San Andrés () is a coral island in the Caribbean Sea. Politically part of Colombia, and historically tied to the United Kingdom, San Andrés and the nearby islands of Providencia and Santa Catalina form part of the department of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina; or The Raizal Islands.Dydyńsk, pp. 166–168 San Andrés, in the southern group of islands, is the largest island of Colombia. The official languages of the department are Spanish, English, and San Andrés–Providencia Creole.
While San Andrés is located south of Providencia, the Colombian archipelago is approximately northwest of the Colombian mainland. This archipelago encompasses a total area of , including the outer cays, reefs, atolls and sand banks, with the area of the islands being .Dydynsk, p. 166 In 2000, it was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, named "Seaflower Biosphere Reserve", which not only includes the islands but also about 10% of the Caribbean Sea, amounting to a vast marine area of . The purpose of this declaration is to ensure that the ecosystem, which is rich in biodiversity, is well preserved and conserved.
The department's capital is located on the northern end of the island. Named San Andrés but nicknamed El Centro, it is the department's main urban center.Koopman, K.F. 1959. The zoogeographical limits of the West Indies. Journal of Mammalogy 40(2):236–240. (see p. 238) Along the road that circles the island there are many picturesque beaches, coral reefs, cays, blowholes, and coves. Also of note are La Loma, the town of San Andrés, the Baptist Church, Seaquarium, the large pond of La Laguna, and a freshwater lake amidst mangrove forest. There are coconut palm plantations, lush pastures, and tall native trees reaching . Surrounded by the warm Caribbean Sea, all of these features have made the island an "exotic holiday destination".
History
Pre-Columbian times In pre-Columbian times before 1492, the main island of the archipelago, San Andrés, and the smaller ones Providencia and Santa Catalina were already frequented by members of the Miskitu people during their traditional marine hunting activities. After these tasks, they would return to their homes along the present-day Honduran and Nicaraguan Caribbean coast. They referred to the main island as Abakoa.
15th century Documentation about the Island began in the 16th century with Spanish mapping of the Caribbean Sea, which included the Island of San Andres. Historical records state that Christopher Columbus came across these islands during his fourth voyage of exploration between 1492 and 1500.
16th century The history of both San Andrés and Providence includes stories of pirates, their invasions and occupation of the islands. The first appearance of San Andrés on Spanish maps was in 1527. The Dutch are reported to have come to these islands at the end of the 16th century and English settlers arrived there in 1628.
17th century The English Puritans arrived to the islands; they hailed from Barbados and also from England. Between 1627 and 1629, they came to settle in the salubrious climate and take advantage of the fertile land of the islands. The Puritans evicted the Dutch settlers in 1631. Some settlers also came from Wales. All colonists first came to San Andrés and later moved to the Providence Island colony on what is now Providencia Island as its mountain terrain provided fresh water resources and safety from invaders. Slaves were brought from 1633 onwards from Jamaica. They were initially brought to work in lumbering, as well as to grow cotton and tobacco.
In 1635, the Spaniards, realizing the economic importance of the island, attacked the archipelago. However, the Spaniards were driven out soon after they occupied the islands. Privateers also operated from the island, including Welsh privateer Henry Morgan, who used it in 1670 as one of the centers of his operations. The privateers attacked Spanish ships carrying gold and other precious material that sailed in the Caribbean waters, but the convoy system of the Spanish treasure fleet made it more difficult. They also attacked Panama and Santa Maria. The bounty looted by the privateers is still believed to be hidden in some underwater cave in the area.
18th century After the failed Spanish invasion of the islands, they were controlled by England until 1787, when they agreed to return control of the island to Spain. In the year 1792, by royal warrant on 20 May, the Spanish informed the Captain General of Guatemala, Don Bernardo Troncoso, to recognize the archipelago as under Spanish control. The Catholic religion was spread on the island and a church was built and run by its own priest. San Andrés gave exemption from import and export taxes.
19th century On November 25, 1802, the inhabitants of the archipelago requested that they depend on the Viceroyalty of New Granada with the Mosquito Coast, and not on the Captaincy of Guatemala. The document was signed by Roberto Clark, procurator, Isaac Brooks, Solomon Taylor, Jorge Olis, and Juan Taylor. As early as 1803, reports suggest that it was for political and economic reasons that San Andrés became a dependent Viceroyalty of New Granada.
In 1810, factions in New Granada declared independence from Spain. Councils were established in San Andrés and Providence in this year. The government of Tomás O'Neill granted land titles to English and Spanish-speaking families of the two islands assuring people the ownership of the land. In July 1818, French privateer Luis Aury, and others of the independent forces of Simón Bolívar occupied the islands, and it became part of Gran Colombia on June 23, 1822.
In 1821, the issuing of the Constitution of Cúcuta determined that every child born in Colombia, was born as a free citizen.* Gibson, William Marion (1948). The Constitutions of Colombia. Durham: Duke University Press. This at a minimum meant the eventual abolition of slavery in San Andrés.
On March 5, 1825, a League and Confederation Treaty with the United Provinces of Central America was signed and on June 15, 1826, the Treaty of Union, League and Confederation, between the Republics of Colombia, Central America, Peru and Mexico was signed in Panama in that "Contracting Parties shall ensure the integrity of its territories, then, under special conventions and to hold each other, have been demarcated and set their respective limits, the protection will then be placed under the protection of the confederation."
After independence was recognized by the coastal territories of the Caribbean Sea, the British proclaimed an independent territory in disregard of treaties and agreements of the time but the island remained free from British autonomy. In 1848, Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera declared San Andrés as a Free port. In 1851, slavery was abolished by the constitution of Colombia, which led to a successful literacy movement led by pastor Philip Beekman Livingston.
20th century In September 1900, France issued a ruling in which it recognized all of the islands of the archipelago as belonging to Colombia. In 1902, two commissioners of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt came to San Andrés by boat and requested that the islands become part of Panama, but American proposals were rejected outright as unpatriotic, proving local loyalty to the Republic of Colombia. In 1903, the Colombian Department of Panama became an independent nation. The islanders again refused to join the United States or Panama when they were visited by a U.S. warship in the same year. On 26 October 1912, the Municipality of San Andres and Providencia was established by Law 52, giving administrative independence. In August 1920, a boundary treaty was signed between Colombia and Panama in Bogotá. On 24 March 1928, the Esguerra-Bárcenas Treaty was signed, in which Nicaragua recognized Colombia's sovereignty over the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providence and Saint Catherine.
In November 1943, Colombia joined World War II, because a German submarine sank one of their boats that had to transport British troops to San Andrés. In 1953, at the request of several representatives of the island community, President Gustavo Rojas Pinilla reaffirmed the San Andrés Island and the free port. In 1972, the archipelago was declared as a Special Municipality. In the Colombian Constitution of 1991, the Department Archipelago of San Andrés, Providence and Saint Catherine was established as one of the Departments of Colombia. In 2000, the archipelago of San Andrés, Providence and Saint Catherine became a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve as per of the five biosphere reserves listed with the UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme.
21st century
In 2001, Nicaragua National Assembly declared the Bárcenas-Esguerra Treaty null because it claimed that it was signed under pressure of US army occupation (1928–1933). Nicaragua signed a boundary treaty with Colombia, in which it disputed the boundaries alleged by Colombia at 82 degrees longitude. In 2007, the International Court of Justice announced that the 1928 Bárcenas-Esguerra Treaty of 1928 wasn't a boundary treaty between Colombia and Nicaragua. Nicaragua filed a formal complaint to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, claiming territory east of longitude 82, as their continental marine platform included sovereignty over the archipelago of San Andrés. On 13 December 2007, the ICJ recognized the full sovereignty of Colombia over the islands of San Andrés, Providence and Saint Catherine, but left open the question about the demarcation of the maritime boundary and the sovereignty over the cays of Serranilla, Quitasueño, Serrana, Roncador and Bajo Nuevos with Nicaragua. The ICJ also ruled it "upheld preliminary objections of Colombia to its jurisdiction only insofar as they concerned sovereignty over the islands of San Andrés, Providence and Saint Catherine".
Geography
San Andrés is the largest of the island group in the Department of the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providence and Saint Catherine. San Andrés is located in the Caribbean Sea, about northwest of the coast of Colombia. The island is measured on google maps in length and in width.Dydynsk, p.168 It has an area of within the total area of the group of islands of ( is also mentioned in this reference for San Andrés), making it the largest island in the archipelago. Providencia, the next largest in area, is located to the northeast. San Andrés has a fairly flat topography with the highest point in the island reported at an elevation of above sea level. San Andrés is crossed from south to north by a small mountain range whose highest peak is Cerro La Loma, also known as El Cliff. San Andrés' soils indicate that their formation is due to the eruption of a volcano which threw rocks older than the seafloor to the surface, creating the islands. Despite this, there is fertile soil and the soil is mostly red clay. It is easy to find small deposits of quartz on the island, especially in the neighborhood of La Loma Cove. Aside from the main settlements, the island is almost entirely covered in grass, trees and other vegetation, as well as sand along the coastline rather than rocks. The central area is marked by a chain of hills (Flowers, Orange, Shingle and Lion's Hill). The island has only small, ephemeral streams draining the land area, but no major rivers.
On the southwest coast of the island are some features, namely (from north to south) Bobby Rock, Boobie Rock, Fisher Rock and Tyler Rock. A feature named Rock Point is located on the southeastern coast. Suky Bay lies in the central western part of the island near Cove Sea Side. The northern part of the island has a beach, while the western part of the island has no beaches.