Gachancipá is a municipality and town of Colombia in the

Central Savanna Province Central Savanna Province ( es, Sabana Centro) is one of the fifteen provinces of Cundinamarca, in the country of Colombia. It is located in the central area of the department, and has 11 municipalities. The province capital is the city of Zipaqu ...

, part of the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre is located on the

Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. The altiplano corresponds to the ancient territory of the Muisca. The Alt ...

at from the capital Bogotá. The municipality borders

Guatavita Guatavita is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Guavio Province of the department of Cundinamarca. Guatavita is located 75 km northeast of the capital Bogotá. It borders Sesquilé and Machetá in the north, Gachetá and Junín in ...

and

Tocancipá Tocancipá () is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Central Savanna Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. Tocancipá is situated in the northern part of the Bogotá savanna, part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Eastern ...

in the south,

Sesquilé Sesquilé is a town and municipality in Almeidas Province in the department of Cundinamarca, Colombia. Sesquilé in the Chibcha language of the Muisca means "hot water".

and

in the east,

Nemocón Nemocón is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Central Savanna Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. Nemocón, famous for its salt mine, was an important village in the Muisca Confederation, the country in the central Colo ...

in the west and Suesca in the north.Official website Gachancipá

Etymology

The name Gachancipá 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 "Pottery of the ''zipa''".

History

The area of Gachancipá 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 inhabited by 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 ...

, organised in their loose Muisca Confederation. Gachancipá, as the name suggests, was ruled by the ''

zipa 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 ...

'' based in Bacatá. Modern Gachancipá was founded on January 1, 1612 but the founders are unknown. In the late 18th century Muisca scholar

José Domingo Duquesne José Domingo Duquesne ( Bogotá, 23 February 1748 - idem, 30 August 1822) was a Colombian clergyman, theologist, scientist and writer. Polyglot Duquesne spoke Spanish, French, Latin, Greek, Italian and Chibcha.School named after Duquesne in Gachancipá
/ref>

Economy

The economy of Gachancipá traditionally was centered around

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

and

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

farming. In recent years flowers are cultivated in the municipality.

Gallery

File:Iglesia San Bartoleme Apostol.jpg, Church of Gachancipá File:IglesiadeGanchancipá.jpg, Church File:La Gacha.JPG, Monument to the indigenous people

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gachancipa Municipalities of Cundinamarca Department Populated places established in 1612 1612 establishments in the Spanish Empire Muisca Confederation Muysccubun