Q 01/05

Before Colombia took Columbus's name, what was it called under Spanish rule?

A) New Castile

B) New Granada

C) New Spain

D) Río de la Plata

Answer · why

B) New Granada

New Granada survived independence: after Gran Colombia broke up, the country went by that name and only became Colombia in 1863.

Q 02/05

Which 1819 battle, won by Simón Bolívar, secured Colombia's independence from Spain?

A) Carabobo

B) Boyacá

C) Pichincha

D) Ayacucho

Answer · why

B) Boyacá

Boyacá came after Bolívar's army marched from the plains of Casanare over the Andes and took the Spanish by surprise.

Q 03/05

Which country broke away from Colombia in 1903?

A) Costa Rica

B) Guatemala

C) Panama

D) El Salvador

Answer · why

C) Panama

Panama broke away after Colombia's congress rejected a US canal treaty, and US warships backed the breakaway.

Q 04/05

Colombia's currency shares its name with several other Latin American countries. What is it?

A) The real

B) The sol

C) The bolívar

D) The peso

Answer · why

D) The peso

Its ISO code is COP; a coffee in Bogotá runs to a few thousand of them.

Q 05/05

Which US TV series was adapted from a hit Colombian telenovela?

A) Jane the Virgin

B) Ugly Betty

C) Devious Maids

D) One Day at a Time

Answer · why

B) Ugly Betty

Ugly Betty came from Yo soy Betty, la fea, a telenovela so popular it was also remade in Mexico, India and Germany.