Colobia

Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuadorand Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia also shares maritime borders with Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic,Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Colombia is the 26th largest nation in the world and the fourth largest in South America. It has the 29th largest population in the world and the second largest in SouthAmerica, after Brazil. Colombia has the third largest Spanish-speaking population in the world after Mexico and the United States.

Official name: Republic of Colombia
Common name:Colombia
Official language: Spanish
Government: Presidential republic
* President: Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Population: 44,928,970 (April 2009 estimate)
Currency: peso (COP)
Religion: more than 95% of thepopulation adheres to Christianity.
Curious about Colombia: is the world leader in manufacturing and destributing the dried powder extract of coco leaves.
Most important economic activity: agricultureTypical clothing:

Colombia´s timeline
* 1535 - Spanish conquest of Colombia begins and the first permanent settlement in South America was founded at Santa Marta
* 1536 - 1536-1538: Spanishconquistador Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada (1509-1579) leads an expedition into the Andes and obtains massive amounts of emeralds and gold
* 1538 - Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada founds Bogota as the capitalof the 'New Kingdom of Granada'
* 1550 - Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada was appointed Marshal of New Granada and councilor of Bogotá for life (he died in 1579)
* 1564 - The Spanish governmentappoints a president to govern the Colombian colony
* 1700 - Spain combines Colombia with neighbouring territories into one large colony called the Viceroyalty of New Granada which consisted of...