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River Magdalena. Main attractiveness of Girardot
River Magdalena to your step for Girardot
The river Magdalena was discovered by Rodrigo of Bastidas in 1501 and the native ones that trafficked for him Yuma they denominated it that mean river friend. In your banks the aboriginal ones carried out endless fairs that had as epicenter the port of Tora, in your quay you had Canoes permanently, you fence the river you flowed Opón where were two embowered that they were good as the terminals for the cargo carriers chibchas. By Yuma, for the roads of the salt and the blankets that climbed the high mountains muiscas, the Spanish conquerors ascended and the river grew I never eat, giving beginning to a new time began. Tora became Barrancabermeja, Yuma in Magdalena and behind the high ones Bogotá is founded.
Dazzled by the illusion of the Gilding, a huddle of people ascends without rest; the Spaniards move to the New Kingdom of Granada and a great one comes I mess up of goods and animals; at the time that you/they are begun to found villages in Magdalena's hillsides. Of equal it forms, the necessity to take the gold to Spain made that everything was converging toward the river Cauca and Magdalena. Of there the importance that charged Mompox like storage center and of office of the gold of West toward Cartagena.
Cartagena on the other hand was transformed by the Spaniards into the door key of South America, because inside your imperialistic logic it was necessary to have an absolute control of what entered and you left the Kingdom. For this reason it was necessary to communicate to Cartagena with the river Magdalena and to make it he/she only had mules and muleteers.
In the XVI century, one of the owners of the ravines that served as warehouse and of inn in the itinerary, you discovered a marsh that united Cartagena with the river. In 1649 a Spanish Governor decides to dredge it and to channel it, that which made with Spanish engineers and two thousand workers in six months. This would be the channel of the Dike that suffered privatizations, combats with the muleteers and droughts, reason why he/she would transform during the Colony into a mixed system.
Bolívar rescued him of the forgetfulness in 1823, but you were Rafael Núñez, by means of a contract with an American signature who gave you some years of life and splendor during the XIX century. In the XX century the channel of the Dike was changed by a railroad, and only after 1932 it is used in important form again.
To travel through the river Magdalena was a feat, you risk for the audacious merchants that dared to make it, integrity you were needed to remain two months from Sling, put in a champagne, to the will of the vogues and watched by tigers and caymen.
Later on the sailing was impelled to vapor, they were introduced 150 crafts approximately from this type to the country, of which 69 navigated, standing out Atlantic, Sincerín, Shipping I, Turbay, Cisneros, Catatumbo and David Arango, among other.
The transport fluvial mechanic was developed thoroughly, in spite of some difficulties that showed up in the sailing, which were subsidized by the State. The contingencies of the river were insalvables almost for the lack of experience in the handling of the ships and the few facilities for your maintenance and arrangement. Numerous ships shipwrecked for crashes against crags, or for the rupture of your iron helmets, explosions, collisions and fires.
From 1850 at 1950 were introduced in the sailing big planchones, imposed by the growth of the external trade. The ships were classified in expressed, of load, coastal traffic and cattlemen. The years 40 were the splendid time of the river, where more than 100 ships they lapsed for your waters.
Summarized of:
http://www.mintransporte.gov.co/Portal_Servicios/proyecto_yuma/resenab.htm
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