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) , anthem = Himno de Antioquia , image_map = Antioquia in Colombia (mainland).svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Antioquia shown in red , image_map1 = Antioquia Topographic 2.png , map_caption1 = Topography of the department , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 =
Region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
, subdivision_name1 = Andean Region , established_title = Established , established_date = 1826 , founder = , named_for = , seat_type = Capital , seat = Medellín , parts_type = Largest city , parts_style = para , p1 = , government_footnotes = , leader_party = , leader_title = Governor , leader_name = Aníbal Gaviria Correa , unit_pref = Metric , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = 63612 , area_land_km2 = , area_water_km2 = , area_water_percent = , area_rank =
6th 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second ...
, area_note = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = , population_total = 6,407,102 , population_as_of = 2018 , population_footnotes = , population_density_km2 = auto , population_rank = 2nd , population_blank1_title = Demonym , population_blank1 = Antioqueño, -a , population_note = , timezone1 = UTC-05 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = , area_code_type = , iso_code = CO-ANT , blank_name_sec1 = Provinces , blank_info_sec1 = 9 , blank1_name_sec1 =
Municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
, blank1_info_sec1 = 125 , blank_name_sec2 = HDI (2019) , blank_info_sec2 = 0.772
· 10th of 33 , website = , footnotes = , type = Department Antioquia () or "Antioch", is one of the 32
departments of Colombia Colombia is a unitary republic made up of thirty-two departments ( Spanish: ''departamentos'', sing. ''departamento'') and a Capital District ('' Distrito Capital''). Each department has a governor (''gobernador'') and an Assembly (''Asamblea ...
, located in the central Northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the
Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexic ...
. Most of its territory is mountainous with some
valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...
s, much of which is part of the
Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
mountain range. Antioquia has been part of many territorial divisions of former countries created within the present-day territory of Colombia. Prior to adoption of the
Colombian Constitution of 1886 The Colombian Constitution of 1886 was the constitution that remade the United States of Colombia into the Republic of Colombia, and replaced the federal republic with a unitary state. Following the Civil War of 1884, a coalition of moderate ...
,
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 ...
had its own sovereign government. 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 the
Córdoba Department Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, 2nd largest city in the country and capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cordoba may a ...
and the
Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexic ...
to the north; Chocó to the west; the departments of Bolivar, Santander, and Boyaca to the east; and the departments of Caldas and Risaralda to the south. Medellín is Antioquia's capital city, and the second-largest city in the country. Other important towns are
Santa Fe de Antioquia Santa Fe de Antioquia is a municipality in the Antioquia Department, Colombia. The city is located approximately north of Medellín, the department capital. It has a population of approximately 23,000 inhabitants. History Founded in 1541 by ...
, the old capital located on the
Cauca River The Cauca River () is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. From its headwaters in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Magangue in Bolivar Department, and ...
, and
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 (near the Magdalena River). It is bounded on the north by the munici ...
on the Magdalena.


Geography

Antioquia is the sixth-largest Department of Colombia. It is predominantly mountainous, crossed by the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Occidental of the
Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
. The Cordillera Central divides to form the
Aburrá valley Aburrá Valley (in Spanish ''Valle de Aburrá''), is the natural river basin of the Medellín River and one of the most populous valleys of Colombia in its Andean Region with near 4 million inhabitants in its biggest urban agglomeration: The ...
, in which the capital, Medellín, is located. The Cordillera Central forms the plateaus of Santa Rosa de Osos and Rionegro. While 80% of the department's territory is mountainous, Antioquia also has lowlands in
Bajo Cauca 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 The Cauca River () is a river in Colombia that lies between ...
, Magdalena Medio, and eastern
Sonsón Sonsón is a municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. Sonsón is located in Eastern Antioquia. It is one of the seats of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sonsón–Rionegro. Sonsón celebrates "Las Fiestas Del Maíz"- ('Festival of ...
, as well as coastline on the
Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexic ...
, in Urabá. This area has a tropical climate and is of high strategic importance due to its location.


History


Native people of Antioquia

Before Spanish colonization, different indigenous tribes inhabited this part of modern Colombia. Their origin is uncertain, as specialists believe that some came from the Caribbean island, and others that they originated among peoples along the interior Amazon River. Antioquia was primarily populated by the Carib people. Some scattered groups of Muisca were said to be present in the Darién region (in modern-day
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
), a coastal region in the far north of Antioquia. But, no historical records refer to Muisca in Antioquia. The Carib occupying territory in Antioquia were known by classifications of smaller groups, called ''families''. Some of the most prominent native families in the region include the Catía, Nutabe, and Tahamíe, who all inhabited the central region of Antioquia. The Quimbaya occupied southern Antioquia. The historic Quimbaya, Carib and Muisca tribes were the most prominent groups encountered by the
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, ...
s upon their arrival in Antioquia. The Quimbaya had a lot to do with the development of the department. The Spaniards had a turbulent history of encounters with the Carib. Although the tribe was numerous and known for its warring culture, the various peoples of this family became dominated or exterminated by the Spaniards in the process of
conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, ...
and colonization. As did all Native Americans, they suffered extremely high mortality due to newly introduced infectious Eurasian diseases, to which they had no
immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity de ...
. In some cases the surviving natives dispersed to evade the Spanish, and some committed suicide to escape being enslaved or subjected to forced labor. Many survivors fled to the modern
department of Chocó Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
. In Antioquia, the natives disappeared almost completely. At present, the autochthon population of the department of Antioquia scarcely reaches 0.5% of the total population, even though the vast majority of locals have a significant indigenous genetic component (26% in average).


Basque influence in Antioquia

A debate, centered around the apparently significant Jewish origin of Antioquians, took place from mid-nineteenth century to the twentieth century. Others, later pointed to Basque origins as a way to understand the population's idiosyncrasies. Prominent among these, were two American historians: Everett Hagen and Leonard Kasdan. Hagen looked at the telephone directory in Medellin in 1957 and found that 15% of the surnames were of Basque origin, finding then that employers in the percentage of surnames was up to 25%, which led him to conclude that Basque settlers were very important in explaining 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 Basque language (Euskera) terminology in the present territory of Colombia goes back to the early exploration in 1499, during the third voyage of Columbus, it is said that from that time the territory experienced a strong presence of
Basques The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Ba ...
, including prominent figures such as the pilot and geographer Juan de la Cosa, nicknamed ''"el vizcaino"''. (Some sources claim that he was not a native of the Basque Country, but was born in
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 from the capital Santander. Santoña is divided into two zones, an urban plain, and ...
, Cantabria). More Basque colonists reached this area and began to settled in the region. The Colombian department of Antioquia has been considered a major route of the Basque immigration, mainly during the colonial era. Hundreds of Basques migrated as settlers sponsored by the Spanish colonization companies. People who were interested in investigating the presence of the Basque people in the department of Antioquia and Colombia have been troubled by the question that relates to the use and retention of the Basque language in their current territories. It is estimated, for example, for smaller Antioquia, a region where hundreds of Spaniards arrived, of which a good portion were Basque, some limited aspects of the culture and traditions were brought by Basque settlers, though without any mention of their particular language, thus tracking the use of Basque in the current Antioquia and Colombia. However, this is partly due to the Basque language always having been an outcast, which apparently left no written evidence in Antioquia.


Antioquia Basque speech

The current Spanish dialect in Antioquia, closely observed, has obvious influences from Basque. Basque influence is evident in words such (useless, inept) and 'tap' (tap), to name only a few cases. Basque also influenced the pronunciation of the letter 's' apico-alveolar (transitional between 's' and 'sh'), so in the Antioquia, and the letter "ll" (double L) pronounced as an affricative, not to overlook the inclusion of the letter "a" before certain initial Rs: instead of , instead of and instead of .


Spaniards in Antioquia

The first Spaniard known to have visited the territory now known as Antioquia was Rodrigo de Bastidas, who explored the area around the future site of Darién in 1500. Ten years later, Alonso de Ojeda founded
San Sebastián de Urabá San Sebastián de Urabá was the first settlement established by Spaniards in the area of the Darién Gap in Colombia. This fortified settlement was founded on 20 January 1510 by Alonso de Ojeda on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Urabá, in wha ...
, 2 km from the present-day town of Necoclí. It was later destroyed by the natives. The first Spanish military incursion into Antioquia, however, was not made until 1537. An expedition commanded by Francisco César traveled through the lands of chief Dabeiba, arriving at the
Cauca River The Cauca River () is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. From its headwaters in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Magangue in Bolivar Department, and ...
. They were said to have taken important treasures from the indigenous people's tombs. In response, the warriors of chief Nutibara harassed the Spaniards continually, and forced them to return to Urabá. In 1541, the conquistador Jorge Robledo departed from the site of the future (1542) Spanish town of Arma, a little below Aguadas in the North of Caldas, to lead an expedition north on the Cauca River. Farther north, Robledo would found the city of
Santa Fe de Antioquia Santa Fe de Antioquia is a municipality in the Antioquia Department, Colombia. The city is located approximately north of Medellín, the department capital. It has a population of approximately 23,000 inhabitants. History Founded in 1541 by ...
, which in 1813 was declared the capital of the sovereign and independent state of Antioquia, and remained the seat of the governate until 1826, when Medellin was designated the capital. Other Spaniards who settled Antioquia came from Extremadura, Andalusia, and the Canary Islands. The Extremadurans influenced the pronunciation of the letter 's' as an apico-alveolar, like Basques. Andalusians and Canarians influenced ''
seseo In Spanish dialectology, the realization of coronal fricatives is one of the most prominent features distinguishing various dialect regions. The main three realizations are the phonemic distinction between and ('), the presence of only alve ...
'' in the Spanish dialect.


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 Greek-
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
n (now Turkish),
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
city of
Antioch on the Orontes Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...
( el, Ἀντιόχεια ''Antiocheia'',
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
: ''Antākiyyah'', today
Antakya Antakya (), historically known as Antioch ( el, Ἀντιόχεια; hy, Անտիոք, Andiok), is the capital of Hatay Province, the southernmost province of Turkey. The city is located in a well-watered and fertile valley on the Orontes River, ...
) was used since 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 Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
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 many other 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).


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 the city became dependent upon trade, especially of gold and gin for the colonization of new land. Much of this trade was due to reforms passed after a 1785 visit from Juan Antonio Mon y Velarde, an inspector of the Spanish Crown. The Antioquia became colonizers and traders. The department was hard hit by the
Colombian conflict The Colombian conflict ( es, link=no, Conflicto armado interno de Colombia) began on May 27, 1964, and is a low-intensity asymmetric war between the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups, crime syndicates, and far-left guerr ...
, with 30,000 people missing between 1997 and 2005. ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' and Citi announced in the year 2013 that Medellín, the capital of the Department of Antioquia, is the winner of the City of the Year competition, a global program developed in partnership with the
Urban Land Institute The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a nonprofit research and education organization with regional offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London. ULI advocates progressive development, conducting research, and education in topics such as s ...
to recognize the most innovative urban centers. Medellín was ranked above the other finalists,
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
and
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.


Administrative divisions


Regions and municipalities

Antioquia is divided into nine subregions to facilitate the Department's administration. These nine regions contain a total of 125 municipalities. The nine subregions with their municipalities are:


Demographics

The population of Antioquia is 6,613,118 (2017 estimate), of which more than half live in the metropolitan area of Medellín. The racial composition is: *
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
/
Mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...
(88.6%) *
Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
or Afro-Colombian (10.9%) * Indigenous or Amerindian (0.5%) During the 16th and 18th centuries, Antioquia received many immigrants from Spain (Especially the northern Spain). Most Indigenous peoples died from the introduction of European diseases, and many of those who survived intermarried with early Spanish settlers, who were mostly men; later, Spanish women also began to immigrate. Thousands of Irish, Scottish and English who settled in Antioquia fought for the Colombian army during independence. During the 19th and 20th centuries, immigrants (includiding jews) arrived from Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Lebanon, Israel, Palestina and Syria. Many people from Antioquia are referred to as
Paisas A Paisa is someone from a region in the northwest of Colombia, including part of the West and Central ''cordilleras'' of the Andes in Colombia. The Paisa region is formed by the departments of Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda and Quindí ...
, people of mainly Spanish ancestry, a lot of them Basque. There is a small Afro-Colombian and Zambo-Colombian (people of Indigenous and African descent) population originating in the majority of the Urabá subregion and the neighboring departments of Chocó, Córdoba and Sucre.


Notable people

* Walter Noriega (1979) footballer * Maluma (1994) singer, songwriter, and actor * J Balvin (1985) singer * Karol G (1991) singer and songwriter * Juanes (1972) musician * Sebastián Yatra (1994) singer, songwriter, and actor * Camilo (1994) singer, musician and songwriter


See also

* Coat of arms of Antioquia Department * List of municipalities in Antioquia *
Postage stamps and postal history of Antioquia Antioquia 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. Prior to the constitution of 1886, Antioquia and the other states were sovereign governments in thei ...
*


Notes and references


External links


Map of the Province of Antioquia
from 1809 {{Authority control 1826 establishments in Gran Colombia Departments of Colombia States and territories established in 1826