Finance.—The estimated revenue for 1920-1921 was 22,000,000 gold pesos, and the estimated expenditure the same amount. The revenue in 1919-1920 was 15,307,350 pesos, and the expenditure 15,307,345 pesos. The external debt in 1919 was £3,766,746. The internal debt in 1919 was 4,500,432 gold pesos.
Railways.—There are 15 lines of rail ways, of which 10 are national and 5 are owned by British companies. The total length of track is 740 miles. The government has undertaken the improve ment of the main roads, but in general the roads are scarcely more than mule tracks. Much of the inland traffic is by river, and the lower and upper Magda lene are being improved and cleared. From 1891 numerous attempts have been made to construct a ship canal across the Isthmus of Panama following the line of the railroad. The French com pany failed, and in 1903 sold out their franchise and property to the United States Government, and in the same year Panama seceded from Colombia and became an independent state. See PANAMA.
Government.—The government is that of a republic, the chief magistrate being a president, elected for six years. The president has a cabinet consisting of six members, responsible to Congress. The legislative power vests in a Congress of two Houses, called the Senate and House of Representatives. The Senate, numbering 34, is composed of three representatives from each department. The House of Representatives is elected for four years by universal suffrage and consists of one member for each 50,000 inhabitants. Congress elects for a term of two years a substitute, who, failing the president and vice-president during the presidential term, fills the vacancy.
Education, Religion, etc.—In 1870 a system of compulsory education was adopted which has, on the whole, proved successful. Public instruction is under the direction of the Minister of Public Instruction. There were in 1917 5,488 primary schools, with 430,707 pupils, and 5,733 teachers. Nearly all the schools for secondary education are carried on by religious corporations of the Cath olic Church. There are nearly 400 sec ondary and professional schools with about 35,000 pupils. There are about 100 art and trade schools with about 8,000 pupils. The chief university is that of Bogota, which was founded in 1572. There are also universities at Medellin, Cartegena, Popayan, and Pasto. There were in 1918 29 normal schools. The annual expenditure for education is about 1,000,000 pesos.
The State Church is the Roman Cath olic, which in the management of its own affairs is independent of civil authority; religious orders were suppressed in 1863, and toleration in matters of re ligion is guaranteed; but, by the terms of a concordat entered into with the Holy See in 1888, religion is one of the obligatory subjects of study in all educa tional establishments.
History.—The N. coasts of Colombia were visited by Ojeda and Amerigo Ves pucci, in 1499, and afterward by Bas tidas; in 1502 Columbus explored part of the country, and endeavored to found on the Isthmus of Panama the first Spanish colony on the American main land. In 1513 Balboa discovered the Pacific, and Pizarro and Almagro sailed along the W. coast of Colombia on their
way to Peru in 1526. Ten years later Jiminez de Quesada broke the power of the Muyscan empire, and the Nuevo Reino de Granada was formed. As the country was opened up, the Indians sank to the condition of serfs, and the policy of the crown, aided by the Inquisition, which was introduced in 1571, put an end to the democratic institutions of the early settlers. The country formed a presidency (except during the years 1718-1724) from 1564 to 1739, a period memorable for the disastrous descents of Drake, Morgan, Dampier, and others on the coast towns; it was then raised to a viceroyalty, which lasted until the war of independence. A revolution broke out July 20, 1810, which ended in the election of Bolivar to the presidency of the Re public of Colombia, a term which, like the viceroyalty, embraced all that now belongs to Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. So long as union was neces sary to meet external dangers, it main tained an imposing attitude in the eyes of the world; but gradually sectional interests and political jealousies did their work, and in 1831 the ill-assorted ele ments of the confederation were sep arated. What is now Colombia was then formed under the title of the Republic of New Granada, but in 1861 a fresh civil war led to the establishment of the United States of Colombia. In 1863 a constitution was adopted, based on that of the United States of America, with a president elected for two years; but this proved altogether unsuited to the Colom bians, and, after twenty years' trial, brought about the revolution of 1884 1885. In 1886 a fresh constitution was adopted for the new Republic of Colom bia, placing the central authority in the hands of the Federal Government.
The chief international political in terest of Colombia in recent years has centered about the formation and rec ognition of the Republic of Panama and the construction of the Panama Canal. The recognition of the new Republic of Panama, which included a former prov ince of Colombia, created much resent ment in the latter country. In 1909 a treaty was negotiated between Panama and the United States in which the two powers were exonerated by Colombia from the charge of injustice. The popu lar feeling against the treaty was so great that President Reyes, who sup ported it, was forced to resign. In the following year there were serious riots in Bogota against the United States minister and American citizens. This was followed by an apology by the Co lombian Government. Shortly after the inauguration of President Wilson a treaty was negotiated with Colombia in which the United States, in effect, apolo gized for the methods employed to secure the Panama Canal Zone, and offered to pay Colombia $25,000,000 damages. This treaty, however, failed to pass the Sen ate. Difficulties with Peru over the southern boundary of Colombia arose in 1911 and Peruvian troops occupied a strip of territory along this boundary. They were attacked by Colombian forces and the latter were defeated.
During the World War Colombia re mained neutral, but in October, 1917, Congress passed a resolution protesting against the submarine warfare of Ger many.