Santander () is a department of

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. Santander inherited the name of one of the nine original states of the United States of Colombia. It is located in the central northern part of the country, borders the Magdalena River to the east, Boyacá to the south and southeast, the

Norte de Santander Department Norte de Santander (Spanish for Northern Santander) () is a departments of Colombia, department of northeastern Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its capital is Cúcuta, one of the country's major cities. Norte ...

to the northeast, the Cesar Department to the north, the Bolivar and

Antioquia Department Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part o ...

s to the west. Its capital is the city of

Bucaramanga Bucaramanga () is the capital and largest city of the department of Santander Department, Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth-largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate and is the ninth most populous city i ...

History

Pre-Columbian era

Prior to the arrival of the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

, the territory now known as Santander was inhabited by Amerindian ethnic groups: Muisca, Chitareros, Laches, Yariguí, Opón, Carare and Guanes. Their political and social structure was based on ''cacicazgos'', a federation of tribes led by a ''

cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

'', with different social classes. Their main activity was planting

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

s, yuca, arracacha,

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, 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 ...

agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the arid regions of the Americas. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large Rosette (botany), rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Many plan ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been culti ...

and

guava Guava ( ), also known as the 'guava-pear', is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava '' Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), nativ ...

, among others. Their agricultural skills were sufficiently developed to take advantage of the different mountainous terrains. The Guanes utilized terraces and an artificial system of

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

. They had a knowledge of arts and crafts based on ovens to produce

ceramics 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, porce ...

. They had cotton to make clothing and accessories such as hats and bags.

Colonization

Spanish conqueror Antonio de Lebrija led the first expedition through the area in 1529. The area was later invaded c. 1532 by German Ambrosius Ehinger in a quest to find '' El Dorado''. This disrupted or destroyed many of the Amerindian villages. Some ethnic groups like the Yariguíes, Opones, and Carares fought the conquerors until they became extinct. Explorer

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (; 1509 – 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory n ...

later went to the area in an effort to appease the tribes. The colonization process in the area was started by Martín Galeano who founded the village of Vélez on July 3, 1539 and Pedro de Ursúa and Ortún Velázquez de Velasco founded the village of

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

(now part of the

) in 1549. Once the Amerindian tribes were dominated, the Spanish organized the territory based on Cabildos (councils) to maintain the dominance and administer justice in the conquered territory. Amerindians were assimilated and subject to the encomienda regime to work in agriculture, manufacturing goods, and mines. These two villages functioned as centers for the Cabildos' territories. In 1636 the Cabildo of Vélez was transferred to a new jurisdiction centered on the village of Girón, comprising from the Sogamoso River, and Río del Oro to the Magdalena River. The village of San Gil was created in 1689, segregated from the Jurisdiction of Vélez. In 1789 the village of Socorro was also segregated from Vélez and they were all put under the mandate of the Province of Tunja, a subdivision of the

Viceroyalty of New Granada The Viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada ( ), also called Viceroyalty of New Granada or Viceroyalty of Santa Fe, was the name given on 27 May 1717 to the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire in northern South America, corresponding to modern ...

. On July 9, 1795 the ''corregimiento'' of Vélez – San Gil – Socorro was created due to the unsustainability of the Province of Tunja, and local government was established in the village of Socorro.

Culture

The department's culture descends from a mix of Spanish and Chibcha influences, particularly in the south where the Muisca controlled territory and in the Chicamocha Canyon where the Guane are situated. During the colony and independence war times, people from Santander were especially recognized for their bravery in battle and their policy of "not even a step back". Soldiers from Santander were valued and respected but also difficult to control as they were, in general, more politically aware than people from other regions and therefore prone to question orders and law. Among the most outstanding and representative artists of the Santander Department is Oscar Rodríguez Naranjo.

Notable people

* Manuela Beltrán (1724–?), Neogranadine woman who organized a peasant revolt against excess taxation in 1780 * María Antonia Santos Plata (1782 in Pinchote – 1819 in Socorro, Santander), Neogranadine peasant, rebel leader and heroine * Geo von Lengerke (1827−1882), German engineer, merchant and landowner * Ofelia Uribe de Acosta (1900 in Oiba – 1988 in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

), suffragist * Oscar Rodríguez Naranjo (1907–2006), painter * José de Jesús Pimiento Rodríguez (1919 in Zapatoca – 2019), Prelate of the Catholic Church * Virginia Gutiérrez de Pineda (1921 in El Socorro, Santander – 1999 in Bogotá), anthropologist who pioneered work on Colombian family and medical anthropology * Reiner Bredemeyer (1929 in Vélez, Santander – 1995), German composer * Carlos Ardila Lülle (1930–2021, born in Bucaramanga), entrepreneur, founded Organización Ardila Lülle * Carlos Prada Sanmiguel (1939–2013), Roman Catholic bishop * Patricia Ariza (born 1948 in Vélez, Santander), poet, playwright and actor

Administrative divisions

Provinces

The department is subdivided into

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

s: * Metropolitana Province * North Soto Province * Comunera Province * Guanentá Province * Vélez Province * García Rovira Province * Mares Province * Carare-Opón Province

Municipalities

* Aguada *

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

* Aratoca * Barbosa * Barichara *

Barrancabermeja Barrancabermeja () is a municipality and city in Colombia, located on the shore of the Magdalena River, in the western part of the department of Santander. It is home to the largest oil refinery in the country, under direct management of ECOP ...

* Betulia * Bolívar *

* Cabrera *

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

* Capitanejo * Carcasí * Cepitá * Cerrito * Charalá * Charta * Chima * Chipatá * Cimitarra * Concepción * Confines * Contratación * Coromoro * Curití * El Carmen * El Guacamayo * El Peñón * El Playón * Encino * Enciso * Florián * Floridablanca * Galán * Gámbita * Girón * Guaca * Guadalupe * Guapotá * Guavatá * Güepsa * Hato * Jesús María * Jordán * La Belleza * Landázuri *

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

* Lebrija * Los Santos * Macaravita *

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

* Matanza * Mogotes * Molagavita * Ocamonte * Oiba * Onzaga * Palmar * Palmas del Socorro *

Páramo Páramo () may refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

* Piedecuesta * Pinchote * Puente Nacional * Puerto Parra * Puerto Wilches *

Rionegro Rionegro () is a city and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia, located in the subregion of Eastern Antioquia. The official name of the city is Ciudad Santiago de Arma de Rionegro. Rio Negro means "Black River" in Spanish, as the cit ...

* Sabana de Torres * San Andrés * San Benito * San Gil * San Joaquín * San José de Miranda * San Miguel * Santa Bárbara * Santa Helena del Opón * San Vicente de Chucurí * Simacota * Socorro * Suaita *

Sucre Sucre (; ) is the ''de jure'' capital city of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the sixth most populous city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . This relatively high ...

* Suratá * Tona * Valle de San José * Vélez * Vetas * Villanueva * Zapatoca

References

External links

*
Government of Santander official website

Official website of Santander Tourism
{{Authority control Departments of Colombia States and territories established in 1857 1857 establishments in the Republic of New Granada