Sucre () is a
department in the
Caribbean Region of Colombia. The department ranks 27th by area, and it has a population of 904,863, ranking 20th of all the 32 departments of Colombia. Sucre is bordered by the Caribbean on the northwest; by
Bolívar Department
Bolívar () is a department of Colombia. It was named after one of the original nine states of the United States of Colombia. It is located to the north of the country, extending roughly north–south from the Caribbean coast at Cartagena near ...
on the east and by
Córdoba Department
Córdoba (, ) is a Department of the Republic of Colombia located to the north of this country in the Colombian Caribbean Region. Córdoba faces to the north with the Caribbean Sea, to the northeast with the Sucre Department, east with the Bol ...
on the west.
Sucre was named in honor of the Independence hero
Antonio José de Sucre
Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá (; 3 February 1795 – 4 June 1830), known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" (), was a Venezuelan general and politician who served as the president of Bolivia from 1825 to 1828. A close friend and associate ...
who was quoted by the founders of this department in reference to
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...
's death as saying "They have killed my heart", expression said while cruising the territory of the present day Sucre Department.
As of 2009, the Sucre Department has an estimated population of 802,733, of which 234,886 are in the department capital
Sincelejo
Sincelejo () is the capital and largest city of the Colombian department of Sucre in the Caribbean region. It is also the capital of the department's subregion, ''Sabanas'', and is the 25th largest city by population of the country.http://www ...
, according to the
DANE projections.
History
Pre-Columbian
Before the
Spanish Conquest
The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It ...
, the land comprising the department of Sucre was mainly inhabited by two groups of indigenous people — the
Zenú
The ''Zenú'' or ''Sinú'' is a Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia, pre-Columbian culture and Indigenous people in Colombia, whose ancestral territory comprises the valleys of the Sinú River, Sinú and San Jorge River, San Jorge rivers as well ...
and the Turbacos. The Zenú language was perhaps part of the
Chibchan
The Chibchan languages (also known as Chibchano) make up a language family indigenous to the Isthmo-Colombian Area, which extends from eastern Honduras to northern Colombia and includes populations of these countries as well as Nicaragua, Costa ...
language family by the
Arhuacos
The Arhuaco are an Indigenous people of Colombia. They are Chibchan-speaking people and descendants of the Tairona culture, concentrated in northern Colombia in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
Name
The Arhuaco are also known as the Aruaco, ...
branch. The Turbaco people were part of the
Cariban
The Cariban languages are a family of languages Indigenous to north-eastern South America. They are widespread across northernmost South America, from the mouth of the Amazon River to the Colombian Andes, and they are also spoken in small pock ...
language family and they controlled the area adjacent to the
Gulf of Morrosquillo
The Gulf of Morrosquillo () is a gulf of the Caribbean Sea bounded by the Colombian Departments of Sucre and Córdoba. From West to East it runs approximately from Boca de Tinajones, mouth of Sinú River, in Córdoba, to Punta San Bernardo (San ...
. The Zenú people — by the Finzenú and Panzenú branches — controlled the rest of the territory, which used to be part of a bigger territory along the current department of Córdoba and parts of
Bolívar and
Antioquia Antioquia is the Spanish form of Antioch.
Antioquia may also refer to:
* 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 th ...
sometimes known as Zenú kingdom or Zenú nation.
The area adjacent to the coast was inhabited by the Turbaco people, and it was the border lands of the Caribs' territories in the Caribbean Coast of Colombia. This specific part of the Caribbean included the coasts of the present-day departments of Magdalena, Atlántico, and Bolívar.
The Zenú engineers were able to develop a complicated hydraulic infrastructure in the basin of the San Jorge river — they also worked in the basin of the Sinú river in lands of the
Córdoba Department
Córdoba (, ) is a Department of the Republic of Colombia located to the north of this country in the Colombian Caribbean Region. Córdoba faces to the north with the Caribbean Sea, to the northeast with the Sucre Department, east with the Bol ...
— involving flood control works as well as drainage and irrigation systems.
Colonization
The first Spanish conquerors that sighted to the coastline of the present day Sucre Department were
Alonso de Ojeda
Alonso de Ojeda (; c. 1466 – c. 1515) was a Spanish explorer, governor and conquistador. He is famous for having named Venezuela, which he explored during his first two expeditions, for having been the first European to visit Guyana, Curaçao ...
,
Juan de la Cosa
Juan de la Cosa (c. 1450 – 28 February 1510) was a Basque navigator and cartographer, known for designing the earliest European world map which incorporated the territories of the Americas discovered in the 15th century.
De la Cosa was the o ...
,
Rodrigo de Bastidas
Rodrigo de Bastidas (; Triana, Seville, Andalusia, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, 28 July 1527) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who mapped the northern coast of South America, discovered Panama, and founded the city of Santa Marta.
Personal li ...
and Francisco Cesar around 1499.
The conquerors thought the territory to be rich in precious metals since, but soon they would find out they were wrong about that. This situation led to the
encomendero
The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including military protection and education. In pr ...
s to employ the indigenous workforce almost exclusively for cattle rising on the northern areas.
The territory had been under the tutelage of the government settled in Cartagena – except a brief period of time when it was under the jurisdiction of the central government in Bogotá – this control was effective by several denominations while the country evolved from its colonial institutions until its final republican form in 1886 and until the establishment of Sucre as a department independent from Bolivar.
Modern history
In 1963, the Second Assembly of Municipalities created the Department of Sucre. People vouched for its creation after a campaign led by CorpoSucre. On July 28, 1966, the
Senate of Colombia
The Senate of the Republic of Colombia () is the upper house of the Congress of Colombia, with the lower house being the Chamber of Representatives. The Senate has 108 members elected for concurrent (non- rotating) four-year terms.
Electoral ...
started a debate on the creation of the department and on August 18 of the same year approved its creation under the 47 Law of 1966 sanctioned by the then-
president of Colombia
The president of Colombia (President of the Republic) is the head of state and head of government of Colombia. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of Colombia, national government and is the commander-in-chief of the Mil ...
,
Carlos Lleras Restrepo
Carlos Alberto Lleras Restrepo (12 April 1908 – 27 September 1994) was a Colombian politician and lawyer who served the 22nd President of Colombia from 1966 to 1970.
Biographic data
Lleras was born in Bogotá, on 12 April 1908. He was th ...
.
Geography
Administrative Divisions
Provinces
Sucre is subdivided into 5 regions or provinces:
Mojana Province
*Guaranda
*Majagual
*Sucre
Montes de María Province
*Chalán
*Coloso
*Morroa
*Ovejas
*
Sincelejo
Sincelejo () is the capital and largest city of the Colombian department of Sucre in the Caribbean region. It is also the capital of the department's subregion, ''Sabanas'', and is the 25th largest city by population of the country.http://www ...
Morrosquillo
*Coveñas
*Palmito
*San Onofre
*Tolú
*Tolúviejo
Sabanas
*Buenavista
*Corozal
*El Robel
*Galeras
*Los Palmitos
*Sampúes
*San Juan de Betulia
*San Pedro
*Sincé
San Jorge
*Caimito
*La Unión
*San Benito Abad
*San Marcos
Municipalities
#
Buenavista
#
Caimito
#
Chalán
#
Colosó
#
Corozal
#
Coveñas
Coveñas is a resort city and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia. It was established in the 16th century as a port for slave traders, then it became an oil port in the twentieth century. It was classified as a municipa ...
#
El Roble
#
Galeras
Galeras (Urcunina among the 16th-century indigenous people) is an Andean stratovolcano in the Colombian department of Nariño, near the departmental capital Pasto. Its summit rises above sea level. It has erupted frequently since the Spanish ...
#
Guaranda
Guaranda () is a city in central Ecuador. It is the capital of Bolívar province located in the Andes mountains. The city is connected by road with other hubs, including Riobamba, Babahoyo and Ambato.
Guaranda is a market town located in a '' ...
#
La Unión
#
Los Palmitos
#
Majagual
#
Morroa
Morroa is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia.
References
Gobernacion de Sucre - MorroaMorroa official website
Sucre
Sucre (; ) is the ''de jure'' capital city of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuq ...
#
Ovejas
Ovejas is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia where the traditional Cumbia (also called Gaita) festival "Francisco Llirene" takes place in October.
Songwriter Graciela Arango de Tobón was born in Ovejas.
...
#
Palmito
#
Sampués
Sampués () is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia.
Climate
References
Gobernacion de Sucre - SampuésSampués official website
Sucre
Sucre (; ) is the ''de jure'' capital city of Bolivia, the c ...
#
San Benito Abad
#
San Juan Betulia
#
San Marcos
#
San Onofre
#
San Pedro
#
Sincé
San Luis de Sincé, also knows as Sincé. Is a town and municipality located in the Department of Sucre, northern Colombia.
San Luis de Sincé, is a town and municipality located in the Department of Sucre, 28 km (15 mi) southeast ...
#
Sincelejo
Sincelejo () is the capital and largest city of the Colombian department of Sucre in the Caribbean region. It is also the capital of the department's subregion, ''Sabanas'', and is the 25th largest city by population of the country.http://www ...
#
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 ...
#
Tolú
Tolú is a small town in Sucre Department, northern Colombia on the Caribbean coast. The municipality has an area of 500 km2. It is named after the Tolú, one the pre-Columbian indigenous people of the North Colombia lowlands.
The munici ...
#
Toluviejo
Oceanic areas
The
Archipelago of San Bernardo
The Archipelago of San Bernardo () is a set of nine coastal coral islands and one artificial island (ten in total) belonging to and governed by Colombia, located in the Gulf of Morrosquillo in the Caribbean Sea, with an approximate area of 213&n ...
is within the Sucre Department.
Climate
January through March are dry month of almost no rainfall.
Demography
According to the 2018 population census results, 12% of the population self identifies as indigenous people, gathering 5.5% of the national indigenous population; also, 11% of the population self identifies as black, creole, palenquero or
afro-colombian
Afro-Colombians (), also known as Black Colombians (), are Colombians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Colombia has one of the largest African diaspora, Afro-descendant populations in South America, with government ...
. Venezuelans started to arrive to the department in 2016 and now represent almost 3% of the population, according to the official figures in 2022.
The rest of the population does not declare any ethnicity and are descendants mainly from Spanish, Indigenous and Black people; Arabs started to come in big numbers to Colombia after 1880 and they settled particularly in the Caribbean region of the country, including Sucre, they were mainly Lebanese, Palestinians and Syriacs arrived in smaller numbers, their descendants are estimated to be more than 3 million in the country, their contribution is noticeable in the culture, economy and politics in the Caribbean region.
As of 2022, the population is getting closer to more than 1 million inhabitants as the national and local population growth is propelled by the massive arrival of Venezuelan migrants. During the 80s and 90s the department had high fertility rates and low death rates, in recent years the growth has slowed down as the fertility rate fell below the replacement level and the demographic transition impacts the department.
Almost 32% of the entire population resided in the capital city
Sincelejo
Sincelejo () is the capital and largest city of the Colombian department of Sucre in the Caribbean region. It is also the capital of the department's subregion, ''Sabanas'', and is the 25th largest city by population of the country.http://www ...
and 62% of the department population lives in urban areas, specially around the capital city where
Corozal,
Sampues,
Morroa
Morroa is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia.
References
Gobernacion de Sucre - MorroaMorroa official website
Sucre
Sucre (; ) is the ''de jure'' capital city of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuq ...
and
Los Palmitos are placed, gathering almost half a million people, according to the official population projections.
References
External links
Government of Sucre official website
{{Authority control
Caribbean region of Colombia
Departments of Colombia
States and territories established in 1966