|
La Guajira ((:la ɣwaˈxiɾa)) is a department of Colombia. It occupies most of the Guajira Peninsula in the northeast region of the country, facing the Caribbean and Venezuela in the northernmost part of South America. The department capital city is Riohacha. Various indigenous tribes populated the vast arid plains prior to the Spanish arrival to the Americas, such as the Wayuu, Guajiros, Macuiros, Anates, Wayunaiki, Cuanaos and Eneales, among others. In 1498, Alonso de Ojeda navigated around the peninsula of La Guajira, but the one who disembarked in what today is La Guajira was Juan de la Cosa. During the colonial era, the territory was disputed by the governors of Santa Marta and Venezuela due to deposits of pearls. English pirates, French, Germans also disputed the territory. Martin Fernandez de Enciso founded the city of Nuestra Señora Santa Maria de los Remedios del Cabo de la Vela, the first village in the territory, but due to constant attacks, in 1535 Don Nicolas de Federman had to refound the settlement as the village of Riohacha, and in 1544 it was moved to the site of the present-day city. In 1871, the region was separated from the Department of Magdalena, and La Guajira became a national territory in its own right. The Intendance of La Guajira was created in 1898.〔(Colombian Air Force: Guajira )〕 In 1911, the Colombian government created the Commissary of la Guajira, followed by a wave of Middle Eastern immigrants (Christians and Maronites) from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan, countries under the Ottoman Empire arrived to La Guajira in the c. 1930s and establishing mostly in Maicao. In 1954 was once again created the Intendance of la Guajira and Riohacha was declared a municipality. Finally in 1964 the Department of La Guajira was created.〔 The economy of the department is mostly based on royalties from the coal mining at Cerrejón, which produced 24.9 million tons of export coal in 2004, Natural gas exploitation and salt mine. A popular tourist destination is Cabo de la Vela, a small fishing village located on the tip of the peninsula in the Guajira desert. ==Etymology== The name of Guajira comes from the Carib languages. According to Picon (1996: p. 313) the word "''Guajiros''" was first used in the year 1600 to designate some 200 indigenous families that inhabited in the region of Riohacha, which were known for having large herds of goats. The term expanded to define all the indigenous in the peninsula who seemed to be goat herders. According to Oliver (1990: p. 84) the term "''Guajiro''" did not appeared on Spanish records until the year 1626 in a document by a Friar named Pedro Simón.〔( Government of La Guajira: Guajira Development Plan - Etymology )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「La Guajira Department」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|