British Colombians

British Colombians are Colombian citizens of British descent or British-born people residing in Colombia. There has been an important British presence in Colombia since colonial times.

History
The first British explorers to arrive in the Colombian territory were Francis Drake and John Hawkins. Their first settlement was in the port of Cartagena, but their journey with their ships became unsuccessful to the Spanish crown in the 16th century.

In 1817, Great Britain sent dozens of ships to America with 5,000 volunteer soldiers, some of the men participated in the liberation of the current Colombian territory. They were known as the British Legion, men who were part of the hosts of Simón Bolívar. The loans originated from the United Kingdom were the main source of financing for Colombia until 1920. In 1822, Francisco Antonio Zea the first vice president of Colombia talked with the British Herrings, Graham and Powles were the credits of two million pounds of sterling to help the establishment of the young republic.

In 1835, the house of administration was standing thanks to the contributions from the members of the British community in Colombia. The first British records from 1830 belonged to William Duffin who later died on June 4.

Many politicians had suggested that it was not a big situation for the British immigrants in Colombia. Matthew Brown, a professor of Latin American history at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, stated that he went to Colombia with an overburdened debts from his origins.

As the investigation was led by Francisco, He was buried in the abbey of the English city of Bath, where he died in the same year he got the loan that goes along with his name.

Institutions

 * Anglo Colombian school
 * Corporacion Educativa Colegio Britanico de Cartagena
 * Colegio Gran Bretaña
 * Montessori British School

Notable British Colombians

 * María Luisa Calle, professional racing cyclist
 * Mario E. Dorsonville, Bishop of the Catholic Church
 * Norman Maurice Armitage, businessman, politician and philanthropist
 * Radamel Falcao, soccer player
 * Jorge Reynolds Pombo, electrician and bioengineer
 * Gilberto Vieira, politician and communist
 * Herbert King, actor
 * Soledad Acosta, writer and journalist