History of the Guajira Peninsula

History

By Lorraine Caputo

Since time immemoria,l the Wayuu have lived in Wajirra. The first Spaniard to sail around the coast was Alonso de Ojeda and the first to step foot on this barren earth, Juan de la Cosa. In the 16th century, the governments of Santa Marta and Venezuela disputed the governance of this península. Each wanted to control the pearl and other wealth of this land. The first city in the Peninsula, Cabo de la Vela, was founded by Martín Fernández de Enciso in 1526. This served as the territory’s capital until 1544, when the seat was moved to Riohacha. In 1772, Antonio de Arévalo was sent to pacify the peninsula and establish caseríos where the indigenous were relocated. These included San José de Bahía Honda (1772), Pedraza (1774), San Bartolomé de Sinamaica (1774) and Santa Ana de Savana del Valle (1776). Until 1871, the Guajira was part of the Magdalena department; it was then made a territory. In 1964, it was decreed a new department of the nation. During all these centuries of foreign domination, the Wayuu were peons in their own homeland, forced to labor in the salt and coal mines, in pearling and fishing, on cattle ranches and in contraband running. In the latter part of the 20th century and now into the 21st, the Wayuu, Afro-Colombians and other inhabitants of the region have seen their communities adversely affected by the massive coal mining and port operations. Remote settlements have been victims of paramilitary attacks, even in 2008 -- these have caused a tremendous internal refuge problem.