The Battle of Chocontá was one of a series of battles in the ongoing conflict between the northern and southern

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 ...

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, ...

central

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 battle was fought 1490 in the vicinity of Chocontá. An army of 50,000 southern Muisca

guecha warrior Guecha warriors (Spanish: ''güechas'' or ''gueches'') were warriors of the Muisca Confederation in the Tenza Valley, Ubaque valley and Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the pre-Colombian era. The Guecha warrior was chosen for his merit in attitude and ...

s, led by their ruler, or ''

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 ...

'', Saguamanchica, attacked 60,000 northern Muisca troops commanded by

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 ...

Michuá, who was supported by the

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 ...

of Guatavita.

Background

In the decades before the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

conquistadors 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, ...

arrived in the central highlands of Colombia in 1537, the area was ruled by two main groups: the ''zacazgo'' of the northern Muisca and the ''zipazgo'' of the southern Muisca. While the two factions were joined in a confederation, they fought numerous wars to conquer terrain and to gain access to the resources of the area, mainly

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 ...

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...

, and

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 northern Muisca inhabited the area of the current department of Boyacá while the southern Muisca lived in the present-day Cundinamarca Department. The capital of the ''zaque'' was Hunza, today known as Tunja, and the ''zipa'' resided in

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 ...

, the later Colombian capital Bogotá.

Battle

The invading southern guecha warriors of Saguamanchica gathered near Chocontá to face the Michuá. The battle lasted three hours and was recorded as being exceptionally bloody. The leaders of both armies were killed during the battle. The ''zipazgo'' of the southern Muisca was victorious. Quemuenchatocha became the new ''zaque'' of Hunza and the ''zipa'' of Bacatá was succeeded by

Nemequene Nemequene or Nemeguene (died 1514) was the third ruler ('' zipa'') of Bacatá as of 1490. His '' zaque'' counterpart ruling over the northern area of the Muisca territory was Quemuenchatocha. Etymology Nemequene in the Chibcha language of th ...

. The battle was one of the first Muisca acts of war documented by the bishop and

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 ...

Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita (1624, Bogotá – March 29, 1688) was a Spanish Neogranadine Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Panamá (1676–1688) ''(in Latin)'' and the Bishop of Santa Marta (1668–1676).Arzobispo de Pan ...

. Adolfo Constenla Umaña, 1996 �
Poesía Tradicional Indígena Costarricense (Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica)
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Battle of Chocontá in Muisca history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choconta 15th century in Colombia Military history of Latin America History of the Muisca Cundinamarca Department Choconta Battles involving Native Americans Pre-Columbian warfare Conflicts in 1490

Background

Battle

Battle of Chocontá in Muisca history

See also

References