HISTORY OF COLOMBIA For thousands of years before Europeans arrived Indians lived in what is now Colombia. Some lived by fishing and hunting but some lived by farming. The first Spaniard to land in the area was Alonso de Ojeda in 1500.However, there was no permanent Spanish settlement until 1533 when Cartagena and Santa Marta were founded. Columbia became a Spanish colony for almost 300 years. In 1808, Napoleon made his brother king of Spain but many people in the Spanish colonies refused to accept the new king. In 1810 most of Colombia declared independence. It did not last long. The Spanish re-conquered the area in 1815-1816. Yet in 1819 Simon Bolivar defeated the Spanish at the battle of Boyaca. Subsequently, a new nation was formed consisting of Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, and Ecuador. The new nation was called the Republic of Colombia. _____________________________________ REPUBLIC OF COLUMBIA (1819-1831) REPUBLIC OF NEW GRANADA (1831-1858) GRENADINE CONFEDERATION (1858-1863) UNITED STATES OF COLUMBIA (1863-1886) REPUBLIC OF COLUMBIA (since 1886) _____________________________________ PRESIDENTS OF COLUMBIA: Simon Bolivar y Palacios (1819-1830) Joaquin de Mosquera y Arboleda (1830) Rafael Urdaneta y Faria (1830-1831) Francisco de Paula Santander y Omana (1832-1837) Jose Ignacio de Marquez Barreto (1837-1841) Pedro Alcantara Herran Martinez (1841-1845) Tomas Cipriano de Mosquera y Arboleda (1845-1849; 1861-1864; 1866-1867) Jose Hilario Lopez Valdez (1849-1853) Jose Maria Obando del Campo (1853-1854) Jose Maria Melo y Ortiz (1854) Mariano Ospina Rodriguez (1857-1861) Bartolome Calvo Diaz (1861) Manuel Murillo Toro (1864-1866; 1872-1874) Santos Acosta Castillo (1867-1868) Santos Gutierrez Prieto (1868-1870) Eustorgio Salgar Moreno (1870-1872) Santiago Perez de Manosalbas (1874-1876) Aquileo Parra Gomez (1876-1878) Julian Trujillo Largacha (1878-1880) Rafael Nunez Moledo (1880-1882; 1884-1894) Francisco Javier Zaldua y Racines (1882) Jose Eusebio Otalora Martinez (1882-1884) Miguel Antonio Caro Tobar (1894-1898) Manuel Antonio Sanclemente (1898-1900) Jose Manuel Marroquin Ricuarte (1900-1904) Rafael Reyes Prieto (1904-1909) Ramon Gonzales Valencia (1909-1910) Carlos Eugenio Restrepo (1910-1914) Jose Vicente Concha Ferreira (1914-1918) Marco Fidel Suarez (1918-1921) Jorge Holguin Mallarino (1921-1922) Pedro Nel Ospina Vazquez (1922-1926) Miguel Abadia Mendez (1926-1930) Enrique Olaya Herrera (1930-1934) Alfonso Lopez Pumarejo (1934-1938; 1942-1946) Eduardo Santos Montejo (1938-1942) Mariano Ospina Perez (1946-1950) Laureano Gomez Castro (1950-1953) Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (1953-1957) Alberto Lleras Camargo (1958-1962) Guillermo Leon Valencia Munoz (1962-1966) Carlos Lleras Restrepo (1966-1970) Misael Pastrana Borrero (1970-1974) Alfonso Lopez Michelsen (1974-1978) Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala (1978-1982) Belisario Betancur Cuartas (1982-1986) Virgilio Barco Vargas (1986-1990) Cesar Gaviria Trujillo (1990-1994) Ernesto Samper Pizano (1994-1998) Andres Pastrana Arango (1998-2002) Alvaro Uribe Velez (2002-2010) Juan Manuel Santos Calderon (2010-2018) Ivan Duque Marquez (2018-2022) Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (since 2022)