History of Cúcuta

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The history of Cúcuta dates back to pre-Columbian times, starting about when Pedro de Ursúa gave the leadership to Sebastián Lorenzo in 1550. The hostile conduct of the Motilones Indians towards the white inhabitants of the valley was an important factor. A parish was constructed that would later take the name of St. Joseph Patriarch. The town was started on a 7.82 km² area donated by Juana Rangel de Cuellar in the Guaimaral. The church was the center around which the town of Cúcuta, which later owed considerable progress to commerce, was formed.

San Jose de Cúcuta was one of the most significant areas of the history of Colombia, being 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 Carmen (Hospital San Juan de Dios) and the 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 which spanned 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 troop of adventurers and arrived at Tamalameque close to the Magdalegana River. He then headed to Girón in Santander, and crossed to the north of the Province of Ocaña. He returned soon to the north by the deserts of the extinguished Province of Pamplona, to die in Chitacomar in the outskirts of the present city of Chinácota during combat with the Chitareros.

In 1541 Hernán Pérez de Quesada arrived at Chinácota, but he had to leave within the 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 troop of Spanish armsmen, commanded by Pedro de Ursúa and Ortún Velasco of Quesada, invaded the territory of the Norte de Santander Department. During the same year they arrived at the valleys of Pamplona, where in memory of Pamplona, Spain, they founded the city which they called "New Pamplona". This settlement soon attracted numerous settlers by its gentle climate and the gold mines that were discovered in the region. The expeditions which completed the conquest of the present territory of Norte de Santander were based from this city.

The first expedition was commanded by Diego de Montes during 1553.

The second expedition was commanded by Francisco Fernández de Contreras, who met the Hacaritamas Indians, and on 26 July 1572, founded the city of Ocaña that was called in that time "Santa Ana de Hacarí". (Other names for this city were "New Madrid" or "Santa Ana de Ocaña".) Antonio de Orozco, a subordinate of Fernández, founded Teorama the next year, while the friars of Augustine founded a convent that is the basis of the current the population of Chinácota.

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