Immigration to Colombia
Immigration to Colombia during the early 19th and late 20th Century, is what makes it one of the most diverse countries in the world, above other countries in the Latin region. Colombia inherited from the Spanish Empire harsh rules against immigration, first in the Viceroyalty of New Granada and later in the Colombian Republic. The Constituent Assembly of Colombia and the subsequent reforms to the national constitution were much more open to the immigrants and the economic aperture. However citizenship through naturalization of foreigners, with the exception of those children of Colombians born abroad, is still difficult to acquire because 'Jus soli' law is not allowed by the government, and only 'Jus sanguinis' law is accepted. Immigration in Colombia is managed by the "Migración Colombia" agency.
Colombia is experiencing large waves of immigration from other Latin American countries, Europe, East Asia, and North America over the past five years. due to improvements in quality of life, security, and economic opportunities.
History
Colonial period
European immigration in Colombia began in 1510 with the colonization of San Sebastián de Urabá. In 1526, settlers founded Santa Marta, the oldest Spanish city still in existence in Colombia.Many Spaniards began their explorations searching for gold, while others Spaniards established themselves as leaders of the native social organizations, teaching natives the Christian faith and the ways of their civilization. Catholic priests would provide education for Native Americans that otherwise was unavailable. Within 100 years after the first Spanish settlement, nearly 95 percent of all Native Americans in Colombia had died. The majority of the deaths of Native Americans were the cause of diseases such as measles and smallpox, which were spread by European settlers.
European settlement focused mainly in the Andean highlands and Lebanese for the Caribbean coast, but little European settlement took place in the Chocó department of the Pacific coast and the Amazonian plains. Out of all Spanish nationalities, the Castilians and the Basques were the most represented. Over time, Europeans intermarried often with the Amerindian peoples, and to produce a mixed-race population which are the majority of people in Colombia today.
European immigration
Colombia was one of the early focus of Basque immigration. Between 1540 and 1559, 8.9 percent of the residents of Colombia were of Basque origin. It has been suggested that the present-day incidence of business entrepreneurship in the Antioquia Department is attributable to the Basque immigration and Basque character traits. Few Colombians of distant Basque descent are aware of their Basque ethnic heritage. In Bogotá, there is a small colony of thirty to forty families who emigrated as a consequence of the Spanish Civil War or because of different opportunities. Basque priests were the ones that introduced handball into Colombia. Basque immigrants in Colombia were devoted to teaching and public administration. In the first years of the Andean multinational company, Basque sailors navigated as captains and pilots on the majority of the ships until the country was able to train its own crews. In December 1941 the United States government estimated that there were 10,000 Germans living in Colombia. There were some Nazi agitators in Colombia, such as Barranquilla businessman Emil Prufurt. Colombia invited Germans who were on the U.S. blacklist to leave. However, most German inhabitants arrived in the late 19th century as farmers and professionals. One such entrepreneur was Leo Siegfried Kopp, the founder of the brewery Bavaria. SCADTA, a Colombian-German air transport corporation which was established by German expatriates in 1919, was the first commercial airline in the western hemisphere.Arab immigration
Many Colombians have origins in the Western Asian countries of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Palestine, It is estimated that Arab Colombians represent 3.2 million people. Many moved to Colombia to escape the repression of the Turkish Ottoman Empire and/or financial hardships. When they were first processed in Colombia's ports, they were classified as "Turks" or "Turcos" in Spanish. It is estimated that Colombia has a Lebanese population of 700,000 direct descendants and 1,500,000 who have partial ancestry. Meanwhile, the Palestine population is estimated between 100,000 and 120,000. Most Syrian-Lebanese immigrants established themselves in the Caribbean Region of Colombia in the towns of Santa Marta, Santa Cruz de Lorica, Fundación, Aracataca, Ayapel, Calamar, Ciénaga, Cereté, Montería, Cartagena and Barranquilla near the basin of the Magdalena River, in La Guajira Department, notably in Maicao and in the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina in but also large populations in the interior of the country such as Bogotá and Cali. Many Arab-Colombians adapted their names and surnames to the Spanish language to assimilate more quickly in their communities. Some Colombian surnames of Arab origin include: Guerra, Cure Domínguez, Matuk, Durán, Lara, Cristo, among other surnames.Consequently, there were other immigrants from the Western Asia, including a number of Armenian, Turkish, Georgian and Cypriot immigrants who arrived in the country during the early 20th century.
East Asian immigration
The Eastern Asian communities in Colombia were not very numerous compared to Brazil or Peru, but still some groups of thousands of migrants arrived from the 20th century with the Japanese and Koreans until the 21st century with the Chinese. It is estimated that the first groups of Asian immigrants arrived in Buenaventura and Barranquilla between 1910-1940 Many Chinese have immigrated to Colombia in recent decades.Immigration by origin
Africa
Enslaved Africans began being trafficked to Colombia by the beginning of the 16th century. Cartagena de Indias was the main port of entry of slaves into the country during the colonial period and during its highest boom it turned out to be the most lucrative business in the city, trafficking over 1 million enslaved beings through its port. Slavery wouldn't be abolished in Colombia until 1851; although by this point enslaved beings only accounted for 0.76% of the population, since most Afro Colombians were free people of colour.According to the 2018 national census, 9.34% of Colombians are of full or parcial Black African ancestry, with the largest concentration in the department of Chocó, where they represent 82.1% of the population.
However, external sources estimates Afro-Colombians are between 15% and 26% of total population. Genetic research shows Subsaharan African admixture in general Colombian population ranges between 0.5% and 20%.
Western Asia and North Africa
Many Arab immigrants have arrived in Colombia from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Palestine. The Arabs settled mostly in the northern coast, in cities such as Barranquilla, Cartagena, Santa Marta, and Maicao. Gradually they began to settle inland too. Many Colombians of Arab descent derive their origins from Catholics/Maronites from Lebanon or Syria.Due to the Arab Spring, many Arabs arrived in Colombia seeking political asylum, particularly from Syria.
Chinese
The city of Cali has the largest Asian community because of its proximity to the Pacific Coast; they also live around the nation in other cities such as Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Bogotá and Medellín. The DANE says the Chinese population is growing 10% every year. In recent years, particularly Chinese restaurants have experienced a surge and have become popular businesses in nearly every Colombian city.There is a large gap in knowledge of the Chinese diaspora in Colombia in the period from the beginning of the 20th century until 1970–1980. The century began with the political upheavals in China that led to the creation of two political factions among the Chinese in and outside China, and eventually caused the communist revolution and the founding of the two separate Chinese states, one on the mainland and one in Taiwan. The effect for the Chinese diaspora was the creation not only of political but also more differentiation between migrants and distinguished by locality of origin, language, and history of migration. Thus, until today, in terms of organization, they are, on the one hand, the "Overseas Chinese Association", founded by Chinese who migrated to Colombia in the 1980s, and on the other, the Chinese Cultural Centre in Bogotá, founded in 1988 by a Taiwanese government institution.
Moreover, it is known that in 1970 there were over 6,000 Chinese living in Colombia, which means that they kept coming to this country. It can be assumed that the anti-immigrant atmosphere in many countries was the major cause of continued Chinese immigration to Colombia. The migration did not come from China, because during the first three decades of the People's Republic of China, emigration was severely restricted. In fact, it is known that in the early 20th century, due to xenophobia in the United States, a large number of Chinese migrated to Colombia. Restrepo states that at that time various groups of immigrants settled in Barranquilla.
The end of Chinese anti-immigration laws in the United States during the 1980s allowed many Chinese to emigrate from Colombia to the United States. As a result, of the 5,600 people of Chinese origin reported in 1982 in the 1990s were only 3,400, most of whom live in Bogota, Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena, Medellin, Santa Marta, Manizales, Cucuta, and Pereira. All these movements flow of people around the world support the notion that the "Chinese diaspora" is far from staying in a country, take an identity, or "assimilate". Political, economic, social, and personal issues contributed to the circulation of the Chinese movement between various locations. These factors also have an important influence in the forms of residence and, more recently, in human trafficking.