History of Barranquilla

Evidence shows the area around Barranquilla was first settled about 2000 BC by local hunters and small bands of wandering tribes, however, even 500 years ago the area had still not developed in to a proper settlement. Spanish explorer Rodrigo de Bastidas recorded arriving at the mouth of the Río Magdalena in 1503 but merely sailed past.

Barranquilla’s history dates back to 1533 when the Spanish were expanding their empire across the region and was along the route leading from Santa Marta to Cartagena de Indias. At the river now known as the Magdalena there was at least two small locations for Indian canoes to dock which belonged to the Governorate of Santa Marta.

The Kamash Indians (known as Camacho or Camach by the Spanish settlers) are known to have been the first modern settlers of Barranquilla. During the conquest and the colonization (1500-1810) Barranquilla was not a particularly interesting area for the Spanish authorities, as there was no sign of precious metals such as gold or silver, nor a large Indian population that would have justified the conquorors needing to control the area. However, in the mid 1500s the Spanish monarchy gave captain Domingo de Santa Cruz, care for the welfare of the local indians, however, on his death the indians were taken by another local Spanish leader.

While the city bears no established record of its foundation, its settlement or foundation can be traced back to at least 1629 at this time cattle farmers looking for somewhere for their herds to graze during a prolonged drought settled in the area of Sabanitas de Camacho on the low bluffs and at which time the Estate San Nicolás de Tolentino was founded by Nicolás de Barros y de la Guerra. In this Estate, the workers, who were free and not slaves but which were under his care in the Spanish system were allowed to build their own homes so they could work on their own land and support their families. Local farming activity was an important stimulus for the growth of the settlement,as it attracted a great numbers of people that found jobs in the daily activities of the farm and after his death other local natives were allowed to live within the Estate and in 1681, the area could be considered as a small village known as Barrancas de San Nicolás, “Barranca” meaning being a slope (or ravine) in Spanish because it was a landing place of canoes and after which it took the name of Barranquilla (“quilla” signifying little). However, the residents of the city now commemorate the city’s “foundation” as the date when Barranquilla was legally established as a village, April 7, 1813. In 1834 Barranquilla had grown to 11,212 (as recorded in the official census), making it slightly smaller than the neighbouring coastal town of Santa Marta and almost half the size of Cartagena.

The Spaniards ruled the area for several centuries but despite the local references and naming of buildings and universities in Barranquilla, Simón Bolívar, the great liberator of the Colombian people spent little time in the area and when he did it was to seek rest in near-by Soledad and San Nicolás (Barlobento) south of the city. The buildings where he stayed are now being turned into museums.
The rise of Barranquilla

As the River Magdalena became an important artery in the increasingly important flow of goods and supplies between the interior of the country and the coast Barranquilla’s importance both domestically and internationally grew. Farming remained a vital contrinbutor to the local economy not just to sustain the growing local population but as a source of revenue but the most important activity was commercial trade and the transportation of merchandise, not to mention smuggling along the “barranca”.

The growth of the city can be seen in the rather shaby but characteristic Museum Romantica neat the Hotel el Prado to the southern side of the northern zone of the city. They illustrate with photos and models how the appearance of the village changed during the first 40 years of the 20th Century as the area attracted wealthy foreigners who had homes an mansions built in the Northern area of the City known as el Prado. As the amount of trade grew a vibrant port was established in the river and in the early part of the 20th Century Barranquilla became known as the “Golden Gate to Colombia” due to its excellent facilities, its financial importance and being the first place that many waves of immigrants disembarked when arriving in Colombia.

Successive waves of immigrants including Arabs, Jews, Spanish as well as other nationalities arriving by boat from Europe, Middle East and Asia often at times of crisis were escaping wars or economic problems have helped provide a diverse population and as well as influencing its architecture contributed to the city becoming a melting pot for a broad range of cultures which live and work side by side.

By the 1940s Barranquilla had become the second largest city Colombia but a combination of factors including local corruption enabled other cities to gain a lead and it is now fourth largest but still more than twice the size of Cartagena which a hundred years earlier had been twice the size of this newly recognized village.

It is now the largest industrial city and port in the Colombian Caribbean region, and the fourth largest city in Colombia. It is also known as the cradle of Colombian aviation as it was the location of the first airport in South America and home the worlds second oldest survivng commercial airline (SCADTA). Barranquilla now has the second most modern international airport in Colombia after the capital and main international airport in Bogota. The

The city though is best known for the world renowned Barranquilla Carnival