Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, GColIH is the 32nd and current President of Colombia and sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. He was a cadet at the Navy Academy in Cartagena, in 1981, he was appointed deputy director of El Tiempo newspaper, becoming its director two years later. Santos earned a mid-career/masters in public administration in 1981 from Harvard Kennedy School and was a 1988 Nieman Fellow for his work as a columnist. Santos was a Fulbright visiting fellow at Fletcher at Tufts University in 1981, Santos worked in expanding international trade with Colombia, and worked in creating various agencies for this purpose including, Proexport and Fiducoldex. In 2000, he was appointed by President Andrés Pastrana Arango as the 64th Minister of Finance, Santos rose to prominence during the Administration of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez. Santos created the Good Government Foundation, the Colombian government and the FARC signed a revised peace deal on November 24 and sent it to Congress for ratification instead of conducting a second referendum.
Both houses of Congress ratified the peace accord on November 29–30,2016. Santos was born in Bogotá, after leaving the Navy, Santos moved to the United States where he attended the University of Kansas. A member of Delta Upsilon fraternity, he graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor in Economics, after graduating from the University of Kansas, Santos served as Chief Executive of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia to the International Coffee Organization in London. During this time he attended the London School of Economics. He attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and he returned to Colombia to become Deputy Director of his family owned newspaper El Tiempo. Santos was president of the Freedom of Expression Commission for the Inter American Press Association, in 1992 he was appointed President of the VIII United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. In 1994 Juan Manuel Santos founded the Good Government Foundation, whose stated objective is helping and improving the governability and this organization presented a proposal for a demilitarized zone and peace talks with the FARC guerrilla group.
Santos founded the Social National Unity Party to support the presidency of Álvaro Uribe and he was named Minister of Defence on 19 July 2006. On 4 November 2008, Santos admitted that the military had carried out extrajudicial executions, the Commander of the Colombian National Army, General Mario Montoya, resigned. By May 2009,67 soldiers had found guilty and over 400 were arrested pending trial. There are different estimates for the number of civilians who may have killed in this manner. As of May 2009, prosecutors were investigating more than 900 cases involving over 1,500 victims and 1,177 members of the Colombian security forces
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially known as the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in western-central South America. It is bordered to the north and east by Brazil, to the southeast by Paraguay, to the south by Argentina, to the southwest by Chile, and to the northwest by Peru. One-third of the country is the Andean mountain range, with one of its largest cities and principal economic centers, El Alto, Bolivia is one of two landlocked countries that lie outside Afro-Eurasia. Bolivia is geographically the largest landlocked country in the Americas, but remains a small country in economic. Before Spanish colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was part of the Inca Empire, Spanish conquistadors arriving from Cuzco and Asunción took control of the region in the 16th century. During the Spanish colonial period Bolivia was administered by the Royal Audiencia of Charcas, spain built its empire in great part upon the silver that was extracted from Bolivias mines. After the first call for independence in 1809,16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar, on 6 August 1825.
Since independence, Bolivia has endured periods of political and economic instability, including the loss of peripheral territories to its neighbors, such as Acre. The countrys population, estimated at 11 million, is multiethnic, including Amerindians, the racial and social segregation that arose from Spanish colonialism has continued to the modern era. Spanish is the official and predominant language, although 36 indigenous languages have official status, of which the most commonly spoken are Guarani, modern Bolivia is constitutionally a unitary state, divided into nine departments. Its geography varies from the peaks of the Andes in the West, to the Eastern Lowlands and it is a developing country, with a medium ranking in the Human Development Index and a poverty level of 53 percent. Its main economic activities include agriculture, fishing and manufacturing such as textiles, refined metals. Bolivia is very wealthy in minerals, especially tin, Bolivia is named after Simón Bolívar, a leader in the Spanish American wars of independence.
Sucre opted to create a new nation and, with local support. The original name was Republic of Bolívar, some days later, congressman Manuel Martín Cruz proposed, If from Romulus comes Rome, from Bolívar comes Bolivia. The name was approved by the Republic on 3 October 1825, the region now known as Bolivia had been occupied for over 2,500 years when the Aymara arrived. However, present-day Aymara associate themselves with the ancient civilization of the Tiwanaku culture which had its capital at Tiwanaku, the capital city of Tiwanaku dates from as early as 1500 BC when it was a small, agriculturally based village. The community grew to urban proportions between AD600 and AD800, becoming an important regional power in the southern Andes
Cartagena, Colombia
It is the fifth-largest city in Colombia and the second largest in the region, after Barranquilla. The urban area of Cartagena is the fifth-largest urban area in the country, economic activities include the maritime and petrochemicals industries, as well as tourism. The city was founded on June 1,1533, and named after Cartagena, settlement in the region around Cartagena Bay by various indigenous people dates back to 4000 BC. During the Spanish colonial period Cartagena served a key role in administration and expansion of the Spanish empire and it was a center of political and economic activity due to the presence of royalty and wealthy viceroys. In 1984, Cartagenas colonial walled city and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, archaeologists estimate that around 4000 BC, the formative culture was located near the boundary between the present-day departments of Bolívar and Sucre. In this area, archaeologists have found the most ancient ceramic objects of the Americas, archaeological investigations date the decline of the Puerto Hormiga culture and its related settlements to around 3000 BC.
The Monsú culture appears to have inherited the Puerto Hormiga cultures use of the art of pottery and to have developed an economy of agriculture. The Monsú peoples diet was based mostly on shellfish and fresh, the development of the Sinú society in what is today the departments of Córdoba and Sucre, eclipsed these first developments around the Cartagena Bay area. Until the Spanish colonization, many derived from the Karib, Malibu. In the late pre-Columbian era, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta was home to the Tayrona people, around 1500 the area was inhabited by different tribes of the Carib language family, more precisely the Mocanae sub-family. Among these, according to the earliest documents available, the Kalamari had preeminence, rodrigo de Bastidas traveled to the Pearl Coast and the Gulf of Uraba in 1500-01. On 14 Feb.1504, Ferdinand V contracted Juan de la Cosas voyage to Uraba, Juan de la Cosa died in 1510, after an armed confrontation with indigenous people, before he could get possession of the Gulf of Urabá area.
They preferred the better known Hispaniola and Cuba, De Nicuesa and De Ojeda noted the existence of a big bay on the way from Santo Domingo to Urabá and the Panama isthmus, and that encouraged Bastidas to investigate. Under contract to Queen Joanna of Castile, Pedro de Heredia invaded the Bay of Cartagena with three ships,150 men, and 22 horses, on 14 Jan.1533 and he soon found the village of Calamari abandoned. Proceeding onwards to Turbaco, where Juan de la Cosa had been mortally wounded 13 years earlier, using India Catalina as a guide, Heredia embarked on a three month exploration expedition. He returned to Calamari in April 1533 with gold pieces, including a gold porcupine weighing 132 pounds. In expeditions, Heredia raided the Sinú tombs and temples of gold and his rule as governor of Cartagena lasted 22 years, before perishing on his return to Spain in 1544. Cartagena was founded on June 1,1533 by the Spanish commander, Pedro de Heredia, the town was named after Cartagena, where most of Heredias sailors had resided
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a major European conflict of the early 18th century, triggered by the death in 1700 of the last Habsburg King of Spain, the infirm and childless Charles II. Charles II had ruled over a vast global empire, and the question of who would succeed him had long troubled the governments of Europe, the English, the Dutch and the Austrians formally declared war in May 1702. By 1708, the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy had secured victory in the Spanish Netherlands and in Italy, France faced invasion and ruin, but Allied unity broke first. With the Grand Alliance defeated in Spain and with its casualties mounting and aims diverging and British ministers prepared the groundwork for a peace conference, and in 1712 Britain ceased combat operations. The Dutch and German states fought on to strengthen their own negotiating position, the Treaty of Utrecht and the Treaty of Rastatt partitioned the Spanish empire between the major and minor powers. The European balance of power was assured, in the late 1690s the declining health of King Charles II of Spain brought to a head the problem of his succession, a problem which had underlain much of European diplomacy for several decades.
The empire was in decline, but remained the largest of the European overseas empires, unlike the French crown, the Spanish crowns could all be inherited by, or through, a female in default of a male line. The next in line after Charles II, were his two sisters, Maria Theresa, the elder, and Margaret Theresa, the younger, Maria Theresa had married Louis XIV in 1660 and by him she had a son, Dauphin of France. The testament of her father, Philip IV, reiterated this waiver and bequeathed the reversion of the whole of the Spanish dominions to his younger daughter, Margaret Theresa. However the French, using in part the excuse that the dowry promised Maria Theresa was never paid, nor was it clear whether a princess could waive the rights of her unborn children. Leopold I married Margaret Theresa in 1666, at her death in 1673 she left one living heir, Maria Antonia, who in 1685 married Max Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria. Shortly before her death in 1692, she gave birth to a son, if he chose, Louis XIV could attempt to assert his will on Spain by force of arms, but the Nine Years War had been an immense drain on Frances resources.
To seek a solution and gain support, Louis XIV turned to his long-standing rival William of Orange. England and the Dutch Republic had their own commercial and political interests within the Spanish empire, the Maritime Powers were in a weakened state and both had reduced their forces at the conclusion of the Nine Years War. Louis XIV and William III, sought to solve the problem of the Spanish inheritance through negotiation, based on the principle of partition, to take effect after the death of Charles II. However, the bulk of the empire – most of peninsular Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, the Spanish Empire was now divided between the three surviving candidates. By this new treaty Archduke Charles would receive most of Spain, the Spanish Netherlands and the overseas empire. For Leopold I, control of Spain and its empire was less important than Italy
Emerald
Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7. 5–8 on the Mohs scale, most emeralds are highly included, so their toughness is classified as generally poor. The word emerald is derived, from Vulgar Latin, esmaralda/esmaraldus, a variant of Latin smaragdus, like all colored gemstones, are graded using four basic parameters–the four Cs of Connoisseurship, Clarity and Carat weight. Before the 20th century, jewelers used the water, as in a gem of the finest water. Normally, in the grading of colored gemstones, color is by far the most important criterion, however, in the grading of emeralds, clarity is considered a close second. A fine emerald must possess not only a pure verdant green hue as described below, in the 1960s, the American jewelry industry changed the definition of emerald to include the green vanadium-bearing beryl as emerald. As a result, vanadium emeralds purchased as emeralds in the United States are not recognized as such in the UK, in America, the distinction between traditional emeralds and the new vanadium kind is often reflected in the use of terms such as Colombian Emerald.
In gemology, color is divided into three components, hue and tone, emeralds occur in hues ranging from yellow-green to blue-green, with the primary hue necessarily being green. Yellow and blue are the normal secondary hues found in emeralds, only gems that are medium to dark in tone are considered emerald, light-toned gems are known instead by the species name green beryl. The finest emerald are approximately 75% tone on a scale where 0% tone would be colorless, in addition, a fine emerald should be well saturated and have a hue that is bright. Gray is the normal saturation modifier or mask found in emerald, Emerald tends to have numerous inclusions and surface breaking fissures. Unlike diamond, where the standard, i. e. 10× magnification, is used to grade clarity. Thus, if an emerald has no visible inclusions to the eye it is considered flawless, stones that lack surface breaking fissures are extremely rare and therefore almost all emeralds are treated to enhance the apparent clarity. The inclusions and fissures within an emerald are sometime described as jardin, imperfections are unique for each emerald and can be used to identify a particular stone.
Eye-clean stones of a vivid primary green hue, with no more than 15% of any hue or combination of a medium-dark tone. The relative non-uniformity motivates the cutting of emeralds in cabochon form, faceted emeralds are most commonly given an oval cut, or the signature emerald cut, a rectangular cut with facets around the top edge. Most emeralds are oiled as part of the process, in order to fill in surface-reaching cracks so that clarity and stability are improved. Cedar oil, having a refractive index, is often used in this widely adopted practice
Wager's Action
Wagers Action was a naval confrontation on 8 June 1708, between a British squadron under Charles Wager and the Spanish treasure fleet, as part of the War of Spanish Succession. Hereby the Spanish were aware of their presence, and the governor of Cartagena sent warnings to the Spanish fleet, the commander of the treasure fleet, José Fernández de Santillán, decided to sail from Portobelo to Cartagena on May 28. He could not wait much longer as the season was approaching. The San José had 7 to 11 million pesos on board, the Santa Cruz had the rest, only a fraction of the other two ships. The Spanish fleet reached Isla de Barú on the evening of 7 June, the next day there was very little wind, and around 3 p. m. they noticed Wagers squadron approaching. The Spanish took up positions, but the English knew they had to attack the largest ships. The Kingston attacked the San Joaquín around 5 p. m. which, the Expedition attacked the San José and approached the vessel with the clear intention of boarding the ship.
Around 7 p. m. after an hour and a half of fierce fighting, the ship sank immediately, taking its precious cargo and almost the entire crew to the bottom of the sea. There were only 11 survivors out of the 600 crew and passengers on board, by now it was dark, but there was a full moon and Wager succeeded in finding the Santa Cruz at 2 a. m. At dawn, the English discovered the San Joaquín, and Wager ordered the Kingston, after a few salvos, the San Joaquín successfully made away towards Cartagena harbour, and the English dared not follow and face the guns of the Cartagena forts. The rest of the Spanish fleet reached Cartagena safely, with the exception of the Concepción which, cornered by the English, the English destroyed three Spanish ships and prevented the Spanish fleet from transporting the gold and silver to Europe and funding the Franco-Spanish war effort. Though Charles Wager became a man, he was disappointed with the loot because it could have been many times larger if they had captured the San Joaquín.
Captains and Windsor, were court-martialled for this failure, the San José is called the Holy Grail of Shipwrecks. A group of investors from the United States called Glocca Mora Co, the Colombian parliament passed a law giving the state the right to all of the treasure, leaving SSA with a 5% finders fee, which was to be taxed at 45%. SSA sued Colombia in its own courts in 1989, sea Search Armada subsequently sued in US court, but that case was dismissed twice, in 2011 and 2015 on technical grounds, and the US court declared the galleon property of the Colombian state. The Colombian government has not verified its existence at the stated coordinates, on 27 November 2015, the galleon San José was found by the Colombian Navy though the discovery was not announced by the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, until 5 December. The discovery was made using a REMUS6000 autonomous underwater vehicle, the identity of the shipwreck is in no doubt. From the dive photographs, Colombian marine archaeologists have identified the San José by her unique bronze cannons engraved with dolphins, Colombia has claimed the galleon as part of its submerged patrimony and has classified the information regarding the location of the galleon as a state secret
Spanish treasure fleet
Passengers and goods such as textiles and tools were transported in the opposite direction. The West Indies fleet was the first permanent transatlantic trade route in history, the Manila galleons were the first permanent trade route across the Pacific. Spanish ships had brought goods from the New World since Christopher Columbuss first expedition of 1492, the Spanish government started a system of convoys in the 1560s in response to the sacking of Havana by French privateers. The main procedures were established after the recommendations of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, the treasure fleets sailed along two sea lanes. A secondary route was that of the Manila Galleons or Galeón de Manila which linked the Philippines to Acapulco in Mexico across the Pacific Ocean, from Acapulco, the Asian goods were transhipped by mule train to Veracruz to be loaded onto the Caribbean treasure fleet for shipment to Spain. To better defend this trade, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and Álvaro de Bazán designed the model of the galleon in the 1550s.
Spain controlled the trade through the Casa de Contratación based in Seville, by law, the colonies could trade only with the one designated port in the mother country, Seville. Maritime archaeology has shown that the quantity of goods transported was sometimes higher than recorded at the Archivo General de Indias. Spanish merchants and Spaniards acting as fronts for foreign merchants sent their goods on these fleets to the New World, some resorted to contraband to transport their cargoes untaxed. The Crown of Spain taxed the wares and precious metals of private merchants at a rate of 20%, Spain became the richest country in Europe by the end of the 16th century. The flow of precious metals made many traders wealthy both in Spain and abroad, the increase in gold and silver on the Iberian market sometimes caused high inflation in the 17th century, affecting the Spanish economy. As a consequence, the Crown was forced to delay the payment of some major debts, by 1690 some of these lenders could no longer offer financial support to the Crown.
The Spanish monopoly over its West and East Indies colonies lasted for two centuries. The economic importance of exports declined with the drop of production of the American precious metals mines, the growth in trade was strong in the early years. Numbering just 17 ships in 1550, the fleets expanded to more than 50 much larger vessels by the end of the century, by the second half of the 17th century, that number had dwindled to less than half of its peak. The Spanish trade of goods was sometimes threatened by its colonial rivals who tried to seize islands as bases along the Spanish Main and in the Spanish West Indies, the Atlantic trade was largely unharmed. The English acquired small islands like St Kitts in 1624, expelled in 1629 they returned in 1639, French pirates established themselves in Saint-Domingue in 1625, were expelled only to return and the Dutch occupied Curaçao in 1634. In 1739, British Admiral Edward Vernon raided Portobello, but in 1741 his campaign against Cartagena de Indias ended in defeat with heavy losses of men and ships
President of Colombia
The President of Colombia is the head of state and head of government of Colombia. The office of president was established upon the ratification of the Constitution of 1819, by the Congress of Angostura, convened in December 1819, the first president, General Simón Bolívar, took office in 1819. His position, initially self-proclaimed, was ratified by Congress. The current president of the Republic of Colombia is Juan Manuel Santos, according to the Colombian Constitution of 1991, Article 188, the President of Colombia is the head of state, head of government and Supreme Administrative Authority. The Administrative Department of the Presidency of Colombia has the commission to assist or support the President of Colombia on its constitutional mandated functions, any official from these entities constitute the Government of Colombia in any particular business. Any act by the President of Colombia, in order to be legal and enforceable, must be sanctioned by any of the ministries or department directors, who will be held responsible for the act.
The only exception is if the President appoints or removes ministers, administrative departments directors, Colombian Constitution of 1991 Article 191, states that the president must be a natural born citizen of Colombia and at least 30 years of age. The President and Vice President serve a term of office of four years after being elected by popular vote, the President or Vice President running for re-election must officially tell in the National Electoral Council and guarantee a fair competition for the other contenders. Participation of acting officials in political proselytism was standardized, if the president or vice president are not running for office, they are prohibited from participating on political proselytism. If one or both are participating, they may to participate in your activities four months prior to the primary elections, also, if the president and/or vice president is running for office, he may participate in their political partys selection mechanism to postulate candidates.
In 2010, the Constitutional Court of Colombia threw out a referendum to allow presidents to run for three consecutive terms. It ruled that Colombian presidents can only serve two terms, even if they are nonconsecutive
Usurbil
Usurbil is a town and region located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, in the North of Spain. It lies in a well known for its sagardotegiak and the area adjacent to the river for its eels. At the centre of the town are the old boroughs of Elizalde, most of the population is concentrated here. Aginaga is an area of the associated with eel fishing. It has some 450 inhabitants and forms its own parish, atxegalde district is located next to the motorway. Txikierdi is a settlement near Lasarte-Oria. It is surrounded by units and forms the Urbil Industrial Estate. Kalezar is a borough near the centre along a street leading onto the hill that dominates the valley of the Oria and it is the location of a medieval settlement and its name translates as the old street. Urdaiaga is located on the edge of the town. Its traditional name is of Urdaiaga but is commonly known by the name of the church. Santu Enea is located on the bank of the Oria river. It has slightly over 500 inhabitants, Zubieta is a district split between the municipalities of Donostia and Usurbil.
Zubieta is on the bank of the Oria river and is an enclave of Donostia between Usurbil and Lasarte-Oria. Atxega Alde Santu-Enea To the north Usurbil borders Donostias Igeldo and Añorga boroughs, to the east Lasarte-Oria, in the south it borders Zizurkil and to the west Aia and Orio. Donostia, the capital of the region is about 11 km away, Lasarte-Oria 2 km, the oldest traces of human presence of the area are on the mountain called Andatza which has numerous neolithic tumuli and menhirs. It is commonly believed that what is currently Usurbil formerly formed part of the region of Hernani which extended into the area between the river Urumea and Oria. The oldest inhabited area appears to have been on the bank of the Urumea. In a document dating back to the 13th century there is mention of a Monasterio de San Esteban which has by now disappeared, next to the monastery the tower-house of Urdaiaga was constructed in the 14th century which gave the area its name
Bank of the Republic (Colombia)
The Banco de la República is the state-run central bank of the Republic of Colombia. Its main functions are detailed by the Congress according to the Ley 31 de 1992, one of them is the issuance of the Colombian currency, the peso. The bank is active in promoting financial inclusion policy and is a leading member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. There are at least three predecessors to the current bank, the first national bank was created in 1880, named the Banco Nacional, and its functions included handling the state funds, issuing currency and making loans to the state. In 1894 the Congress closed the bank due to registered excesses in the issuance of currency, in 1905 the president Rafael Reyes created the Banco Central de Colombia but it was closed in 1910 by Reyes opponents. In 1923, after years of financial crisis, President Pedro Nel Ospina requested an expert committee to study Colombian economic conditions. This committee, led by American economist Edwin Walter Kemmerer was called the Mission Kemmerer, Kemmerer had already worked with Latin American governments, that of Mexico in 1917 and of Guatemala in 1919.
After his work in Colombia, Kemmerer did the same for other Latin American governments, like Chile in 1925, Ecuador in 1926, the bank was officially created by the Law 25 of July 25,1923,5 days after the 113 anniversary of the Independence of Colombia. With a capital of 10 million dollars in gold, half provided by the government, the Board was given the responsibility of establishing the discount rate and intervening to control interest rates. The headquarters of the Banco de la República are located in Bogotá, in the center of the city and a few blocks away from the Gold Museum. Along with the Fiscalía General de la Nación de Colombia bunker, it is one of the most secure buildings in the country, the security is handled by private companies and the Colombian National Police, armed with Colombian-made MAC-10 sub-machine guns, among others. Most of the areas of the bank are located above ground. Below the street there is a heavily guarded area where money in different currencies is stored, beside their primary roles in the Colombian economy, the Banco de la República has control over two important institutions in Colombian culture, the Gold Museum and the Luis Ángel Arango Library.
Also, the Bank has two programs for the best researchers in Economics and in Economic Law. Banco de la República official site
Spain
