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Santander, Colombia

Department of Santander
Departamento de Santander
Department
Flag of Department of Santander
Flag
Coat of arms of Department of Santander
Coat of arms
Motto: Santandereanos siempre adelante
(Spanish: People of Santander always ahead)
Anthem:
Santander shown in red
Santander shown in red
Topography of the department
Topography of the department
Coordinates: 7°8′N 73°0′W / 7.133°N 73.000°W / 7.133; -73.000Coordinates: 7°8′N 73°0′W / 7.133°N 73.000°W / 7.133; -73.000
Country  Colombia
Region Andes Region
Established May 13, 1857
Capital Bucaramanga
Largest city Bucaramanga
Government
 • Governor Didier Alberto Tavera Amado (2016-2019) (Liberal Party)
Area
 • Total 30,537 km2 (11,790 sq mi)
Area rank 12th
Population (2015)
 • Total 2,061,095
 • Rank 7th
 • Density 67/km2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone UTC-05
ISO 3166 code CO-SAN
Provinces 8
Municipalities 87
Website gobernaciondesantander.gov.co

Santander (Spanish pronunciation: [santanˈdeɾ]) is a department of Colombia. Santander inherited the name of one of the nine original states of the United States of Colombia. It is located in the central northern part of the country, borders the east with the Magdalena River, borders to the south and southeast with Boyacá, to the northeast with Norte de Santander Department, to the north with Cesar Department, and to the west with Bolivar and Antioquia Departments. Its capital is the city of Bucaramanga.

Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, the territory now known as Santander was inhabited by Amerindian ethnic groups: Muisca, Chitareros, Laches, Yariguí, Opón, Carare and Guanes.

Their political and social structure was based on cacicazgos, a federation of tribes led by a cacique, with different social classes. Their main activity was planting maize, beans, yuca, arracacha, cotton, agave, tobacco, tomato, pineapple, guava, among others. Their agricultural skills were sufficiently developed to take advantage of the different mountainous terrains. The Guanes utilized terraces and an artificial system of irrigation. They had a knowledge of arts and crafts based on ovens to produce ceramics. They had cotton to make clothing and accessories such as hats and bags. Although Santander is a Spanish bank.


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Wikipedia

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