Cauca Department, Colombia · South America
El Tambo sits on the route: 15 minutes from Villa Rica.
El Tambo is a town located in Cauca Department, Colombia. With a population of 6,355, it is an important destination in South America.
On a road trip, El Tambo sits in Colombia, where you drive on the right. It's in the America/Bogota time zone. Below you'll find where to stay, things to do nearby, and everything you need to add El Tambo to your route.
The Battle of La Cuchilla del Tambo was fought during the Colombian War of Independence, fought between the Republican troops of New Granada and the expeditionary force of the Spanish crown who came to reconquer its former colony. It took place on 29 June 1816, at a place called La cuchilla del Tambo (the ridge of ElRead more
Tambo), in the vicinity of the town of Popayán (in the south of the present-day Colombia). The Republican troops were completely defeated by the Royalist army. This triumph ended the First Republic of New Granada and completed the Spanish reconquest of New Granada.
On June 27, 1816, Lieutenant Colonel Liborio Mejía and his 680 troops of the southern army of the army of the union left Popayan in the direction of Tambo to meet their enemy. On June 29 they found the Spanish troops who were numerically superior and positioned high up on the ridge of the Cuchilla del Tambo, which they had fortified and was protected by artillery. The Republican troops fought fiercely for 3 hours but were kept at bay by enemy fire. They were finally surrounded and forced to surrender, with only Mejía and a few men managing to escape.
At the end of the fighting, the battlefield was littered with 250 dead Patriots, while Sámano took 300 prisoners and recovered all the Patriots' war material.
The Spanish then took Popayán shortly after, Colonel Mejia and the last remnants of the army of the union would be defeated days later at the Battle of La Plata marking the end of the first republic and the completion of the Spanish Reconquest of New Granada. The following months would see the arrest and executions of many of the Neogranadine patriots who had spearheaded the revolution in 1810 as well military officers and their supporters by orders of Generals Pablo Morillo and Juan de Sámano and what is known as the Regime of Terror.
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El Tambo is located in Cauca Department, Colombia, South America. The coordinates are 2.4520 latitude, -76.8103 longitude.
El Tambo has a population of approximately 6,355 people, making it a town in Colombia.
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