Cachipay is a municipality and town of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

in the Tequendama Province, part of the

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of Cundinamarca. Cachipay borders

Quipile Quipile is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Tequendama Province of the department of Cundinamarca. The municipality borders Bituima and Vianí in the north, Jerusalén and Anapoima in the south, Anolaima, Cachipay and La Mesa in ...

in the west,

Zipacón Zipacón () is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Western Savanna Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre of Zipacón is situated at an altitude of on the Bogotá savanna, the southern flatlands of the Altipla ...

in the east,

Anolaima Anolaima () is a municipality and township of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. It is located in the providence of Tequendama at West from Bogotá in between the cities of Facatativá and La Mesa. Anolaima is known as the Fruit Capit ...

in the north and La Mesa in the south. The urban centre is located east of Bogotá.Official website Cachipay
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Etymology

The name Cachipay is probably derived from the Chibcha name for a fruit similar to the typical Colombian fruit corozo.

History

The history of the present municipality of Cachipay dates back at least to the

Herrera Period The Herrera Period is a phase in the history of Colombia. It is part of the Andean preceramic and ceramic, time equivalent of the North American pre-Columbian formative and classic stages and age dated by various archaeologists. The Herrera Per ...

, from which

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

s have been found in the current ''vereda'' Tocarema, dated at 2750 years BP (750 BCE). The region before the

Spanish conquest of the Muisca The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose confederation of differe ...

was inhabited by the Panche people, who were in constant conflict with the Muisca inhabiting the Altiplano Cundiboyacense to the east. Tocarema was the site of the

Battle of Tocarema The Battle of Tocarema (Spanish: ''Batalla de Tocarema'') was a battle fought between an alliance of the troops of Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada and ''zipa'' of the Muisca Sagipa of the southern Muisca Confederation and the ind ...

on August 20, 1538, where an alliance of Muisca

guecha warrior Guecha warriors (Spanish: ''güechas'' or ''gueches'') were warriors of the Muisca Confederation in the Tenza Valley, Ubaque valley and Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the pre-Colombian era. The Guecha warrior was chosen for his merit in attitude and p ...

s and troops of the Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (;1496 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory named ...

confronted and submitted the Panche, due to their superior weaponry,

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

and the dogs trained for war. Modern Cachipay was not founded until November 26, 1982.

Gallery

File:Parque principal cachipay cundinamarca.jpg, Central square of Cachipay File:Tren de Cachipay.jpg, Former train in Cachipay File:Casa antigua cachipay cundinamarca.jpg, Colonial house File:Casa gobierno cachipay cundinamarca.jpg, Council house File:Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Carmen Cachipay.jpg, Church of Cachipay

References

{{Municipalities cundinamarca department Municipalities of Cundinamarca Department Populated places established in 1982