Colombia+(Megan)

= =

= = = General Information: = = =     ** Capital City -**Bogota

 **Major Cities-** Cartagena, Medellin and Santa Marta ** Population -** 44,725,543 (July 2011 est.) Nationality- **noun:** Colombian(s) **adjective:** Colombian **Median age- total:** 28 years **male:** 27 years **female:** 28.9 years (2011 est.)

**Population growth rate**- 1.156% (2011 est.) **Religions**-Roman Catholic 90%, other 10% **Languages**-Spanish (official)

**Major Exports -** petroleum, coffee, coal, nickel, emeralds, apparel, bananas, cut flowers **Major Imports-** Organic chemicals, corn, computer accesories, plastic materials, computers

**Monetary System- ** Colombians use Pesos as their currency. It is similar to american money in value as shown below. > **Five Pesos -**(5 Pesos) **Ten Pesos -**(10 Pesos) **Twenty Pesos -**(20 Pesos) **Fifty Pesos -**(50 Pesos) **One Hundred Pesos -**(100 Pesos) **Two Hundred Pesos -**(200 Pesos) **Five Hundred Pesos -**(500 Pesos) **One Thousand Pesos -** (1,000 Pesos)

The coins they use are called Centavos and are similar as to what a penny is to a dollar. **100 Centavos= 1 Peso**

= = **Geography:** **Fourth-Largest Country in South America** **World's 26th Largest Country ** Around the size of California and Texas put together Area: 1.14 million sq. km. (440,000 sq. mi.) Flat coastal areas, and is crossed by the equator and Andes Mountains. Bordered by Pacific and Atlantic Ocean <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; text-align: center;">The countries bordering Colombia are Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, and Equador <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; text-align: center;">Because of Colombia's location (Near equator) they have more of a tropical and isothermal climate. <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">The temperature and weather varies on the altitudes. They vary from hot lowlands to freezing Andean peaks.





**1 U.S. Dollar is equal to 1,750 pesos** =**Brief History:**= Before the Spaniards arrived and took over, Amerindians lived in what is now Colombia. They did what most indians did to survive, somewere nomads and some were farmers. The first Spaniard to find Colombia was Alonso de Ojeda in 1500. The first settlement was in 1533 when Cartagena and Santa Marta were founded. Three years later, Bogota was found in 1538. In 1564 the colony was thriving andthe economy was great. They also imported slaves over there and made former inhabitants,amerindians, slaves too.

In 1808 Napoleon made his brother king of Spain, and many people in Colombia didn't agree or like that. In 1810 declared independence from Spain, but that didn't last long at all; Spain reconquered in 1815. However,i n 1915 Simon Bolivar,Venezuelan military and political leader, defeated the Spanish at the battle of Boyaca.Shortly after this a new nation was made consisting of Colombia, Panama, Venezuela and Ecuador. This gave us the Republic of Colombia. Shortly after this some regional issues made the new nation seperate. Simon became dictator in 1828 but then resigned in 1830 and Colombia, and Panama became separate from Ecuador and Venezuela.

During the 19th century, Colmbia wasn't doing so well and had 8 civil wars break out. The cause of all the controversy was the two political parties, conservitives and the liberals. The conservatives supported the landowners and the Catholic Church. The liberals supported the craftsmen and merchants. In the late 19th century, political instability keep continuing with the two parties and in 1899 a terrible war was fought; The War of a Thousand Days. This lead to Panama breaking away and becoming an independent nation in 1903.

Everything was going good in the 20th century, until 1948 when another civil war broke out; La Violencia. The assassination of liberal politician Jorge Eliecer Gaitan on 9 April 1948 was the last straw for the liberals. In 1953 General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla became dictator.When Rojas stepped down in 1957 the two parties, Liberal and Conservative, agreed to share power. Between 1957 and 1974 they presidency alternated between them.In the 1970's, the production of cocaine increased and kept getting worse going into the 80's. This led to a great deal of violence. In the 21st century the violoence got better and violence rates went down. Then in 2009 the economy sufered recession again, but is not getting back to normal and tourism is rising.

=Government/Current Political Situation-=
 * Type**- Republic with seperation of powers like us.
 * Leaders- President-** Juan Manuel Santos **Vice President**- Angelino Garzon
 * Political Climate-** Seperated by two political parties, Conservatives and Liberals.Conservatives are mainly about the Catholic Church.

= = =**Culture:**=
 * Food- What Colombians eat is very diverse depending on the region you are in. Some eat guinea pigs and roasted ants, while others wouldn't even come close to it. Colmbians eat a lot of meat, and just like all the coast, they have great seafood with a special sauce made out of coconut milk. Some other dishes they are special made by Colombians are:**
 * Chunchullo,****Buñuelos,****Changua,****Hogao,****Patacones, and many more!**




 * Clothing-** Colombians regularly dress just like us, depending on the weather. There also some cultural clothing also like the:
 * Sombrero Vueltiao**

**Polleras**

They also make and wear beautiful jewelry like these:



Nov. 11th- Cartagena Independence Day They celebrate New Years, Christmas and Easter like us same time
 * **Sports-** Soccer is the biggest sport in Colombia, as well as motor racing
 * **Holidays/ Celebrations-** July 20th- Independence Day
 * **Music**- Cumbia, Salsa,Bambuco,Vallenato, Bachata, Merengue, and modern american music.


 * Art-

=**Tourism-**=
 * **Bogota- Capital city,historical**
 * **Cartagenas de Indias**- Most beautiful city, and amazing beaches
 * **Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta**- one of the tallest coastal mountain range, known for its sandy beaches
 * **Cerro de Monserrate**- church is known to have holy powers and people believe their wishes are fulfilled here.[[image:http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dOz0Eu6rCxU/TNHGYMR_HCI/AAAAAAAAABs/qAYIGPMtupk/s1600/monserrate_bogota.jpg width="721" height="425"]]

=**Current Events-**= **#1- This article is about a Colombian boy that invesogators think he bought a** **lot of Marijuana and was caught in Equador with it. The stash was worth 300,000 in Equador.** [] **.****#2- This current Event is about Colombia's No. 2 rebel group saying that they said they'd stop the harrasment and violence if they talk peace with them.** **The Vice President just said Hakt the violence and we will consider the peace treaty.** []

=**Resources:**= [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] Williams, Raymond L., and Kevin G. Guerrieri. //Culture and Customs of Colombia//. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999. Print.