Subachoque

Municipality and town in Cundinamarca, Colombia

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Location of the municipality and town inside Cundinamarca Department of Colombia

4°55′41″N 74°10′25″W / 4.92806°N 74.17361°W / 4.92806; -74.17361Country

ColombiaDepartment

CundinamarcaProvinceWestern Savanna ProvinceFounded16 March 1774Founded byJacinto Roque SalgadoGovernment

• MayorJuan Guillermo Cortés Ballén
(2016-2019)Area

• Municipality and town211.53 km² (81.67 sq mi) • Urban

0.813 km² (0.314 sq mi)Elevation

2,663 m (8,737 ft)Population

(2015)

• Municipality and town16,117 • Density76/km² (200/sq mi) • Urban

6,061Time zoneUTC-5 (Colombia Standard Time)WebsiteOfficial website

Subachoque is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Western Savanna Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. The municipality is situated on the Bogotá savanna with the urban centre at an altitude of 2,663 metres (8,737 ft) at a distance of 45 kilometres (28 mi) from the capital Bogotá. Subachoque is part of the Metropolitan Area of Bogotá and borders Zipaquirá, Tabio and Tenjo in the east, Zipaquirá and Pacho in the north, San Francisco and Supatá in the west and Madrid and El Rosal in the south.^[1] Subachoque is composed of 17 subdivisions: Altania, Canica Alta, Canica Baja, Cascajal, El Guamal, El Pantano, El Páramo, El Tobal, Galdámez, La Cuesta, La Pradera, La Unión, La Yegüera, Llanitos, Rincón Santo, Santa Rosa, Tibagota, El Valle.

Etymology

The name Subachoque comes from Chibcha and means either "Work of the Sun" or "Farmfields of the front".^[1]

History

In the times before the Spanish conquest, the area of Subachoque formed part of the Muisca Confederation, a loose confederation of different rulers of the Muisca. Subachoque was reigned by the zipa based in Bacatá.

Modern Subachoque was founded on March 16, 1774 by the priest Jacinto Roque Salgado. After the Spanish Crown gave the lands and allowance to Spanish families in order to colonize the area, the indigenous peoples that lived by the time in that area were relocated in another areas of Colombia or executed if they refused to be moved. Subachoque is one of the few towns in Colombia whose inhabitants are descendants mostly only from Spanish or European roots. During the iron production that took place at La pradera between 1850 and the early 1900s, the arrival of North Americans, British, French and Germans placed a small mark^{[clarification needed]} into the population of this peculiar town.^[1]

The Subachoque area was also the site of the Battle of Campo Amalia, also known as the Battle of Subachoque, in 1861.

Economy

Main economical activities of Subachoque are agriculture, livestock farming and small-scale mining. The most important agricultural products cultivated are potatoes, carrots, peas and fruits as peaches, pears, strawberries and apples.^[1]