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Conquers

The American Post Classic stage ended abruptly in the Colombian territory as in the rest of the Continent due to the arrival of European explorers beginning the Period of Conquers. The Caribbean coasts of what is Colombia saw the coming of a new civilization, completely unknown to the Colombian peoples. The exploration of Christopher Columbus in 1502 to the coasts of what is today Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the Urabá Gulf in Colombia was the origin of the name "Colombia" (the Land of Columbus). Although the name was not given specifically to what is today Colombia but to all what he saw, it became its name for the coming centuries. If the fame of Columbus had not decline at the time due to the work of his enemies, the new discovered continent should have the name of "Colombia" and not "America", the name that honored that other second Italian cartographer, Americo Vespucio, who stated that Christopher Columbus did not arrived to Asia, but to a continent never recorded before in the rest of the world. 

The Spaniards discovered in the Colombian territory a vast number of groups and tribes, most of them in a stage of agriculture and many others were hunters and collectors. They did not know the gunpowder, did not use the wheel for transportation, the majority of them did not have scripture and their history did not have contact with other continents. Their human bodies did not know virus like the flu that were brought by the Europeans, their religions were polytheistic - animistic, most of their political institutions were based in tribe systems with a chief (the Cacique) and consuetudinary legal frames. Wars among the tribes of different linguistic families were common, they have slaves, paths through mountains and forests and were skilful artisans. The archaeologist Paul Bahn said about the weaving techniques of the Muiscas:

"The precise weaving techniques can often be deduced through careful observation by specialists. Sylvia Broadbent has studied some painted cotton fabrics of the pre-Hispanic Chibcha culture of Colombia, and has been able to ascertain that they are all woven of 'one-ply S-twist cotton in a basic plainweave, single wefts over double warp threads.' Counts of the number of threads range from 6 to 12 wefts (side to side) per centimeter, and from 11 to 14 warp (up/down) per centimeter. At the weft edge, the weft threads turn in groups rather than singly, a fact which implies shuttles. The end of the weaving was secured by a row of chainstitch"

(P. Bahn: Archaeology, p. 317 - 318)

Some early Spaniard descriptions of the natives said that cannibalism and human sacrifices were a part of their traditions, but some scholars in modern times have their doubts about such practices. Even if they could take place in eventual circumstances, as it has happened in the human history - included the European peoples - the descriptions were made in the aim of subjection of the peoples and there is not a single chronicle of a direct Spaniard witness of a human sacrifice. Some chronicles speak of ferocity and savage attacks from the natives, but it is possible to understand: the natives were defending themselves from odd enemies, who came to possess their lands, exterminate their peoples and had powerful weapons.

Early chronicles speak also that the Muiscas were well known by other groups of tribes. As the tribes were subjected to the Spaniards, they talked to the conquerors about a rich and powerful people of the mountains. The descriptions of the Zipa offering tons of gold to the Moon in the Guatavita Lagoon were known until de Caribbean region and the Spaniards did listen to them with ambition. It was to become El Dorado Legend. When the Spaniards came inside the territory of the Muisca Confederation, the Zipa and the Zaque were already in a conflict for power among themselves. Both of them saw the Spaniards as a good opportunity to subject the other, but they did a bad chose: both of them were about to be subjected to the foreign force and their state condemned to an end as a political body to be integrated in the new Colony. The Caribbean region, the coasts of the Pacific and the Andean Ranges were soon subjected by different groups of Spaniards. From Colombia the Spaniards advanced to the south to defeat the Incas in Peru and the rest of the Continent. The Amazon Rain Forest was a powerful shelter against the invaders and most of the native tribes, many of them nomads and lest develop than the Muiscas and Tayronas, managed to be out of the influence of the European invaders and survived with their untouched cultures until modern times. Groups of Tayronas escaped to the shelter of the Santa Marta Snow Mountain and survived in what is known as the Lost City (Ciudad Pérdida). The action of subjection of the native tribes and their political systems with the killing of their leaders, did also that the invaders promoted the idea that those free groups and tribes were savages or their existences were not proven. In most of the cases such assumption contributed to put them far from the foreign influence and today they are a rich source of studies and identity of the Colombians.

The last element to be incorporated to the period of the conquests was the drama of the African slaves. Trying to "defend" the natives from the voracity of the invaders who were just looking for as much gold was possible, some regulations in Spain created the Native Shelters (Resguardos indígenas) and banned the use of native force for the exploitation of gold mines and other activities that could put in danger the life of them. The solution proved to be worst than the problem itself: it opened the doors to development of the human trafficking as a lucrative business for the next four centuries at the hands of the "civilized" nations of Spain, Portugal, Britain, France and Holland. Africa was about to suffer the consequences of the discovery of America and the gold ambitions of the Europeans. Persons were hunted and sold in the new ports of the Americas to be auction in the slave market for the already rich conquerors. Cartagena de Indias, the Spaniard Fortress in the Caribbean littoral of Colombia, was about to become one of the most important slave markets in South America.  

• BAHN, Paul. Archaeology, Theories, Methods and Practice. Colin Renfrew, 2nd Ed. London, 1991. ISBN 0-500-27867-9

The Lower the Latitude, the Better my Attitude!  Friday, July 04, 2008   Site dedicated to the Colombian people!

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