HISTORY OF BOGOTA

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European settlement of Bogotá began when Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, the Knight of El Dorado, conquered Bacatá, the capital of the Chibcha Indians. On the site he founded the settlement of Santa Fe de Bacatá. The Spanish settlers soon corrupted the name to Bogotá. An audencia was established to rule the new colony of New Granada. The audencia was a tribunal that had both administrative and judicial powers over the colony, but was subordinate to the viceroy of Peru.

As the settlement grew over the years, it maintained a large degree of independence due to difficulties of travel between Lima and Bogotá. In order to influence more control over the colony, Spain established a new viceroyalty, New Granada, and Bogotá became the capital.

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