Boyacá is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

Márquez Province The Márquez Province is a province of Boyacá Department, Colombia. The province is formed by 10 municipalities. Municipalities Boyacá • Ciénaga • Jenesano • Nuevo Colón • Ramiriquí Ramiriquí is a town and municipality in t ...

, part of the department of Boyacá, Colombia. It is located approximately from the city of

Tunja Tunja () is a city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 it had a population of 172,548 inhabitants. It is the capital of Boyacá departmen ...

, the capital of the department. Boyacá limits

and Soracá in the north,

Jenesano Jenesano is a town and municipality in the Márquez Province, part of the Colombian Department of Boyacá. The urban centre is located at an altitude of on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense. Jenesano borders Nuevo Colón in the west, Ramiriquí in ...

in the south, Nuevo Colón and

Ramiriquí Ramiriquí is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Márquez Province. Ramiriquí borders the department capital Tunja in the north, in the south Chinavita and Zetaquirá, in the east Ron ...

in the west and

Ventaquemada Ventaquemada is a town and municipality in the Central Boyacá Province, part of the Colombian department of Boyacá. Ventaquemada is located at a distance of from the capital Bogotá and from the departmental capital Tunja. The urban centre is ...

in the east.Official website Boyacá

Etymology

The name of both the municipality and the department, Boyacá, comes from

Chibcha The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan lan ...

and means "Region of the blankets" or "Enclosure of the ''cacique''".Etymology Boyacá
- Excelsio.net

History

Boyacá in the times before the

Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

was ruled by the ''

zaque When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the ...

'' of nearby

Hunza Hunza may refer to: * Hunza, Iran * Hunza Valley, an area in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan ** Hunza (princely state), a former principality ** Hunza District, a recently established district ** Hunza River, a waterway ** Hunza Peak, a mou ...

, the

ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...

of the

Muisca The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan langu ...

, who were organised in their loose Muisca Confederation. Modern Boyacá was founded on August 8, 1537, by Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada who was searching for the

mythical Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

'' El Dorado''.

Gallery

File:Iglesia Municipio de Boyacá.jpg, Church of Boyacá File:Alcaldía Municipio de Boyaca.JPG, Council building File:Festividad en Honor a San Isidro Municipio de Boyacá.jpg, San Isidro Festival File:Huertos en Honor a San Isidro Municipio de Boyacá.JPG, Local produce at the San Isidro Festival File:Principal Park.jpg, Principal Park File:Streets of Boyacá (Boyacá).jpg, Streets of Boyacá (Boyacá)

References

Bibliography

* Senado de la República de Colombia (1989), ''Municipios colombianos''. Bogotá: Pama Editores Ltda. {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyaca, Boyaca Municipalities of Boyacá Department Populated places established in 1537 1537 establishments in the Spanish Empire 1537 disestablishments in the Muisca Confederation Muysccubun