Sutatenza () is a town and
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in the
Eastern Boyacá Province
The Eastern Boyacá Province is a province of the Colombian Department of Boyacá. The province is formed by 8 municipalities. The Tenza Valley is located in the Eastern Boyacá Province. The province hosts the eastern belt containing rich emera ...
of the department of
Boyacá,
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 ...
. It is located from the Colombian capital
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 ...
and from the department capital
Tunja. Sutatenza borders
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. ...
,
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 de ...
,
Tenza and
Garagoa
Garagoa () is a town and municipality in Colombia, located in the Boyacá Department. It covers an area of 191.75 km2 and the urban centre is located at an altitude of above sea level. Parts of the municipality reach altitudes of . It is the ...
.
[Official website Sutatenza]
/ref>
Etymology
The name Sutatenza comes from Chibcha
The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia, Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonizati ...
and means either "Cloud behind the anchovy" or "Descending to the house of the ''cacique''".[Etymology Sutatenza]
- Excelsio.net
History
In the time 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 ...
, Sutatenza, situated in the Tenza Valley
The Tenza Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Tenza'') is an intermontane valley in the Cordillera Oriental (Colombia), Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The valley stretches over the southeastern part of the departments of Colomb ...
to the east of 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. (Do not confuse with The Altiplano or the Altiplano Nariñense, both fur ...
, was ruled 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 ...
'' called Tenzuzucá or Tenzucá, loyal to 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 ''Zaque'' was the ruler of the ...
'' of Hunza. Conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
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 ...
in his quest for ''El Dorado
El Dorado () is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions � ...
'' and the rich 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 ...
deposits of the Muisca Confederation
The Muisca Confederation was a loose confederation of different Muisca rulers (''zaques'', ''zipas'', ''iraca'', and ''tundama'') in the central Andes, Andean highlands of what is today Colombia before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, Spanis ...
visited Sutatenza in 1537.
Modern Sutatenza was not founded until October 22, 1783.[
]
Climate
Sutatenza has a subtropical highland climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring c ...
(Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Cfb'') with mild temperatures and frequent rainfall. A dry season
The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...
between December and February produces warmer and drier weather.
Economy
Main economical activities of Sutatenza are agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
and aviculture
Aviculture is the practice of keeping and breeding birds, especially of wild birds in captivity.
Aviculture
Aviculture is the practice of keeping birds (class '' Aves'') in captivity in controlled conditions, normally within the confines of a ...
. A small salt
In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
mine is operated in the ''vereda'' Salitre.[
]
Gallery
File:Sutapon.jpg, Monument to the farmers
File:Venta de bueyes.jpg, Ox market
References
{{Coord, 5, 01, N, 73, 27, W, region:CO_type:city, display=title
Municipalities of Boyacá Department
Populated places established in 1783
1783 establishments in the Spanish Empire
Populated places of the Muisca Confederation