History of Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
History of Bogotá, D.C., Colombia The first settlers of Bogotá were the Muiscas, belonging to the Chibcha linguistic family. At the arrival of the conquerors, it is estimated that there were half a million indigenous people of this group. They occupied the highlands and temperate slopes between the Sumapaz massif in the southwest and the Nevado del Cocuy in the northeast, in an area of about 25,000 km2 that encompasses the high plateau of Bogotá, part of the current department of Boyacá and a small region of Santander. In this area, the population was organized into two federations, each under the command of a chief: the southwestern area was dominated by Zipa, whose center was in Bacatá, present-day Bogotá. The northeastern zone constituted the domain of Zaque, whose center was the Hunza region, present-day Tunja. However, the Muisca population, unlike the Tairona, did not develop large cities. The Muiscas, eminently farmers, formed a dispersed population that occupied numerous smal