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Colombia

 Flag of Colombia

Last reviewed: 02 June 2009

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HISTORY

Before Spanish rule, Colombia was populated by indigenous peoples. Most were hunters or nomadic agriculturists, but one part of the country, the high basins of the Eastern Cordillera, was densely occupied by Chibcha Indians who had become sedentary farmers.

1525 First permanent Spanish settlement at Santa Marta by Rodrigo de Bastidas.
1810 Colombia declares its independence from Spanish rule.
1819 Republic of Gran Colombia (embracing the present republics of Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador) is proclaimed following successful campaign waged by Simon Bolivar in the early 1800s.
1948 Assassination of popular Liberal leader, Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, provokes serious rioting in Bogotá. Several thousand are killed.
1948-58 Conflict between Liberal and Conservative Party supporters spreads to rural areas. As many as 200,000 are killed during this period, known as 'La Violencia'.
1957 Colombia's only military dictator during the 20th Century, General Rojas Pinilla, is ousted after 4 years in power.
1958 Liberal and Conservative parties agree power-sharing arrangement (National Front) which formally runs until 1974.

Recent History

Mid-1960s Colombia's 2 main guerrilla groups, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and National Liberation Army (ELN), are established
1980s Medellin and Cali drug cartels consolidate their control of the drugs trade. Paramilitary groups, hired initially for self-defence purposes, emerge as a significant force.
1982 Belisario Betancur (Conservative) becomes President. Takes first serious steps towards a negotiated settlement of guerrilla conflicts.
1985 FARC establishes political party, Patriotic Union (UP), thousands of its members killed by illegal armed groups over the next decade. M-19 takes over Palace of Justice in Bogotá; army recaptures building, but over 100 are killed, including 11 senior judges.
1989-90 Big increase in drug-related violence. Medellin Cartel, opposed to extradition, assassinates Luis Carlos Galan, favourite to win Liberal Party presidential nomination in 1990 and kills 200 policemen in Medellin. President Barco (1986-90) appeals to international community for support in his struggle against narco-traffickers.
1990 After long and difficult negotiations, M-19 guerrillas demobilise and establish a democratic political movement.
1991 Constituent Assembly (with former-guerrillas well represented) drafts new constitution.
1991-92 Various rounds of peace talks between government of President Gaviria (1990-94) and FARC and ELN guerrillas fail to make headway.
1993 Pablo Escobar, infamous head of the Medellin drug cartel, killed by police in Medellin.
1994-1998 Administration of President Samper (Liberal) dogged by drug-related corruption scandals. But progress is made in dismantling Cali-drug cartel. FARC and ELN guerrillas show little interest in negotiating with Samper government.
1998 Andres Pastrana (Conservative, but standing as an independent) wins Presidential elections.
2002 President Pastrana breaks off three-year old peace talks with FARC, and terminates their demilitarised zone. Peace talks with ELN break down and attempts to restart them stall.
2002 Alvaro Uribe (dissident Liberal, standing for independent Primero Colombia Movement) wins Presidential elections. Inaugurated 7 August, amidst a mortar attack perpetrated by the FARC.

2003 Formal peace talks between the Government and the United Paramilitary Groups (AUC) initiated in July, 7 months after the AUC announced a unilateral ceasefire. This agreement commits the AUC to demobilise completely by the end of 2005.
2005 Negotiations between the AUC and the government continue. On 22 July the Justice and Peace law is passed and becomes the legal framework to accompany the demobilisation process.
2006 On 18 April the Colombian Government announced that the demobilisation process of the AUC had been completed.
2006 In May President Alvaro Uribe secures a second, 4-year term.
2008 French-Colombian former Presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, plus other US and Colombian FARC hostages, freed by Colombian military operation.

BBC News Country TimeLine: Colombia

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