Antioquia Department

For the district in Peru, see Antioquia District.

Department of Antioquia Departamento de Antioquia
Department
The Sonsón Páramo
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Himno de Antioquia Himno Antioqueño: ¡Oh libertad!
Antioquia shown in red
Topography of the department
Coordinates: 6°13′N 75°34′W
Country	Colombia
Region	Andean Region
Department	1886
Republic	1813
Province	1576
Named for	Antioch, an Ancient Greek city
Capital	Medellín
Government
• Governor	Andrés Julián Rendon
Area
• Total	63,612 km2 (24,561 sq mi)
• Rank	6th
Population  (2023)
• Total	6,994,792
• Rank	2nd
• Density	110/km2 (280/sq mi)
• Demonym	Antioqueño -a
GDP
• Total	COP 212,515 billion (US$ 49.9 billion)
Time zone	UTC-05
ISO 3166 code	CO-ANT
Provinces	9
Municipalities	125
HDI	0.763 high · 10th of 33
Website	antioquia.gov.co

Antioquia (Spanish pronunciation: [anˈtjokja] ^ⓘ) is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part of the Andes mountain range. Antioquia has been part of many territorial divisions of former countries created within the present-day territory of Colombia. Prior to adoption of the Colombian Constitution of 1886, Antioquia State had its own sovereign government.

The department covers an area of 63,612 km² (24,561 sq mi), and has a population of 5,819,358 (2006 estimate); 6.6 million (2010 estimate). Antioquia borders the Córdoba Department and the Caribbean Sea to the north; Chocó to the west; the departments of Bolivar, Santander, and Boyaca to the east; and the departments of Caldas and Risaralda to the south.

Medellín is Antioquia's capital city, and the second-largest city in the country. Other important towns are Santa Fe de Antioquia, the old capital located on the Cauca River, and Puerto Berrío on the Magdalena.

Geography

Antioquia is the sixth-largest Department of Colombia. It is predominantly mountainous, crossed by the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes. The Cordillera Central divides to form the Aburrá valley, in which the capital, Medellín, is located. The Cordillera Central forms the plateaus of Santa Rosa de Osos and Rionegro.

While 80% of the department's territory is mountainous, Antioquia also has lowlands in Bajo Cauca, Magdalena Medio, and eastern Sonsón, as well as coastline on the Caribbean Sea, in Urabá. This area has a tropical climate and is of high strategic importance due to its location.

History

Native people of Antioquia

Before Spanish colonization, indigenous tribes inhabited what is now Antioquia. Some specialists believe that they came from the Caribbean island; others say they came from the interior Amazon River.

Antioquia was primarily populated by the Carib people. Some scattered groups of Muisca were said to be present in the Darién region, a coastal region in the far north that is now in Panama, but no historical records refer to Muisca in Antioquia.

The Carib in Antioquia comprised smaller groups called families. The most prominent families were the Catía, Nutabe, and Tahamíe, who inhabited central Antioquia. The Quimbaya occupied southern Antioquia.

The Quimbaya, Carib and Muisca tribes were the most prominent groups the conquistadors encountered upon their arrival in Antioquia.

The Spaniards had a turbulent history of encounters with the Carib. Although the tribe was numerous and known for its warring culture, the Spaniards dominated or exterminated them in the process of conquest and colonization. Like all Native Americans, many died of newly introduced infectious Eurasian diseases to which they had no immunity.

Some surviving natives dispersed to evade the Spanish, and some committed suicide to escape being enslaved. Many survivors fled to the modern department of Chocó. Barely 0.5% of Antioquia's population is indigenous, but most residents have a significant indigenous genetic component (26% on average).

Basque and Jewish influence in Antioquia

Spain's Basque Country and European Jews have influenced Antioquia and its language since the Spanish colonization. This began in 1499, during the third voyage of Columbus. The owner and master of the Santa María, second in command to Columbus, was Juan de la Cosa, nicknamed "el vizcaino". Hundreds of Basques settled in the area, sponsored by the Spanish colonization companies.

Antioquia dialect

Basque language (Euskera) has influenced the Spanish spoken in Antioquia in several ways:

• The letter "s" is apico-alveolar (part way to "sh").
• The digraph "ll" (double L) is affricative, like English "j".
• Certain words beginning with "r" are prefixed by "a" (with the "r" doubled to continue to indicate that it is trilled):
  • arrecostarse instead of recostarse
  • arrecoger instead of recoger
  • arrecordarse instead of recordarse.
• Specific words have been adopted, such as coscorria (useless, inept) and tap (tap).

Local character

It has been asserted since the mid-nineteenth century that Basque and Jewish origins have influenced the character of Antioquia. Specific evidence of cultural contribution is sparse, perhaps partly because Basque is not dominant in Spain. However, American historian Everett Hagen sampled the Medellín telephone directory in 1957 and found that 15% of the surnames were of Basque origin, but 25% of the employers were. He concluded that Basque influence was important in explaining the increased industrial development of Antioquia in Colombia. The study reinforced notions of the character of social groups, though it has been criticized as stereotypical.

Spaniards in Antioquia

The first Spaniard known to have visited the territory now known as Antioquia was Rodrigo de Bastidas, who explored the area around the future site of Darién in 1500. Ten years later, Alonso de Ojeda founded San Sebastián de Urabá, 2 km from the present-day town of Necoclí. It was later destroyed by the natives. The first Spanish military incursion into Antioquia, however, was not made until 1537. An expedition commanded by Francisco César traveled through the lands of chief Dabeiba, arriving at the Cauca River. They were said to have taken important treasures from the indigenous people's tombs. In response, the warriors of chief Nutibara harassed the Spaniards continually, and forced them to return to Urabá.

In 1541, the conquistador Jorge Robledo departed from the site of the future (1542) Spanish town of Arma, a little below Aguadas in the North of Caldas, to lead an expedition north on the Cauca River.

Farther north, Robledo would found the city of Santa Fe de Antioquia, which in 1813 was declared the capital of the sovereign and independent state of Antioquia, and remained the seat of the governate until 1826, when Medellin was designated the capital.

Other Spaniards who settled Antioquia came from Extremadura, Andalusia, and the Canary Islands. The Extremadurans influenced the pronunciation of the letter 's' as an apico-alveolar, like Basques. Andalusians and Canarians influenced seseo in the Spanish dialect.

Toponymy

The basis for the name Antioquia is uncertain. The dominant explanation is that it was named after the then-Greek/Syrian (now Turkish) city of Antioch on the Orontes (Greek: Ἀντιόχεια Antiocheia, Arabic: Antākiyyah, today Antakya). The region of Colombia known as the Coffee Zone has a strong Judeo-Arabic influence, both demographically and culturally, and many towns and cities are named after cities in the Middle East. Moreover, ancient Antiochia played a significant role in the development of early Christian communities, and thus was important to the Roman Catholic Spaniard conquerors.

However, there are many other cities in the Middle East named Antiochia, which were likewise named for the Antiochus Kings during the Seleucid Empire (312–63 BC).

16th to the 21st centuries

Due to its geographical isolation, being located among mountains, Antioquia suffered supply problems. Its topography did not allow for much agriculture, so the city became dependent upon trade, especially of gold and gin for the colonization of new land. Much of this trade was due to reforms passed after a 1785 visit from Juan Antonio Mon y Velarde, an inspector of the Spanish Crown. The Antioquia became colonizers and traders.

The department was hard hit by the Colombian conflict, with 30,000 people missing between 1997 and 2005.

The Wall Street Journal and Citi announced in the year 2013 that Medellín, the capital of the Department of Antioquia, is the winner of the City of the Year competition, a global program developed in partnership with the Urban Land Institute to recognize the most innovative urban centers. Medellín was ranked above the other finalists, Tel Aviv and New York City.

Administrative divisions

Regions and municipalities

Antioquia is divided into nine subregions to facilitate the Department's administration. These nine regions contain a total of 125 municipalities. The nine subregions with their municipalities are:

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1905	673,270	—
1912	735,470	+9.2%
1918	832,200	+13.2%
1928	1,011,000	+21.5%
1938	1,188,587	+17.6%
1951	1,540,652	+29.6%
1964	2,477,299	+60.8%
1973	2,965,116	+19.7%
1985	4,067,664	+37.2%
1993	4,919,619	+20.9%
2005	5,696,183	+15.8%
2018	6,407,102	+12.5%
2023	6,994,792	+9.2%
Source:

The population of Antioquia is 6,613,118 (2017 estimate), of which more than half live in the metropolitan area of Medellín. The racial composition is:

• White / Mestizo (88.6%)
• Black or Afro-Colombian (10.9%)
• Indigenous or Amerindian (0.5%)

During the 16th and 18th centuries, Antioquia received many immigrants from Spain (Especially the northern Spain). Most Indigenous peoples died from the introduction of European diseases, and many of those who survived intermarried with early Spanish settlers, who were mostly men; later, Spanish women also began to immigrate. Thousands of Scottish and English who settled in Antioquia fought for the Colombian army during independence. During the 19th and 20th centuries, immigrants (including Jews) arrived from Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Lebanon, Israel, Palestina and Syria. Many people from Antioquia are referred to as Paisas, people of mainly Spanish ancestry, a lot of them Basque. There is a small Afro-Colombian and Zambo-Colombian (people of Indigenous and African descent) population originating in the majority of the Urabá subregion and the neighboring departments of Chocó, Córdoba and Sucre.

Total fertility rate by subregion, Antioquia 2020.

Notable people

• Walter Noriega (1979) footballer
• Maluma (1994) singer, songwriter, and actor
• J Balvin (1985) singer
• Karol G (1991) singer and songwriter
• Juanes (1972) musician
• Sebastián Yatra (1994) singer, songwriter, and actor
• Camilo (1994) singer, musician and songwriter
• Pablo Escobar (1949–1993) drug lord
• Ana Fabricia Córdoba (c.1959 – 2011), human rights activist
• Jhon Durán (2003) footballer

See also

• Colombia portal
• Coat of arms of Antioquia Department
• List of municipalities in Antioquia
• Postage stamps and postal history of Antioquia

External links

• Map of the Province of Antioquia from 1809