Valencia de Jesús is a Colombian town and corregimiento of Valledupar in the Department of Cesar. The village is known for preserving one of the oldest churches in the Americas.

History

The village was founded by Captain Antonio Florez in c. 1590 with the name ''Dulce Nombre de Jesus'' but due to constant attacks from the indigenous Chimila, the town was moved closer to Valledupar. The old village was named; Pueblo Viejo (named changed to

Pueblo Bello ) , image_skyline = NABUSIMAKE, LA PUERTA AL CIELO.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Nabusímake, arhuaco's town , image_flag = Flag of Pueblobello (Cesar).svg , image_seal = , image_map ...

in the 20th Century) and the new town; Nueva Valencia. During the Spanish conquest and colonization of the Americas Valencia was a Spanish enclave similar in importance to Valledupar, functioning as seat of its municipality and its territory extended from Nabusimake to

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

. Valencia was also one of the most important religious centers in the region for the Community of the Dominicans which imposed on the Christian faith on the indigenous. The Parish of Valencia de Jesus back then limited to the north with Valledupar, Azúcar Buena I, to the west with the Garupal River, to the south with

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...

in between the Cesar River up to a locality named Alto Minas. El PIlon: Semana Santa en Valencia de Jesús
(Archivo Diocesano de Santa Marta) During the independence movement in the 19th Century, Valencia was considered a powerful village with an aristocrat base of inhabitants owners of large ''

hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

s''. After the revolt in Valledupar against the Spanish monarchical authorities, Valencia de Jesus sided with the

King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

Fernando VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_pla ...

organized and confronted the people of Valledupar, who defeated them. After the independence the village decayed and was added to Valledupar.

Notes

References

* Corregimientos of Valledupar Corregimientos of Colombia {{Colombia-geo-stub