- Not to be confused with persons, places, and things called Columbia.
The Republic of Colombia (Spanish: , IPA ), is a country in northwestern South America. It's bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil, to the south by Ecuador and Peru, to the North by the Atlantic Ocean and to the west by Panama and the Pacific Ocean.
Origin and history of the name
Colombia's name references the explorer
Christopher Columbus. The name was conceived by the revolutionary
Francisco de Miranda as a reference to the New World, especially to all
American territories and colonies under
Spanish and
Portuguese rule. The name originally belonged to a short-lived republic consisting of present-day Colombia,
Venezuela,
Ecuador, and
Panama (
see Great Colombia). This republic collapsed in 1830 when Venezuela and Ecuador separated, and the
Cundinamarca region which remained became a new country, the Republic of New Granada. In 1863 New Granada changed its name officially to
United States of Colombia, and in 1886 adopted its present day name: Republic of Colombia.
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