Country Colombia Climate Am Area 368.1 km² | Department Cauca Department Elevation 968 m Local time Wednesday 6:29 PM | |
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Time zone Colombia Standard Time (UTC-5) Weather 24°C, Wind NW at 10 km/h, 74% Humidity | ||
Puerto Tejada ([ˈpweɾto teˈxaða]) is a town and municipality in the Cauca Department, Colombia.
Contents
Map of Puerto Tejada, Cauca Department, Colombia
History
Puerto Tejada was officially made a town on September 17, 1897 in Monte Oscuro (Dark Mountain), named after General Manuel Tejada Sanchez. During the 18th and 19th centuries there had been uprisings of both black slaves and free blacks in the general area, and maroons had established settlements in Monte Oscuro, which provided great cover because of its dense tropical vegetation. After the abolition of slavery in 1852 the former slaves and the maroons' descendents established themselves as organized communities forming family farms that produced coffee, corn, plantain, cassava and cacao. They were joined by settlers and colonists from Antioquia, Valle and the rest of Cauca. There was a thriving agricultural economy at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
Its first inhabitants settled at the banks of the Palo and Paila rivers. With the creation of the town, other towns surged around the area.