The province was called New Granada and was governed by a Viceroy until 1810 when a revolutionary movement deposed him, and on December 17, 1819, the Republic of Colombia was born. Under the guidance of Simon Bolivar, Venezuela and Ecuador joined with Colombia in forming a union of these republics, which could not be held together after the death of the founder, in 1830. On the dissolution of this body of states, the Republic of New Granada came to light November 17, 1831, this title being changed to the United States of Colombia in 1863.
Colombia covers an area of 438,436 square miles, and like the United States enjoys the unique advantage of having a coast line on two oceans—the Caribbean Sea to the northwest being part of the Atlantic and the Pacific on the south and west. Ecuador and Peru form her southern boundary, Brazil and Venezuela are on her eastern frontier, while Venezuela stretches across much of her northern limits, and the Republic of Panama is the only land on the west.
Colombia is a land of mountains, plateaus and wide plains. To the east and south are large areas of level ground known as “llanos,” or “selvas,” covered with grass and tropical growths including virgin forests. This section has enormous rainfalls, is very warm, unhealthful and sparsely populated, in fact, has hardly been explored. There are three different mountain systems running northeast and southwest, between which are rich, luxuriant valleys, capable of great agricultural possibilities. These mountains contain many extinct volcanoes, of varying altitude, one being 18,000 feet high.
The climate ranges from tropical to temperate, Bogota, the capital, having a uniformly cool and spring-like temperature throughout the year, due to its elevation of 8600 feet. In the lowlands, and especially along both coasts, the heat is oppressive and far from salubrious. This is also true of much of the low-lying interior country. The cities on both coasts are notably unsanitary.
Colombia claims a population slightly in excess of 5,000,000, but I doubt if it really has 4,000,000. About one-tenth of the inhabitants are pure white and there are 200,000 wild Indians, living primitively under tribal chiefs, nominally under the control of the local government. The remainder are mixtures of white, black and Indian in varying proportion, over 300,000 of whom are negroes and mulattoes. Little can be hoped for from the majority of these people owing to their poor source of origin and the climatic conditions which surround them.
The Government recognizes the doctrine of states rights, and is republican in form with the usual branches, judicial, legislative and executive. A President with two Vice-Presidents represent the executive control, and the legislative body is composed of a Senate and House of Representatives.
The mountainous topography of Colombia has had much to do with the scarcity of railways, rendering them expensive in construction and owing to the great distance between possible termini, likely to make them profitless ventures. There are about 650 miles of railroads in Colombia, many of them supplemental to river transportation, or connecting ports with interior towns. It is doubtful if this condition will ever alter materially.
The trade of Colombia is carried chiefly on the Magdalena River, which is 1060 miles long with a swift current, and navigable to Honda, a city 600 miles from Barranquilla at its mouth. A marine railway, around the rapids at Honda, allows small steamers to go about 200 miles above this inland port. Goods intended for Bogota usually go via rail from Puerto Colombia to Barranquilla, a distance of about sixteen miles, and are then transferred to the stern wheeler, wood-burning, river steamers for all the world like those which navigate the Mississippi. A trip from Barranquilla or from Cartagena to Bogota takes via the Magdalena River from ten to fourteen days, according to the stage of water in the river and includes steamboat, railway and muleback travel. In making this trip the traveler is advised to take tinned food and bottled mineral water.
Travel through Colombia at best is difficult, the roads are bad and the hotels miserable. Goods intended for Bogota have six trans-shipments from the ocean to their destination—an argument for good packing.
The Atrato River, which rises in the foothills of the Andes and empties into the Gulf of Darien, an arm of the Caribbean Sea and which England threatened to make into a canal connecting the two oceans if not given special privileges in the Panama Canal, is navigable for about 225 of its 350 miles. The largest river on the Pacific side is the San Juan, being navigable for 150 of its 200 or more miles. The rivers emptying into the Amazon are navigable for canoes and lighters, but are so remote and in such a sparsely populated region as to be negligible quantities in this connection.