Trips to Colombia

TRIPS TO COLOMBIA: IT HIT

The Department of Chocó, is located in the pacific region, to the northwest of Colombia. It has an extension of 46,530 km2s. It owns coasts on the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. According to the 1993 census, it owns a population of 365,782 inhabitants, in his majority black and indigenous.

It is a zone of low atmospheric pressures, well-known like Equatorial Concavity, where tradewinds of each hemisphere converge to form the Belt of Tropical Convergence, which makes a zone of high rainfall and with variable winds.

It includes/understands the sylvan marshy plain of the Valley of the Atrato river. Its territory forms a geographic barrier that separates the Pacific Ocean of the Atlantic, well-known like the Cork of the Darién.

It limits by the North with the Republic of Panama and the Caribbean Sea; by the East with the departments of Antioch, Risaralda and the Valley of the Cauca; by the South with the department of the Valley of the Cauca, and by the West with the Pacific Ocean.

Its territory owns a great valley located of the South to North, by where the rivers Atrato and San Juan run. The Atrato river bathes the valley of its same name, and one of most mighty is considered of the world. This valley is place setting, in its majority, by tropical humid forest, presenting/displaying in the North part a quite subject to flooding zone, denominated the Cork of the Darién. The San Juan river bathes to the valley of its same name, turning it into one of the richest regions of the world in resources of wood and minerals, between which they emphasize gold and platinum.

We find other rivers of great importance for the region, such as the Andágueda, Baudó, Bebará, Bojayá, Layer, Docampadó, Domingodó, Munguidó, Opogodó, Quito, Salaquí, Sucio and Tanela.

Its main orographic accident constitutes the Mountainous area of the Baudó, with its maximum height the Stop of the Ox (1,810 ms), which originates itself in environs of the San Juan River and follows the pacific coast paralelamente until being united with the one of the Darién, in the north, delimiting to Chocó and Colombia of Panama.

Most of the territory is within the zones of the doldrums, therefore the rain regime extends the year throughout, registering itself up to 12,000 mm3 of precipitation. The temperature oscillates between 28 and 30 degrees C, with a high environmental humidity degree.
These territories own the most varied and rich range of flora resources and fauna, as a result of their location and climate, constituting themselves thus in the reserve and patrimony not only of Colombia but of the entire world, by their intense and endemic biodiversity, together with a culture of hidroselva.

The main urban center constitutes Quibdó, with a population of 105,172 inhabitants. The capital they follow in importance the cities to him of Istmina, Tadó, Condoto, Dirty River and Solano Bay. At the moment, the chocoana population is formed, mainly by the black race, in a 90%, different degrees from mestization. Also indigenous groups exist: Cradles, Emberas and the Cholos or Chocoes. Most of the population is located to borders of the rivers and their affluents, used like main communication channel and source of life.

The economy is based on the mining and lumber operation, mainly, whereas agriculture is very precarious, only of subsistence, with the exception of San jOse of the Palmar and the Carmen de Atrato.



HISTORY OF HIT

FIRST SETTLERS OF HIT

Approximately 2,300 years ago, he existed already in the Urabá chocoano, known with the name Darién, a cultural complex, conformed by hunters and sedentary fishermen who culminated in an agricultural phase. To the arrival from the European to America, known indigenous groupings like the Kunas, Chocoes, Noanamaes populated the chocoano territory (Kunas, Emberas and Waunanas):

- Emberas and Waunanas: They still live along the rivers Atrato and San Juan. These two groups, in spite of living both in the territory on Chocó, have different dialects.

- Katíos: They live between Hit and Antioch.

- Kunas: Still they live between Hit and the Republic of Panama. They belong to the Chibcha group.

- Calimas: Chocó and the department of the Valley of the Cauca existed between.
These indigenous groups were conquered and put under works of mines and all nature by the Spaniards as of year 1500, nowadays, the existing groups of Emberas and Waunanas have been united to defend their rights and have formed denominated organization OREWA (Organizacíon Regiónal Embera-Waunana).


HISPANIC AGE IN HIT

The first Spanish conqueror in arriving at territories of Chocó was Rodrigo de Bastidas, in the year of 1500, when arriving at the gulf of Urabá, after crossing the Atlantic Coast from Riohacha.

Secondly we found to Cristobal Columbus, who in his quarter travels, in 1502, arrived until territories of Acandí, in the left margin of the Gulf of Urabá.

FIRST GOVERNMENTS
In 1508, the king of Spain creates the two first mainland governments:

- The New Andalusia: From the Cabo of Vela in the Guajira, to the right margin of the Gulf of Urabá, and it names like governor to Alonso de Ojeda.

- Gold Castile: From the left margin of the Gulf of Urabá to the Cabo

Thanks to God in Central America; it names like governor to Diego de Nicuesa.

The new Gold Andalusia and Castile fuéron the first governments founded on Colombia, and Alonso de Ojeda and Diego de Nicusa the first governors.

The first mainland population was San Sebastián de Urabá, founded by Alonso de Ojeda on 1510, in the margin right of the Gulf of Urabá, and burned by the Indians who inhabited the region.


AGE OF THE COLONY AND INDEPENDENCE IN HIT

The history of Chocó this ligature to the mining of gold and platinum. The abundant presence of the slaves in the Pacific Coast and especially in the region of Chocó, obeys to the wealth in precious natural resources, specifically the gold, resource indispensable for the monetary economies of those periods of history.

The Colombian black lives mainly in this zone of the “Platform” Pacific of Colombia, esclavista zone of mitas miners.

The brought slaves of Africa by Portuguese and Dutch retailers, took care of the mining activity, whereas to the Indians sedentary agriculture was entrusted to them.

The slaves were original of the West of Africa, where they lived near the gold mines of Western Sudan, Benin, Guinea and Costa de Oro, that were zones of great metallurgical development. This black population of Africa, not only was strong, but with ancestral knowledge of gold.

Chocó is the first platinum producer in America. In Colombia, it at the moment occupies the first position in the gold production.
The towns of Chocó went creating like seats of miners. The displacements of the conquerors and Colonists, obeyed to the course that were taking the auriferous operations.

The history of the mining in Chocó, is also the history of the physical and human operation of the Chocoano man to the benefit of a minority that initiates an alienation process, del that still is victim all the Department.

The main cause of the destruction of the diverse indigenous cultures and black arrivals to Chocó and of the economic marginality in which are their descendants, have been the rich precious minerals of Chocó. Mitas and the services follow today, and they only disguise to the old ways of production and satately operation and Colonial dependancy.

RISES OF SLAVES AND TRAINING OF PALENQUES

In 1688 the first rebellion of the black slaves of the mines of Negua takes place, because of the tributes, the so severe hunger and punishments. This rebellion carried out in the mines of the governor Juan Buesso de Valdés, of the lawyer Miguel Benitez of the Serna and Fabian Ramirez.
The second revolt occurs in Tadó in 1729 in mines Car the Mount it to me and soon it extended to other bordering mines.

The third revolt of the denominated Corner of San Juan, occurs during the new Republic in 1825, that it sheltered to almost all the San Juan, since it was carried out in Novita, the parishes of San Agustín, Noanama, Baudó, Tadó; with the viceparishes of Meetings, Drawer, Caxón, Sociego, Aguaclara, Santa Barbara of Iró, San Pablo, Viroviro, Scraping, Santa Ana, Car Mount it to me, Opogodó, Yalí, San Lorenzo, the Tiger, Palestine, Sipí Cleorombirá and Cuellar.
As a result of these rises, it appears in Colombia, and Chocó in particular, the construction of palenques and the cimarronismo.

The Palenques was the first free territories in America, constructed by the enslaved black that fled from their masters to the mount, where they constructed his rooms within strengths to defend itself in case of being attacked by the white armies.

The cimarronismo was the rebellion act, the attitude of the slaves against the cruel oppression of the slavery in its beginnings; it was the rescue of the values of the African town and the affirmation of these men in his freedom.

Wild it was the black that fled to form palenques in the forest. This name was given to him by the Spaniards to differentiate it del that continued being enslaved. Main palenques formed in Chocó was those of Murrí, Tadó, Scraping and in the river Baudó.

The contribution of Chocó to the history of Colombia has been great. In the independence of Spain, the control of the Atrato and San Juan were key piece: The site, the residence and the victory with the fort of Murrí, the proclamation of independence of Nóvita, the execution of Francisco Garci'a Falcon, Iguel Buch, Takings Perez, the prison of Domingo Martinez and Aníbal Wheel, speak in case single. The entrails of Chocó three presidents of Colombia have left: Carlos Holguín, Jorge Holguín and Manuel Maria Mallarino.