Calfúgüey was founded as Nuevo Villalazán by Cpt. Teófilo Caamaño Alamar. Naming it after the village his mother was born. The colony was initially under supplied and numerous settlements were abandoned. The town of Nuevo Mañón was the first city to sustain a major population. An official colonial government was established and expeditions deeper into the continent continued. Explorers like Francisco de Ribagorza and Juan Alba Armuña y Salnés were instrumental in civilizing the countryside. Several wars with indigenous peoples followed. Most notably the War of Tocancipá and the March to Campos de Plata. Both conflicts were extremely devastating to the insidious population.
Governor of Nuevo Villalazán, Aznaro de Mauregato led the Expedition of 1709 in an effort to pacify indigenous groups in the Tibagaza Mountains. This expedition led to war with the Tagribaka Confederation. Bringing in 1,900 men the forces under de Mauregato fought several battles, most notably the battle of Kubara and the Battle of San Florián. These two battle saw the Expedition break resistance in the mountains and opened up the area to exploitation by the colonial government.
By the 1720's a major social crisis arose within the colony. A conflict between the nobel Continentales and the Coloniales started. Driven by the resistance of the Contnentales to the growing influence of wealthy Coloniales. Many natively born colonials were growing wealthy via plantation agricultural endeavors. Many landed Colonials would use land grants by Colonial authorities to buy villages and use the village as a form of slave labor. This predominantly effected indigenous peoples but also enveloped the newly emerging Mestizo and Pardo classes of people. This expanded influence and wealthy threatened to displace the generally more affluent ruling class predominantly made up of wealthy Vesparians. These tensions came to ahead in 1747 when the Colonial Government under Armengol de Zumalacárregui attempted to break apart the Plantation system that had enriched the Coloniales. This led to significant push back and start the Plantation Wars.
This series of conflicts saw colonials raising armies in order to subvert the power of the colonial government as well as to engrain their power in society. Many plantation owners would arm their workers and gather to battle colonial forces. The Battle of Bahía de Arjona and the Battles of San Cristobal de Majagual were clear turning points in the colonial power dynamic. The Battle of Bahía de Arjona saw a colonial force under Zumalacárregui defeat a smaller plantation force near the town of Bahía de Arjona. While the plantation force lost, and its leader, Juan Antonio Trilladora killed, it also saw a massive loss of lives for the colonial army. Thus making further campaigns in the north almost impossible. The Battles of San Cristobal de Majagual were a series of 12 distinct battles between 1749 and 1750. These battles pitted the plantation owners against the Colonial Military in and around the city of San Cristobal de Majagual. Itself the central community for the Mitú valley, the core of the Plantation economy. These battles were at time attritional and at others exercises in early insurgent conflict. San Cristobal was where colonial forces broke the back of the Coloniales resistance. Zumalacárregui reaffirm colonial authority, yet he abandoned his plans to break up the colonial system, and in a gesture of good will opened up the government to Coloniales, allowing their influence to become engrain in the society.
In 1797 a new series of conflicts took a hold of the colony. Taxation over the last several decades had grown increasingly burdensome in order to help finance foreign wars abroad. Many colonial Regiments were sent overseas. And a general animosity towards the colonial ruling class, still left over from the Plantation Wars continued to simmer. As colonial authority waned in the area a group of Colonial Army Officers, Sigismondo Cabeza de Vaca, Emilio Andújar, and Jerónimo de Oraá Espoz formed what is known as the Revolutionary Triumvirate. Influenced by the enlightenment ideas of the time they collectively sought to establish an independent republic. All three hailed from Coloniales families and all had parents or relatives who had fought in the Plantation Wars. They saw the weakening of the empire as an opportunity to take power.
The Revolutionary Triumvirate launched its take over of the Colony on December 3rd 1797. The initial coup led by Andújar's 6th Colonial Light Infantry Regiment was particularly successful in capturing Nuevo Mañón. Street battles occurred but most loyalist forces surrendered or left the city. Governor-General Juan Zurbarán Barjola would escape to the city of Léon and would orchestrate the resistance to the coup attempt. This would kick off the War of Independence.
The revolutionaries suffered initial setbacks, their defeat at Santa Elena de Yopal and Ibagué led to colonial forces surrounding the capital. However, Revolutionary forces in the south under the command of Martino Chomón Buñuel saw far more success with victories at La Paz and Aljafería. In 1799 the Triumvirate voted to enact a constitution which had been drafted by the Asamblea del Campesinado and passed by the Asamblea del Terratenientes. The constitution established the Nation as the Republic of Calfúgüey, supposedly named in honor of the indiginous king Kallfügwja. It established the National Assembly and the various districts. It even renamed the city of Nuevo Mañón to Aznalcázar.
By 1801 Forces under Chomón engaged Colonial forces at the Fortress of Sajazarra, with the goal of lifting the years long siege of Nuevo Mañón/Aznalcázar. After several days of intense fighting the Revolutionaries broke the siege. This momentum culminated in the Villamoñico Campaign which swept much of the easter coastline. This quick and bloody campaign culminated in the Battle of Melgarejo, a bloody, urban battle which finally led to the surrender and defeat of colonial forces by 1803.
From 1803 to 1837 was a period known as the Years of Strife. A total of 42 presidents assumed power in this period. The former members of the Triumvirate swapped the presidency multiple times as a power struggle unfolded. They would all eventually be killed by powerful political and military forces or by their former allies. Chomón as a national hero served the longest as president, severing 8 years as president during 9 nonconsecutive terms.
By 1837 General Apolino Castaños de Melci assumed power in a military coup. His rule saw the initial stabilization of the Republic for the first time since independence. He would lead in a long line of Military Presidents, being succeeded by Miguel Calvo in 1854, and then by Felino Flórez-Osorio y Teijeiro in 1887. My the turn of the century the political climate had shifted, popular unrest against the República Militante. Key leaders arose at this time including Indiginous Rights activist Luis Tuyuca and Union Organizer Raymond Cabanellas. Rising to lead the movement was a priest named Vicente Elguezábal. He commanded a large following, his wide appeal stemming from his position in conservative society as well as his neutral approach to radical republicanism. Helping to formulate a broad coalition his efforts brought along massive protests and general strikes. The 1899 Strike was met with extreme violence from the state and effectively crippled the national economy for months. The efforts organized and spearheaded by Elguezábal led to what is called the Período de Redemocratización and led to the fall of the Military government and the organization of open elections. Elguezábal and his National Unity Party won the 1902 elections.
The new democracy however still suffered from internal issues. Far-Right groups which had prospered under the old republic grew into a considerable political force. Communism and Syndicalism had also grown as powerful political forces. The 30's and 40's were wroth with street battles between Leftist and Communist Colorados and Far-Right Vanguardistas. However on the national level the PUN maintained dominance. Under the leadership of Elguezábal and his successor Augusto Bündchen the countries economy grew substantially, agricultural and textiles formed the basis of the economic meticle, as the country entered the 50's the economy diversified as manufacturing in cities like La Paz and Sahagún took off and inyernstionL banking in the capital became more common. However by the 1970's really issues started to emerge. The 1972 elections saw PUN candidate Jacinto Francisco Palacio winning the election with a reduced margin of 50.4%, the PUN fared far worse in the legislative elections. Lossing its majority for the first time since free elections were established. The PUN eventually formed a governing alliance with the Liberal People's Party and Conservative New Democratic Party. This helped to keep the Colorado Coalition (headed by the Workers and Peasents Communist Party) and the pro-Military FANP away from power. However it also ushered in a change in national politics.
Working conditions in the rural parts of the country were stagnant, wealth inequality had skyrocketed under the pro-growth policies of the PUN, and while most middle class voters held trust in the PUN these conditions led to the rise of the Colorado Coalition, which in turn sparked the growth of the Frente de Acción Nacional Popular as a Pro-Military, Anticommunist, National Catholic political organ.
In the 1976 elections the PUN-PP-PND coalition was rejected as ruling party, with a reduced majority, and Palacio narrowly won rejection with a plurality. This trend continued until the 1980 elections. The Colorado Coalition won a plurality of seats in the National Assembly. Dethroned the PUN. Emiliano Albornoz would also win the presidential election, a member of the Republican Left Party he became the first democratically elected, non-PUN president in the countries history. His first two years in officer were dominated by the inability of the National Assembly to form a function government coalition. After 27 months of negotiations the Colorado Coalition was able to for a government with the LND (a break-away party from the PUN), Pepole's Party, and the ARN. with this new governing majority Albornoz went to work running through key policy goals. His first major goal was to Nationalize the Virginia Cobalt and Lithium industry in the country. He formed the National Mining and Metallurgy Conglomerate in early 1984 just weeks before the election.
The 1984 elections were hotly contested, the lack of efficient governance early on in Albornozs term damaged his reputation, although his nationalization policies were broadly popular. He would win rejection but electoral gains by the FANP effectively killed his majority in the National Assembly. Without a clear majority Albornoz contemplated dissolving the National Assembly and hold elections once again. He did so 8n 1985 after 14 months of negotiations failed to form a majority government.
The FANP intensly opposed the elections. Claiming they were a ploy to rig the national assembly in the communist favor. Party Chairman Teodoro Abascal declared that these measures were to undermine democracy in the country, calling on the Militsry to act as a "Vanguard for the Republic." The elections were held in late 1985 and saw the Colorado Cialition makes important gains, giving it the ability to government as a majority. This event was widely decried by other parties claiming electoral irregularities were pushed aside my Albornoz loyalists. The FANP quit the Assembly in protest. 12 days after the election Abascal would meet with General Hugo de Achá in San Cristobal de Majagual. General de Achá was an avowed Anticommunist and with the support of the FANPs street movement planned a coup to depose Albornoz.
On January 26th 1986 the 27th Motorized Infantry Regiment took control of important infrastructure around the capital city. The 1st Special Police Brigade was tasked with taking Republican Hall where the National Assembly met. The 5th Special Police Brigade would attack the Palacio Azul where the President resides. The coup was mostly bloodless in the early hours. The national Assembly was taken without incident. However a gun battle with the Presidential Guard allowed for Albornoz to escape. As the military took control of the city major protests broke out, encouraged by Albornoz giving a speech from a safe house hours after the coup started.
Albornoz was found by members of the Lightfoot Reconnaissance Brigade, hissafe house was sized and he was eventually killed in the fighting. Military units held down key infrastructure across the country, the next day armed police, with the aid of armed Vanguardistas violently suppressed crowds of protestors in major cities across the country. As many as 2,481 people were killed over the course of a week, with thousands injured or arrested. General de Achá assumes power as Interim president.
In 1987 a new constitution is passed, it gives de Achá the possition of Guardian of the Republic, a life possition designed to act as a Vanguard for the Republic. Meanwhile the start of what will be known as "La Violencia" are fomenting. Indiginous people lose out in the new political climate, the FANP had always had Mastizo Supremacist views, and they had been enfranchized under the previous Republic. They also formed the core of the Colorado Coalitions power base. Several militant group would spring up after the coup. Most notably the Popular Liberation Movement - United Kraussist-Moskvinist Axis (MLP-EKMU), Indiginous Revolutionary Insurrection Army (EIRI), National Resistence and Liberation Movement (MRLN), and the New National Army - Popular Democratic Will (Voldempo).
The conflict in the country that had been simmering boiled over in 1990. That year nearly 780 attacks on military forces occurred throughout the country. This was part of a campaign to battle the National Army and bring down the dictatorship. de Achás army responded with immense brutality, the 90's was dubbed "la década negra". Rebels would attack checkpoints and garrisons, most in rural areas inhabitants mostly by indiginous people. The Carabineros would then go in a flush out revels as best they could. This led to several instances in where Carabinero forces would destroy whole villages.
The La Violencia would lead to the death of over 10,000 combatants. In addition, the conduct of the Carabineros during the war towards Indiginous peoples has been called the "Campaña de Exterminio." In which Carabinero forces killed an estimated 200,000 Indiginous civilians in what has been classified as a genocide. The conflict came to a close in 2002 with the signing of the Varaleaux Accords. This Expanded the rights of political parties in the country to engage in elections. It established several Indiginous Autonomous Zones and a wider Demiliterized zone in the south. The accords also kept de Achá in power and made almost no changes to the current constitution.
Calfúgüey has been a nation in recovery. Since the accords were signed. Economic productivity has grown under the governments neo-liberal policies, the MRLN and Voldempo became political parties and are active in electoral politics, and the country seems to be back in track. However renewed violence has broken out since the 2018 elections. The result of dozens of Assemblymen being arrested for connections to banned political groups, all of said Assemnlymen representing heavily indiginous constituencies. These men were replaced by de Achá loyalists. This move reinvigorate indiginous communities who started to openly agitate against the government, this caused the government to send in paramilitaries to quell the situation, in violation of the spirit of the Varaleaux accords, although not in technical violation. This caused groups like the MLP-EKMU and EIRI to reform as community defense groups. In 2019 the government nullified the accords sighting renewed rebel activity a d since paramilitaries and the Carabineros have been fighting a new insurgent conflict in the south, threatening the almost 20 years of stability cultivated by de Achá