Concise History and Timeline of Colombia
1535 Spanish Colombian conquest begins
1525 The first permanent settlement in South America was founded at Santa Marta
1536-1538 Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada (1509-1579) led an expedition into the Andes and obtained massive amounts of emeralds and gold
1538 Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada founded Bogota as the capital of the 'New Kingdom of Granada'
1550 Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada was appointed Marshal of New Granada and councillor of Bogotá for life. He died in 1579
1550 African slaves were shipped to Colombia to work on Colombian plantations
1564 The Spanish government appointed a president to govern the Colombian colony
1700s Spain combined Colombia with neighboring territories into one large colony called the Viceroyalty of New Granada
The Viceroyalty of New Granada consisted of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama
Venezuelan General Francisco Gabriel de Miranda (1750-1816) participated in major political events for more than three decades
1810 The territories of the Viceroyalty of New Granada set up their own independent governments
1810 Overthrow of the king of Spain by Napoleon
1814 Spain sent troops to South America to quell the uprising of the colonists
1819 General Simon Bolivar defeats royalist forces in the Battle of Boyaca on August 7 and the Republic of Colombia (also known as Gran Colombia) is proclaimed on December 17, consisting of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador
1819 Colombia gained its independence from Spain
Simon Bolivar established Gran Colombia and became the first Colombian president
1830 Ecuador and Venezuela left Gran Colombia to became totally independent
1853 Colombia adopted a constitution which abolished slavery
1899-1902 Civil War - The War of the Thousand Days took place
1903 Panama seceded from Colombia with US backing and allows US control over the strip of land now known as the Panama Canal zone
1922 The United States paid Colombia $25 million for the loss of Panama
1939-1945 Colombia helped the United States to keep the Panama Canal open during World War II
1989 USA began supplying the Colombian government with military equipment to help rid Colombia of drug dealers
2002 Alvaro Uribe Velez was elected Colombian president.

Click the following link for details of the
ancient South American / Mesoamerican Civilisations History Timeline & Facts