Colombia is a country located in the northwest of South America, bordered to the north by the Caribbean Sea and to the south by Ecuador and Peru. Its territory also includes the Pacific archipelagos of San Andrés y Providencia, as well as some islands in the Atlantic Ocean. With an extension of 1,141,748 square kilometers, it is the fourth largest country in South America after Brazil, Argentina and Peru. The capital of Colombia is Bogotá D.C., although its main economic center is located in Medellín.
The name “Colombia” derives from that of Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo; Spanish: Cristóbal Colón). It was conceived by the Venezuelan revolutionary Francisco de Miranda as a reference to all the New World territories that would be discovered by Europeans after Amerigo Vespucci’s voyages (the so-called “Vespuccian lands”). Later, after Miranda’s failed attempt to establish an independent republic in what is now Venezuela (1812), Simon Bolivar relaunched his project under the banner of Greater Colombia (Gran Colombia), unifying present-day Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador into one state. This union only lasted until 1830 when Venezuela separated from Gran Colombia following a civil war.
Since independence from Spain was achieved in 1819, political instability and armed conflict have been common features of Colombian life. Despite this, Colombians have managed to maintain a strong sense of national identity and pride. From 1939 to 1958 there was a period known as La Violencia (“The Violence”), during which drug trafficking emerged as a significant problem for Colombian society. In recent years however, thanks largely to government initiatives such as Plan Colombia, violence associated with drug trafficking has decreased significantly and security has improved throughout much of the country