History of Dibulla

direct influence from the Wayuu ethnic group. During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the indigenous village of Yaharo was first seen by Spanish explorers upon reaching the coasts of the Guajira Peninsula in 1502. In 1525, Spanish explorer Rodrigo de Bastidas visited the Yaharo Town and registered an account of the village. A year before, in 1524 Bastidas had created the Government of Santa Marta which covered an area from Cabo de la Velato the mouth of the Magdalena River.

Between 1609 and 1640, the Spanish colonizers imported some 800 or more African slaves. Most of these later escaped and formed Palenques. In 1679 the Government of Santa Marta offered these palenques their freedom in exchange of protecting the territory from English pirates.

In 1846 then President of Colombia, Gen. Tomas Cipriano de Mosquera ordered the reestablishment of the government after the