Bogota History, Colombia

Bogotá D.C. (where D.C. stands for Distrito Capital) is the official name for the city of Bogotá. This city was earlier famous by the name of Santa Fe De Bogotá but later on, the name was shortened to Bogotá. It is the largest city in terms of population when compared to all other cities of Colombia and also the capital of Colombia.

The first settlers were Spanish and Musicas Confederation used to reside in this city. During those days, the city of Bogotá was called as Bacatá. European descendents entered the area somewhere in mid of year 1538 and this is when the city was renamed to Santa Fé de Bacatá. Santa Fé was the birthplace of the ruler under whom the European migrants had entered the city of Bacatá.

During the 16th century, many Spanish colonial provinces were grouped to form the New Kingdom of Granada and Bacatá was renamed Bogotá and was made the capital of this New Kingdom of Granada. The city of Bogotá was slowly becoming an important trade hub for the area which was ruled by Spanish rulers.

The city of Bogotá did revolt against the Spanish rulers and hence created their own government. This government couldn’t last long and after 5 years Spanish rulers were again ruling the city of Bogotá. This happened sometime in 1811.

The city of Bogotá experienced huge changes in the mid 19th century. The most important was the slavery system which was abolished during these years. Print industry came into existence and religious preaching was on the go during this period. Along with everything positive came the negative when the city of Bogotá had to face multiple wars against the surrounding areas. This happened between 1899 and 1902.

It was the year of 1908 when the city of Bogotá was linked to Facatativá by railway. This helped the local businessmen of the city expand their business and this resulted in acceleration in the economy of Bogotá. In the year 1956, the municipality of Bogotá was connected to the surrounding municipalities so as to give it the tag of a district. By 1991, the government of Colombia had officially confirmed that the city of Bogotá will remain the capital city for the country and they renamed the city Santa Fe de Bogotá.

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