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The Muisca Confederation was a loose
confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical iss ...
of different
Muisca The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan langu ...
rulers (''
zaque When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the ...
s'', ''
zipa When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the ...
s'', '' iraca'', and ''
tundama Tundama or Saymoso (15th century - Duitama, late December 1539) was a '' cacique'' of the Muisca Confederation, a loose confederation of different rulers of the Muisca who inhabited the central highlands ( Altiplano Cundiboyacense) of the C ...
'') in the central
Andean 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 l ...
highlands of present-day
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
before the
Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...
of northern
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
. The area, presently called
Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. The altiplano corresponds to the ancient territory of the Muisca. The Alt ...
, comprised the current
departments 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, ...
of Boyacá, Cundinamarca and minor parts of Santander. According to some
Muisca scholars The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous peoples of Colombia, indigenous people and Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia, culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conq ...
the Muisca Confederation was one of the best-organized confederations of tribes on the South American continent. Modern
anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms an ...
s, such as
Jorge Gamboa Mendoza Jorge Augusto Gamboa Mendoza (born 27 January 1970) is a Colombian anthropologist and historian. He has been contributing on the knowledge of hispanic and pre-hispanic territories of what is now Colombia, especially the Muisca.
, attribute the present-day knowledge about the confederation and its organization more to a reflection by Spanish
chronicler A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...
s who predominantly wrote about it a century or more after the Muisca were conquered and proposed the idea of a loose collection of different people with slightly different languages and backgrounds.Gamboa Mendoza, 2016


Geography


Climate


Muisca Confederation

In the times before the
Spanish conquest of the Muisca The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose confederation of diff ...
, the central part of present-day Colombia; the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian
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 ...
was inhabited by the Muisca people who were organised in a loose confederation of
rulers A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...
. The central authorities of
Bacatá Bacatá is the name given to the main settlement of the Muisca Confederation on the Bogotá savanna. It mostly refers to an area, rather than an individual village, although the name is also found in texts referring to the modern settlement of ...
in the south and Hunza in the north were called ''
zipa When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the ...
'' and ''
zaque When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the ...
'' respectively. Other rulers were the '' iraca'' priest in sacred City of the Sun
Sugamuxi Sugamuxi (died 1539) was the last '' iraca''; ''cacique'' of the sacred City of the Sun Suamox. Sugamuxi, presently called Sogamoso, was an important city in the religion of the Muisca who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the times be ...
, the ''
Tundama Tundama or Saymoso (15th century - Duitama, late December 1539) was a '' cacique'' of the Muisca Confederation, a loose confederation of different rulers of the Muisca who inhabited the central highlands ( Altiplano Cundiboyacense) of the C ...
'' of
Tundama Tundama or Saymoso (15th century - Duitama, late December 1539) was a '' cacique'' of the Muisca Confederation, a loose confederation of different rulers of the Muisca who inhabited the central highlands ( Altiplano Cundiboyacense) of the C ...
and various other ''
cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a S ...
s'' (chiefs). The Muisca spoke
Chibcha The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan lan ...
, in their own language called ''Muysccubun''; "language of the people". The Muisca people, different from the other three great civilisations of the Americas; the
Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...
,
Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...
and
Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts",  "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...
, did not build grand stone
architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
. Their settlements were relatively small and consisted of ''bohíos''; circular houses of wood and clay, organised around a central market square with the house of the ''cacique'' in the centre. Roads were present to connect the settlements with each other and with the surrounding indigenous groups, of which the
Guane Guane is a municipality and town in the Pinar del Río Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1602. Geography The municipality is divided into the barrios of Cabo de San Antonio y La Fe, Catalina, Cortés, Hato de Guane, Isabel Rubio (Paso Real d ...
and
Lache The Lache ( ; sometimes simply Lache) is a housing estate in the city of Chester, in Cheshire, United Kingdom, with a population of around 10,000. It is located approximately southwest of the ancient city, with good local transport links en r ...
to the north, the Panche and Muzo to the west and Guayupe, Achagua and
Tegua Tegua is an island in Vanuatu's Torres Islands chain, located in Torba Province. Geography The island spans 7 km by 6.5 km; on the eastern side of the island is Lateu Bay indented 1.8 km. Ngwel Island is located 600 meters off the ...
to the east were the most important.


History


Prehistory

Early Amerindian settlers led a hunter-gatherer life among still extant
megafauna In terrestrial zoology, the megafauna (from Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and New Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") comprises the large or giant animals of an area, habitat, or geological period, extinct and/or extant. The most common thresho ...
living in cool habitats around Pleistocene lakes, of which the humedales in Bogotá, Lake Suesca, Lake Fúquene and Lake Herrera are notable examples. Multiple evidences of late
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
to middle
Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...
population of the
Bogotá savanna The Bogotá savanna is a montane savanna, located in the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the center of Colombia. The Bogotá savanna has an extent of and an average altitude of . The savanna is situated in the Eastern Ran ...
, the high plateau in the Colombian Andes, have been found to date. As is common with caves and rock shelters,
Tequendama Tequendama is a preceramic and ceramic archaeological site located southeast of Soacha, Cundinamarca, Colombia, a couple of kilometers east of Tequendama Falls. It consists of multiple evidences of late Pleistocene to middle Holocene populat ...
was inhabited from around 11,000 years BP, and continuing into the prehistorical, Herrera and
Muisca The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan langu ...
periods, making it the oldest site of Colombia, together with
El Abra El Abra is the name given to an extensive archeological site, located in the valley of the same name. El Abra is situated in the east of the municipality Zipaquirá extending to the westernmost part of Tocancipá in the department of Cundinamarc ...
(12,500 BP), located north of
Zipaquirá Zipaquirá () is a municipality and city of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. Its neighboring municipalities are Cogua and Nemocón to the north; Tocancipá to the east; Tabio, Cajicá and Sopó to the south; and Subachoque and ...
and Tibitó, located within the boundaries of Tocancipá (11,740 BP).Nivel Paleoindio. Abrigos rocosos del Tequendama
The oldest human remains and the oldest complete skeleton were discovered at Tequendama and has been named "Hombre del Tequendama" or ''Homo Tequendama''. Other artefacts have been found in Gachalá (9100 BP), Sueva ( Junín) and
Zipacón Zipacón () is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Western Savanna Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre of Zipacón is situated at an altitude of on the Bogotá savanna, the southern flatlands of the Altiplan ...
. Just west of the Altiplano, the oldest archaeological remains were found; in Pubenza, part of Tocaima and have been dated at 16,000 years Before Present.


Pre-Columbian era


= Herrera Period

= The Herrera Period is a phase in the
history of Colombia The history of Colombia includes the settlements and society by indigenous peoples, most notably, the Muisca Confederation, Quimbaya Civilization, and Tairona Chiefdoms; the Spanish arrived in 1492 and initiated a period of annexation and coloni ...
. It is part of the
Andean preceramic The Andean preceramic refers to the early period of human occupation in the Andean area of South America that preceded the introduction of ceramics. This period is also called pre-ceramic or aceramic. Earliest human occupations The earliest hu ...
and
ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, ...
, time equivalent of the
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
n
pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...
formative and
classic stage In archaeological cultures of North America, the classic stage is the theoretical North and Meso-American societies that existed between AD 500 and 1200. This stage is the fourth of five stages posited by Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips' 1958 ...
s and age dated by various
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...
s.Chronology of pre-Columbian periods: Herrera and Muisca
/ref> The Herrera Period predates the age of the
Muisca people The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan ...
, who inhabited the
Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. The altiplano corresponds to the ancient territory of the Muisca. The Alt ...
before the
Spanish conquest of the Muisca The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose confederation of diff ...
and postdates the lithic formative stage and prehistory of the eastern Andean region in
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
. The Herrera Period is usually defined as ranging from 800 BCE to 800 AD, although some scholars date it as early as 1500 BCE. Ample evidence of the Herrera Period has been uncovered on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and main archaeologists contributing to the present knowledge about the Herrera Period are
scholars A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
Ana María Groot,
Gonzalo Correal Urrego Gonzalo Correal Urrego ( Gachalá, Colombia, 23 October 1939) is a Colombian anthropologist, palaeontologist and archaeologist.Thomas van der Hammen Thomas van der Hammen (Schiedam, Netherlands, 27 September 1924 - Chía, Colombia, 12 March 2010) was a Dutch palaeontologist, botanist and geologist. He had published more than 160 works in five languages.Carl Henrik Langebaek Rueda, Sylvia M. Broadbent, Marianne Cardale de Schrimpff and others.


= Muisca

= The Muisca were
polytheistic Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the ...
and their
religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
and
mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...
was closely connected with the natural area they were inhabiting. They had a thorough understanding of astronomical parameters and developed a complex luni-
solar calendar A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the season or almost equivalently the apparent position of the Sun relative to the stars. The Gregorian calendar, widely accepted as a standard in the world, is an example of a solar calendar. ...
; the
Muisca calendar The Muisca calendar was a lunisolar calendar used by the Muisca. The calendar was composed of a complex combination of months and three types of years were used; rural years (according to Pedro Simón, Chibcha: ''chocan''), holy years (Duquesne, Sp ...
. According to the calendar they had specific times for sowing, harvest and the organisation of festivals where they sang, danced and played music and drank their national drink
chicha ''Chicha'' is a fermented (alcoholic) or non-fermented beverage of Latin America, emerging from the Andes and Amazonia regions. In both the pre- and post- Spanish conquest periods, corn beer ('' chicha de jora'') made from a variety of maize ...
in great quantities. The most respected members of the community were
mummified A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...
and the mummies were not buried, yet displayed in their temples, in natural locations such as caves and even carried on their backs during
warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regu ...
to impress their enemies. Their art is the most famous remnant of their culture, as living spaces, temples and other existing structures have been destroyed by the Spanish who colonised the Muisca territories. A primary example of their fine goldworking is the
Muisca raft The Muisca raft (''Balsa Muisca'' in Spanish), sometimes referred to as the Golden Raft of El Dorado, is a pre-Columbian votive piece created by the Muisca, an indigenous people of Colombia in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The pi ...
, together with more objects made of gold, ''tumbaga'', ceramics and cotton displayed in the Museo del Oro in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
, the ancient capital of the southern Muisca. The Muisca were a predominantly agricultural society with small-scale farmfields, part of more extensive terrains. To diversify their diet, they traded mantles,
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
,
emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...
s and
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...
for fruits, vegetables,
coca Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. The plant is grown as a cash crop in the Argentine Northwest, Bolivia, ...
,
yopo ''Anadenanthera peregrina'', also known as yopo, jopo, cohoba, parica or calcium tree, is a perennial tree of the genus ''Anadenanthera'' native to the Caribbean and South America. It grows up to tall, and has a horny bark. Its flowers grow ...
and
cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
cultivated in lower altitude warmer terrains populated by their neighbours, the Muzo, Panche, Yarigui, Guane, Guayupe, Achagua, Tegua, Lache, Sutagao and U'wa. Trade of products grown farther away happened with the Calima,
Pijao The Pijao (also Piajao, Pixao, Pinao) are an indigenous people from Colombia. Ethnography The Pijao or Pijaos formed a loose federation of Amerindians and were living in the present-day department of Tolima, Colombia. In pre-Columbian tim ...
and Caribbean coastal communities around the
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (English: ''Snow-Covered Mountain Range of Saint Martha'') is an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia, separate from the Andes range that runs through the north of the country. Reaching an elevation of ...
. The Muisca economy was self-sufficient regarding the basic supplies, thanks to the advanced technologies of the agriculture on raised terraces by the people. The system of trade was well established providing both the higher
social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, inc ...
es and the general population abundances of gold, feathers, marine snails, coca, yopo and other luxury goods. Markets were held every four to eight days in various settlements throughout the Muisca Confederation and special markets were organised around festivities where merchants from far outside the Andes were trading their goods with the Muisca. Apart from agriculture, the Muisca were well developed in the production of different crafts, using the raw materials traded with surrounding indigenous peoples. Famous are the golden and ''tumbaga'' objects made by the Muisca people. Cotton mantles, cloths and nets were made by the Muisca women and traded for valuable goods, tropical fruits and small cotton cloths were used as money. The Muisca were unique in South America for having real coins of gold, called ''tejuelos''. Mining was an important source of income for the Muisca, who were called "Salt People" because of their salt mines in
Zipaquirá Zipaquirá () is a municipality and city of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. Its neighboring municipalities are Cogua and Nemocón to the north; Tocancipá to the east; Tabio, Cajicá and Sopó to the south; and Subachoque and ...
, Nemocón and
Tausa Tausa () is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Ubaté Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. Tausa is and was an important town on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense due to its salt mine. It was the third most prolific salt deposit ...
. Like their western neighbours, the Muzo -who were called "The Emerald People"- they mined
emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...
s in their territories, mainly in
Somondoco Somondoco is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá. This town and larger municipal area are located in the Valle de Tenza. The Valle de Tenza is the ancient route connecting the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and the Llanos. ...
.
Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon ma ...
was found throughout the region of the Muisca in
Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', ...
sediments and used for the fires for cooking and the production of salt and golden ornaments. The people used a decimal counting system and counted with their fingers. Their system went from 1 to 10 and for higher numerations they used the prefix ''quihicha'' or ''qhicha'', which means "foot" in their
Chibcha language Chibcha, Mosca, Muisca, Muysca (*/ˈmɨska/), or Muysca de Bogotá, was a language spoken by the Muisca people of the Muisca Confederation, one of the many indigenous cultures of the Americas. The Muisca inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyace ...
''Muysccubun''. Eleven became thus "foot one", twelve "foot two", etc. As in the other
pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...
civilizations, the number 20 was special. It was the total number of all body extremities; fingers and toes. The Muisca used two forms to express twenty: "foot ten"; ''quihícha ubchihica'' or their exclusive word ''gueta'', derived from ''gue'', which means "house". Numbers between 20 and 30 were counted ''gueta asaqui ata'' ("twenty plus one"; 21), ''gueta asaqui ubchihica'' ("twenty plus ten"; 30). Larger numbers were counted as multiples of twenty; ''gue-bosa'' ("20 times 2"; 40), ''gue-hisca'' ("20 times 5"; 100). The Muisca script consisted of
hieroglyph A hieroglyph ( Greek for "sacred carvings") was a character of the ancient Egyptian writing system. Logographic scripts that are pictographic in form in a way reminiscent of ancient Egyptian are also sometimes called "hieroglyphs". In Neoplatoni ...
s, only used for numerals.


Territorial organization


Bacatá

* Capital –
Bacatá Bacatá is the name given to the main settlement of the Muisca Confederation on the Bogotá savanna. It mostly refers to an area, rather than an individual village, although the name is also found in texts referring to the modern settlement of ...
* Area – * Average elevation – * Last rulers – ''
zipa When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the ...
s''
Tisquesusa Tisquesusa, also spelled Thisquesuza, Thysquesuca or Thisquesusha (referred to in the earliest sources as Bogotá, the Elder) (died Facatativá, 1537) was the fourth and last independent ruler ('' psihipqua'') of Muyquytá, main settlement of t ...
,
Sagipa Sagipa or Zaquesazipa (died 1539, Bosa, New Kingdom of Granada) was the fifth and last ruler ('' psihipqua'') of Muyquytá, currently known as Funza, as of 1537. He was the brother of his predecessor Bogotá but the traditional faction of the Mu ...
* Date of conquest – 20 April 1537 (Funza) – Jiménez & Pérez de Quesada * First city – 6 August 1538 (Bogotá) –
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (;1496 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory named ...


Chipazaque


Hunza

* Capital – Hunza * Area – * Average elevation – * Last rulers – ''
zaque When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the ...
s'' Quemuenchatocha,
Aquiminzaque Aquiminzaque (Chibcha: ''Aquim ó Quiminza'', died Tunja, 1540) was the last '' hoa'' of Hunza, on which the Spanish city of Tunja (in present-day Colombia) was built, reigning from 1537 until his death. His '' psihipqua'' counterpart in the sout ...
* Date of conquest – 20 August 1537 (Hunza) – Jiménez & Pérez de Quesada * First city – 6 August 1539 (Tunja) –
Gonzalo Suárez Rendón Gonzalo Suárez Rendón (1503, Málaga, Castile – 1590 (or 1583), Tunja, New Kingdom of Granada) was a Spanish conquistador, known as the founder of the capital of Boyacá; Tunja, second city of the New Kingdom of Granada. A veteran of the It ...


Iraca

* Capital – Suamox * Area – * Average elevation – * Last ruler – '' iraca''
Sugamuxi Sugamuxi (died 1539) was the last '' iraca''; ''cacique'' of the sacred City of the Sun Suamox. Sugamuxi, presently called Sogamoso, was an important city in the religion of the Muisca who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the times be ...
* Date of conquest – Early September 1537 (Sogamoso) – Jiménez & Pérez de Quesada * Important settlements – Suamox, Busbanzá, Firavitoba, Gámeza and Tota * Archaeological remains –
mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...
, Sun Temple reconstruction, Lake Tota


Tundama

* Capital – Tundama * Area – * Average elevation – * Last ruler –
Tundama Tundama or Saymoso (15th century - Duitama, late December 1539) was a '' cacique'' of the Muisca Confederation, a loose confederation of different rulers of the Muisca who inhabited the central highlands ( Altiplano Cundiboyacense) of the C ...
* Date of conquest – Late December 1539 (Duitama) –
Baltasar Maldonado Baltasar Maldonado, also written as Baltazar Maldonado,
* Capital – ''none'' * Area – * Average elevation – * Important ''caciques'' – Guatavita, Ubaté, Chiquinquirá, Ubaque, Tenza, Vélez


Neighbouring indigenous groups

* Panche ** Cariban-speaking ** frequent
warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regu ...
** beaten in the Battle of Tocarema ** pathways to gold ** conquest by
Hernán Venegas Carrillo Hernán Venegas Carrillo Manosalvas (1513 – 2 February 1583) was a Spanish conquistador for who participated in the Spanish conquest of the Muisca and Panche people in the New Kingdom of Granada, present-day Colombia. Venegas Carrillo was m ...
(1543–44) * Muzo or ''The Emerald people'' ** Cariban-speaking ** trading access to western neighbours ** Furatena ** pathways to gold ** conquest by
Luis Lanchero Luis Lanchero, also known as Luis Lancheros (?, Castile - 1562, Tunja, New Kingdom of Granada) was a Spanish conquistador and the founder of the town of Trinidad de los Muzos, Boyacá, the most important emerald settlement in Colombia. Muzo w ...
(1539–1559) * Guane ** Chibcha-speaking ** producers of cotton for mantle making ** producers of fruits ** access to La Tora (Barrancabermeja); trading sea shells at
Magdalena River The Magdalena River ( es, Río Magdalena, ; less commonly ) is the main 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 ...
** conquest by
Martín Galeano Martín Galeano (?, Valencia del Mombuey, Badajoz, Spain - ?, Vélez, New Kingdom of Granada) was a Spanish conquistador of Genovese descent who is known as the founder of the towns of Vélez, Oiba and Charalá in Santander, Colombia. He to ...
(1539–1551)


Sacred sites

The sacred sites of the Muisca Confederation were based in the
Muisca religion Muisca religion describes the religion of the Muisca who inhabited the central highlands of the Colombian Andes before the Spanish conquest of the Muisca. The Muisca formed a confederation of holy rulers and had a variety of deities, temples an ...
and
mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...
. The Muisca were a highly religious people with their own beliefs on the origin of the Earth and life and
human sacrifices Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein ...
were no exception to please the gods for good harvests and prosperity. Lake Guatavita, Guatavita, was the location where the new ''zipa'' would be inaugurated. It became known with the Spanish conquerors as the site of ''El Dorado'' where the new zipa was covered in
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
dust and installed as the new ruler of the southern Muisca. In the legends of the Muisca, mankind originated in
Lake Iguaque Lake Iguaque is a lake located in the Boyacá Department of Colombia. The lake and the surrounding area was declared a Flora and Fauna Sanctuary in 1977. Geography and climate Lake Iguaque is located northeast of Villa de Leyva and is part of ...
, Monquirá, when the goddess
Bachué The goddess Bachué (in Chibcha language: "the one with the naked breast"), is a mother goddess that according to the Muisca religion is the mother of humanity. She emerged of the waters in the Iguaque Lake with a baby in her arms, who grew to ...
came out from the lake with a boy in her arms. When the boy grew, they populated the Earth. They are considered the ancestors of the human race. Finally, they disappeared unto the lake in the shape of snakes. According to Muisca myths, the Tequendama Falls, outside
Soacha , image_map = Colombia - Cundinamarca - Soacha.svg , map_caption = Location of Soacha in Cundinamarca , pushpin_map = Colombia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_nam ...
, was the site where the first ''zipa'' Meicuchuca lost his beautiful lover who turned in a snake and disappeared in the waters of the
Bogotá River The Bogotá River is a major river of the Cundinamarca department of Colombia. A right tributary of the Magdalena River, the Bogotá River crosses the region from the northeast to the southwest and passing along the western limits of Bogotá. The ...
. ''
El Infiernito ''El Infiernito'' (Spanish for "The Little Hell"), is a pre-Columbian archaeoastronomical site located on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the outskirts of Villa de Leyva, Boyacá, Colombia. It is composed of several earthworks surrounding a sett ...
'', close to the present town of
Villa de Leyva Villa de Leyva, also called Villa de Leiva, is a touristic colonial town and municipality, in the Ricaurte Province, part of the Boyacá Department of Colombia. The town is a Colombian National Heritage Town and is on the tentative list for UNES ...
was a sacred site where the Muisca erected structures based on astronomical parameters.


Other sacred sites

*
Sun Temple A sun temple (or solar temple) is a building used for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, dedicated to the sun or a solar deity. Such temples were built by a number different cultures and are distributed around the ...
, Sogamoso *
Hunzahúa Well The Hunzahúa Well (Spanish: ''Pozo de Hunzahúa'') is an archeological site of the Muisca located in the city of Tunja, Boyacá, which in the time of the Muisca Confederation was called Hunza. The well is named after the first ''zaque'' of Hunza ...
,
Tunja Tunja () is a city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 it had a population of 172,548 inhabitants. It is the capital of Boyacá departmen ...
*
Goranchacha Temple The Goranchacha Temple (Spanish: ''Templo de Goranchacha'') is an archeological site of the Muisca located in the city of Tunja, Boyacá, which in the time of the Muisca Confederation was called Hunza. The temple is named after the mythologic ...
,
Tunja Tunja () is a city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 it had a population of 172,548 inhabitants. It is the capital of Boyacá departmen ...
*
Cojines del Zaque The ''Cojines del Zaque'' (English: "Cushions of the ''Zaque''") is an archeological site of the Muisca located in the city of Tunja, Boyacá, which in the time of the Muisca Confederation was called Hunza. The ''cojines'' are two round stones us ...
,
Tunja Tunja () is a city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 it had a population of 172,548 inhabitants. It is the capital of Boyacá departmen ...
* Moon Temple, Chía File:LagunaDeGuatavita.jpg, Lake Guatavita; site of ''El Dorado'' File:Panoramique_iguaque_2011.jpg, Lake Iguaque File:Salto_de_Tequendama_1.jpeg, Tequendama Falls File:Villa de Leyva el infiernito.jpg, ''El Infiernito''; astronomical site File:Cojines_del_Zaque._Vista_actual_(2015).JPG, Cojines del Zaque


Spanish conquests


Conquest and early colonial period

The conquest of the Muisca was the heaviest of all four Spanish expeditions to the great American civilisations.Personajes de la Conquista a América
Banco de la República The Bank of the Republic ( es, Banco de la República) is the central bank of Colombia. It was initially established under the regeneration era in 1880. Its main modern functions, under the new Colombian constitution were detailed by Congress ...
More than 80 percent of the soldiers and horses that started the journey of a year to the northern Muisca Confederation didn't make it.List of conquistadors led by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
Banco de la República The Bank of the Republic ( es, Banco de la República) is the central bank of Colombia. It was initially established under the regeneration era in 1880. Its main modern functions, under the new Colombian constitution were detailed by Congress ...
Biography Hernán Pérez de Quesada
Banco de la República The Bank of the Republic ( es, Banco de la República) is the central bank of Colombia. It was initially established under the regeneration era in 1880. Its main modern functions, under the new Colombian constitution were detailed by Congress ...
Conquista rápida y saqueo cuantioso de Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
/ref> Various settlements were founded by the Spanish between
1537 __NOTOC__ Year 1537 ( MDXXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January ** Bigod's Rebellion, an uprising by Roman Catholics against Henry ...
and
1539 __NOTOC__ Year 1539 ( MDXXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January – Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War – Battle of Naungyo, Burm ...
.Official website Chipatá
Official website Guachetá
Official website Lenguazaque
/ref>Official website Suesca
/ref>Official website Funza
Engativá celebra hoy sus 458 años
El Tiempo
Official website Chocontá
/ref>Official website Tenza
Official website Turmequé
A delegation of more than 900 men left the tropical city of Santa Marta and went on a harsh expedition through the heartlands of Colombia in search of ''El Dorado'' and the civilisation that produced all this precious gold. The leader of the first and main expedition under Spanish flag was
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (;1496 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory named ...
, with his brother Hernán second in command. Several other soldiers were participating in the journey, who would later become
encomenderos The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...
and taking part in the conquest of other parts of Colombia. Other contemporaneous expeditions into the unknown interior of the Andes, all searching for the mythical land of gold, were starting from later
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, led by Bavarian and other German conquistadors and from the south, starting in the previously founded
Kingdom of Quito The Cara culture flourished in coastal Ecuador, in what is now Manabí Province, in the first millennium CE. History In the 10th century CE, they followed the Esmeraldas River up to the high Andean valley now developed as the city San Francisco de ...
in later
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
. The first phase of the conquest was ended by the victory of the few conquistadors left over
Tisquesusa Tisquesusa, also spelled Thisquesuza, Thysquesuca or Thisquesusha (referred to in the earliest sources as Bogotá, the Elder) (died Facatativá, 1537) was the fourth and last independent ruler ('' psihipqua'') of Muyquytá, main settlement of t ...
, the last ''
zipa When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the ...
'' of
Bacatá Bacatá is the name given to the main settlement of the Muisca Confederation on the Bogotá savanna. It mostly refers to an area, rather than an individual village, although the name is also found in texts referring to the modern settlement of ...
, who fell and died "bathing in his own blood"after the battle at Funza, on the
Bogotá savanna The Bogotá savanna is a montane savanna, located in the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the center of Colombia. The Bogotá savanna has an extent of and an average altitude of . The savanna is situated in the Eastern Ran ...
, April 20, 1537. The arrival of the Spanish conquerors was revealed to Tisquesusa by the mohan Popón, from the village of
Ubaque Ubaque is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Eastern Province of the department of Cundinamarca. Ubaque borders the municipalities Choachí in the north, Fómeque in the east, Cáqueza and Chipaque in the south and in the west is the ...
. He told the Muisca ruler that foreigners were coming and Tisquesusa would die "bathing in his own blood". When Tisquesusa was informed of the advancing invasion of the Spanish soldiers, he sent a spy to
Suesca Suesca is a town and municipality in the Almeidas Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca, Colombia. It is located on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, north of the capital Bogotá. Suesca forms the northern edge of the Bogotá savanna an ...
to find out more about their army strength, weapons and with how many warriors they could be beaten. The ''zipa'' left the capital Bacatá and took shelter in Nemocón which directed the Spanish troops to there, during this march attacked by more than 600 Muisca warriors. When Tisquesusa retreated in his fort in
Cajicá Cajicá is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca, north of the capital Bogotá. It is located in the Central Savanna Province, being the third most populous municipality in the province after Zipaquirá and Chí ...
he allegedly told his men he would not be able to combat against the strong Spanish army in possession of weapons that produced "thunder and lightning". He chose to return to Bacatá and ordered the capital to be evacuated, resulting in an abandoned site when the Spanish arrived. In search for the Muisca ruler the conquistadores went north to find Tisquesusa in the surroundings of Facatativá where they attacked him at night. Tisquesusa was thrusted by the sword of one of De Quesada's soldiers but without knowing he was the ''zipa'' he let him go, after taking the expensive mantle of the ruler. Tisquesusa fled hurt into the mountains and died of his wounds there. His body was only discovered a year later because of the
black vulture The black vulture (''Coragyps atratus''), also known as the American black vulture, Mexican vulture, zopilote, urubu, or gallinazo, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the northeastern United States to Peru, Cen ...
s circling over it. When Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada found out the ''caciques'' were conspiring against him, he sent out several expeditions of soldiers. His captain Juan de Céspedes went south to found
Pasca Pasca is a town and municipality in the Cundinamarca department of Colombia located in the Andes. It belongs to the Sumapaz Province. Pasca is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at a distance of from the capital Bogotá. It borders F ...
on July 15, 1537.Official website Pasca
Hernán was sent north and Gonzalo himself went northeast, to search for the mythical Land of Gold ''
El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king ...
''. There he didn't find golden cities, but
emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...
s, the
Muisca The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan langu ...
were extracting in
Chivor Chivor is a town and municipality in the Eastern Boyacá Province, part of the Colombian department of Boyacá. The mean temperature of the village in the Tenza Valley is and Chivor is located at from the department capital Tunja. Economic act ...
and
Somondoco Somondoco is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá. This town and larger municipal area are located in the Valle de Tenza. The Valle de Tenza is the ancient route connecting the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and the Llanos. ...
. First foundation was
Engativá Engativá is the 10th locality of Bogotá. It is located in the west of the city. This district is mostly inhabited by lower middle and working class residents. Etymology Engativá is either derived from ''Ingativá''; ''cacique'' Inga; "Land ...
, presently a locality of Bogotá, on May 22, 1537. Passing through Suba, Chía,
Cajicá Cajicá is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca, north of the capital Bogotá. It is located in the Central Savanna Province, being the third most populous municipality in the province after Zipaquirá and Chí ...
, Tocancipá, Gachancipá, Guatavita and
Sesquilé Sesquilé is a town and municipality in Almeidas Province in the department of Cundinamarca, Colombia. Sesquilé in the Chibcha language of the Muisca means "hot water".
, he arrived in Chocontá, founding the modern town on June 9. The journey went eastward into the Tenza Valley through
Machetá Machetá is a municipality and town of Colombia in Almeidas Province of the department of Cundinamarca. Machetá is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at from the capital Bogotá and from Tunja. It borders Tibiritá and Manta in the east ...
,
Tibiritá Tibirita is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. Tibirita is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at a distance of from the capital Bogotá. It borders Villapinzón in the north, in the east La Capilla ( Bo ...
,
Guateque Guateque is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Eastern Boyacá Province. Guateque's urban center is located at an altitude of on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at distances of from the d ...
,
Sutatenza Sutatenza () is a town and municipality in the Eastern Boyacá Province of the department of Boyacá, Colombia. It is located from the Colombian capital Bogotá and from the department capital Tunja. Sutatenza borders Somondoco, Guateque, ...
and
Tenza Tenza () is a town and municipality in the subregion of the Eastern Boyacá Province of the Colombian department Boyacá. Tenza borders La Capilla and Pachavita in the north, in the east the department of Cundinamarca, in the south with Sutat ...
, founded on
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
; June 24. On the same day, Hernán founded
Sutatausa Sutatausa () is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Ubaté Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. The municipality is located on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at a distance of from the capital Bogotá and borders Ubaté in the n ...
. Gonzalo continued northwest through
La Capilla La Capilla is a town and municipality in the Eastern Boyacá Province, part of the Colombian department of Boyacá. The urban centre is situated at an altitude of in the Tenza Valley. Borders * North with Úmbita and Pachavita * South wit ...
and
Úmbita Úmbita is a town and municipality in the Márquez Province, part of the Colombian department of Boyacá. Úmbita is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at a distance of from department capital Tunja and borders Nuevo Colón and Tibaná ...
. He arrived in
Turmequé Turmequé is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Márquez Province. Turmequé is located at northeast from the capital Bogotá. The municipality borders Ventaquemada in the west, in the e ...
that he founded on July 20. In August 1537 Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada entered the territories of the ''
zaque When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the ...
'', who ruled from Hunza. When the Spanish conquerors entered the outskirts of Hunza and found a hill with poles were bodies were dangling, they named it ''Cerro de la Horca'' ("Gallow Hill"). At the time of the conquest Quemuenchatocha was the ''zaque'' and he ordered his men to not submit to the European invaders or show them the way to his ''bohío''. He sent messengers to the Spanish conquistadors with valuable peace offers. While this was happening, Quemuenchatocha had hidden his treasures from the Spanish. Hunza was located in a valley not as green as the
Bogotá savanna The Bogotá savanna is a montane savanna, located in the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the center of Colombia. The Bogotá savanna has an extent of and an average altitude of . The savanna is situated in the Eastern Ran ...
. The advantage of the Spanish weaponry and the use of the horses quickly beat the Muisca warriors. When Gonzalo arrived at the main ''bohío'' of Quemuenchatocha, he found the Muisca ruler sitting in his throne and surrounded by his closest companions. All men were dressed in expensive mantles and adorned with
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
en crowns. On August 20, 1537, the Spanish beat the ''zaque'' and the big and strong Muisca ruler was taken captive to
Suesca Suesca is a town and municipality in the Almeidas Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca, Colombia. It is located on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, north of the capital Bogotá. Suesca forms the northern edge of the Bogotá savanna an ...
. There he was tortured and the Spanish soldiers hoped he would reveal where he hid his precious properties. The absence of Quemuenchatocha paved the route for his nephew
Aquiminzaque Aquiminzaque (Chibcha: ''Aquim ó Quiminza'', died Tunja, 1540) was the last '' hoa'' of Hunza, on which the Spanish city of Tunja (in present-day Colombia) was built, reigning from 1537 until his death. His '' psihipqua'' counterpart in the sout ...
to succeed him as ruler of the northern Muisca, a practice common in Muisca traditions. When Quemuenchatocha was finally released from captivity in Suesca, he fled to Ramiriquí, where he died shortly after. The Spanish soldiers found gold, emeralds,
silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
, mantles and other valuables in Tunja. They were not able to take all the precious pieces and many were secretly taken away by the Muisca, using folded deer skins. They hid the valuables in nearby hills. :I – Soldiers of the main expedition – Santa Marta-Funza and on – February – April 20, 1537 :II & III – Soldiers of the expeditions De Belalcázar & Federmann (1535–1539) :I – 1 – Main expedition – inland and up from Chipatá to Funza – March – April 1537 :I – 2 – Gonzalo – Tenza Valley – Conquest of Hunza & Sugamuxi – May – August 20 & September, 1537 :3 – Hernán – Foundation of Sutatausa – June 24, 1537 :4 – Juan de Céspedes – Southern savanna – 1537 :5 – Juan de San Martín – 1537–1550 :6 – Gonzalo et al. – Foundations of Bogotá and savanna :7 – Gonzalo Suárez Rendón – Foundation of Tunja – August 6, 1539 :8 – Baltasar Maldonado – Conquest of Tundama – December 1539 :9 – Hernán & Lázaro Fonte a.o. – 1540


Early colonial period

Not only the Spanish settlers had lost large percentages of their men due to warfare and diseases. The assessed corregimientos of the Province of Tunja between 1537 and 1636 shows a decline of the total Muisca population between 65 and 85%. Epidemics were the main cause of the rapid reduction in population. Various have been reported and many undescribed in the first twenty years of contact. After the foundation of Bogotá and the installation of the new dependency of the Spanish Crown, several strategies were important to the Spanish conquerors. The rich
mineral resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...
of the Altiplano had to be extracted, the
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
was quickly reformed, a system of
encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...
s was installed and a main concern of the Spanish was the
evangelisation In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are in ...
of the Muisca. On October 9, 1549,
Carlos V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...
sent a royal letter to the New Kingdom directed at the priests about the necessity of population reduction of the Muisca.Suárez, 2015, p.128 The indigenous people were working in the encomiendas which limited their religious conversion. To speed up the process of submittance to the Spanish reign, the mobility of the indigenous people was prohibited and the people gathered in resguardos.Segura Calderón, 2014, p.38 The formerly celebrated festivities in their
religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
disappeared. Specific times for the
catechesis Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...
were controlled by laws, as executed in royal dictates in 1537, 1538 and 1551.Suárez, 2015, p.125 The first
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
of Santafé, Juan de los Barrios, ordered to destroy the temples of the Muisca and replace them with Catholic churches.Suárez, 2015, p.129 The last public religious ceremony of the Muisca religion was held in
Ubaque Ubaque is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Eastern Province of the department of Cundinamarca. Ubaque borders the municipalities Choachí in the north, Fómeque in the east, Cáqueza and Chipaque in the south and in the west is the ...
on December 27, 1563. The second bishop of Santafé, Luis Zapata de Cárdenas, intensified the aggressive policies against the Muisca religion and the burnings of their sacred sites. This formed the final nail in the coffin of the former polytheistic society. The transition to a mixed agriculture with
Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by thei ...
crops was remarkably fast, mainly to do with the fertility of the lands of the Altiplano permitting European crops to grow there, while in the more tropical areas the soil was not so much suited for the foreign crops. In 1555, the Muisca of
Toca TOCA, formally trading as BARC (TOCA) Ltd, is an organiser of motorsport events in the United Kingdom. The company organises and administers the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) and the support series to the BTCC, sometimes known as the T ...
were growing European crops as
wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
and
barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...
and
sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...
was grown in other areas. The previously self-sustaining economy was quickly transformed into one based on intensive agriculture and
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...
that produced changes in the landscape and culture of the Muisca.Martínez & Manrique, 2014, p.102


See also

*
Maya civilization The Maya civilization () of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs. Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is also noted for its art, ...
* Sitio Sierra *
Spanish conquest of the Muisca The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose confederation of diff ...
,
Muisca art This article describes the art produced by the Muisca. The Muisca established one of the four grand civilisations of the pre-Columbian Americas on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in present-day central Colombia. Their various forms of art have bee ...
:*
Muisca economy This article describes the economy of the Muisca. The Muisca were the original inhabitants of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, the high plateau in the Eastern Ranges of central present-day Colombia. Their rich economy and advanced merchant abili ...
,
people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...
:*
Muisca architecture This article describes the architecture of the Muisca. The Muisca, inhabiting the central highlands of the Colombian Andes (Altiplano Cundiboyacense and the southwestern part of that the Bogotá savanna), were one of the four great civili ...
,
astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
,
mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...
,
warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regu ...
,
women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...
*
Aztec Empire The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, �jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled that area in and around the Valley of Mexi ...
*
Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts",  "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...


Notes


References


Bibliography and further reading

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Spanish chroniclers

* * * * * * * {{Muisca navbox, Geography and history, state=expanded Indigenous culture of the Americas Altiplano Cundiboyacense 3 History of Colombia