyalty called the Viceroyalty of New Granada, with the president becoming the viceroy.

The video discusses the negative impact of the conquest of Colombia on the indigenous population.

The initial system employed by the Spanish conquerors, called encomienda, resulted in the exploitation and mistreatment of the native population.

Fray Bartolomé de las Casas played a crucial role in improving the situation of the indigenous peoples and abolishing the encomienda system in 1542.