History of Cúcuta

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The history of Cúcuta dates back to a pre-Columbian establishment, where Pedro de Ursúa gave leadership to Sebastián Lorenzo in 1550. The hostile conduct of the Motilones Indians towards the white inhabitants of the valley was the determining factor so that a parish was constructed that would take the name of St. Joseph Patriarch. Juana Rangel de Cuellar donated 782 hectares in the Guaimaral site and the formation of the town began. The church was the center around which the town of Cúcuta was based, which had a considerable progress due to the commerce.

San Jose de Cúcuta was the location of one of the most significant areas of the history of Colombia, where men like Francisco de Paula Santander, Juan Nepomuceno Piedor, Francisco Montes de Oca, Pedro Fortul and Mercedes Abrego were born.

In 1875, Cúcuta occupied an area of 2.5 km² with a population of around 12,000. It had three churches: the main one, the one of the Carmen (Hospital San Juan de Dios) and the one of San Antonio. It also had the Municipal House, two theaters, a covered market, schools, a large hospital (San Juan de Dios) and a bridge of seven arcs rose on the Pamplonita River. The city now has an area of 1,176 km².

[edit] Conquerors and founders

The first European who was in Norte de Santander was the German Ambrosio Alfínger, who in 1530 got out of Coro (Venezuela) with a trope of adventurers and arrived to Tamalameque close to the Magdalegana River; from there he went to Girón in Santander, and then crossed to the north of the Province of Ocaña and returned soon to the north by the deserts of the extinguished Province of Pamplona to go to die to Chitacomar in the outskirts of the present city of Chinácota, in a combat with the Chitareros Indians.

In 1541 Hernán Pérez de Quesada arrived at Chinácota, but he had to come back the same year. Shortly after, Alfonso Pérez de Tolosa came from Tocuyo (Venezuela), and arrived at Salazar de Las Palmas after going through Cúcuta, but he had to come back after losing many of his armsmen.

In 1549 another trope of Spanish armsmen, commanded by Pedro de Ursúa and Ortún Velasco, tenients of Quesada, invaded the territory of the Norte de Santander Department. During the same year they arrived to the valleys of Pamplona where on memory of Pamplona (Spain) they founded the city which they called "New Pamplona", a settlement that soon attracted numerous settlers by the kindness of the climate and gold mines that were discovered in the region. From here came the expeditions that completed the conquest of the present territory of Norte de Santander.

The first expedition was commanded by Diego de Montes, founded during 1553. The primitive population of Salazar, that soon after was destroyed by the Cínera Cacique, according to a tradition by its beautiful Zulia daughter. In 1583 it was rebuilt by Alonso Esteban de Rangel, great-grandfather of the founder of Cúcuta, in more appropriate site for the defense in case of new attacks of the Indians.

The second expedition was commanded by Francisco Fernández de Contreras, who arrived at the Hacaritamas Indians, and on 26 July 1572 founded the city of Ocaña that was called in that time "Santa Ana de Hacarí", while others called it "New Madrid", and others "Santa Ana de Ocaña". Antonio de Orozco, sobordinate of Fernández, founded the next year to Teorama, while the Friars of Augustine founded a convent that is now the population of Chinácota.

Antonio de Los Ríos Jiménez was the founder of Faustino in 1673 close to the Táchira River. Another Spanish community was established in San Luís de Cúcuta (old name of Cúcuta), and in 1744 founded the city of San José de Guasimales, the population of which has been growing and progressing until becoming the present city of Cúcuta.