Chitagaes

The Chitagaes inhabited the eastern Andean highlands around Chitagá, south of Pamplona. Their mountain country lies among valleys and high páramos whose streams flow towards different river basins. Spanish conquest brought the community into the encomienda system: in 1551 the colonial audiencia assigned the people of Chitagá to Antonio de Segovia and a fellow captain. Indigenous communities of the wider Pamplona province faced new demands for tribute and labour.