Colombia: The Good With The Bad Quiz

Answer: Apache

The Carib people had largely left the South American mainland by the time of European imperialism. They were among the first indigenous people encountered by Columbus and later Europeans. Unfortunately, this contact resulted in the near-extermination of the Carib, both by disease and force of arms.

The Muisca were a highland people first encountered by the Spanish in 1537. By 1542, they had been thoroughly subdued and their system of government had been eliminated. As of 2006, there were an estimated 10,000 Muisca still living in Colombia.

Known for their exquisite traditional art including a very distinct goldwork style, the Tairona were natives of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range. In 1599, they revolted against the Spanish, who responded by exterminating their leadership and essentially dispersing the tribe. Their descendants are known as the Koguis.

Answer: False

Colombia is named for Christopher Columbus, the explorer who first claimed land in the Western Hemisphere for Spain. The name was first coined by Francisco de Miranda, a revolutionary figure born in what is now Caracas, Venezuela. De Miranda conceived of "Colombia" as a pan-Latino empire stretching from what is now the United States' southwest to Cape Horn. With British support, de Miranda led a force that eventually declared the First Republic of Venezuela in 1810.

As Spain's allegiance shifted to Britain during the course of the Napoleonic Wars, Venezuela reverted to its status as a Spanish colony.

Answer: Simon Bolivar

Like de Miranda, Bolivar conceived of a larger South American state called Gran Colombia. Following a successful fight against Spanish imperial forces weakened by the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, Bolivar served as president of Gran Colombia (encompassing present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama, as well as parts of Peru, Guyana, and Costa Rica) until his death in 1830.

Answer: The Conservatives and the Liberals

The Conservatives were originally followers of Simon Bolivar. Their platform called for a strong central government allied with the Roman Catholic Church and stringent limits on who could vote. The Liberals were followers of Francisco de Paula Santander.

They supported broadly distributed voting rights, schools run by the government instead of the Church, and a weaker central government with more local control over civic affairs. These positions have shown various patterns of consistency and change over the years.

The Conservatives still hold religiosity as a major party tenet, while the Liberals have aligned with the Socialist International.

Answer: Panama

The Thousand Days War left 100,000 Colombians dead. In the resulting civil disarray, the Theodore Roosevelt-led United States backed a military uprising in Panama, severing the new country from Colombia. The United States then constructed the Panama Canal across the Central American isthmus, a project that the Colombian government had previously opposed.

Answer: The two major parties agreed to share power and alternate the presidency.

In 1957, Colombia's previous two presidents, Conservative Laureano Gómez and Liberal Alberto Lleras, proposed this solution in the Declaration of Sitges, leading to a government paradigm known as the National Front. Though often repressive, the 16-year National Front system did effectively eliminate "La Violencia" before being phased out in 1974.

Answer: Al-Qaeda

M-19 was an urban guerrilla movement that began as a response to electoral fraud in 1970. Its insurgent activities (including stealing Simon Bolivar's sword and holding the Supreme Court hostage) continued into the early 1990s when they were incorporated into the peace process.

The Medellin drug cartel's anti-government violence focused on discouraging the extradition of drug leaders to the United States. The more audacious attacks were largely quelled with the death of Medellin leader Pablo Escobar in 1993, though drug skirmishes in Colombia would continue.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is a Marxist guerrilla group established in 1964. It is historically the largest insurgent group in the country, and remained active against the government into the 21st century.

Answer: The United States

At the 35 minute mark of the US/Colombia match at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, Colombian defender Andres Escobar deflected a crossing kick from American John Harkes into his own goal, putting the US team up 1-0; the hometown favorites would go on to win 2-1. Tragically, Escobar was assassinated a few weeks later back in Colombia. Underworld figure Humberto Castro Muñoz was eventually convicted of the murder and would end up serving eleven years in prison.

Answer: Sofia Vergara

Vergara and her writers make good use of Colombian tropes on "Modern Family". In one episode, Gloria's son Manny is stopped by the Transportation Security Administrations under suspicion of carrying contraband. Gloria counters by pointing out several passengers whose accoutrements would make them more likely problems. A TSA agent suspiciously suggests that Gloria knows far too much about the subject. Gloria's response? "Yeah, I'm Colombian."

Vergara began working in commercials and as a runway model in her native Colombia. She first reached international fame on the Univision travel program "Fuera de serie" ("Out of Sequence" or, idiomatically, "Out of This World") in 1995.

Answer: A vaccine for malaria

Cuero's work has focused on organic creation of active agents that have previously been produced by artificial means. He drew special notice in 2004 by demonstrating that Martian soil could be valuable in removing radioactive particles and other toxins. He was born in Buenaventura, Colombia where, during his upbringing, up to 30% of children died before the age of ten.