It has long been a source of criticism on the part of the diplomats and residents of the various Republics that in our minds they have been lumped together; that we often refer to those portions of the New World which were settled by the Spanish and Portuguese as Latin America or to all save Brazil as Spanish America. Now that we are entering upon a period of closer relationship with our southern neighbors, it is obviously desirable that we should differentiate among them, learn of the diversity in productions and resources which characterize the various countries, and something of their social and political conditions, all of which have a bearing upon present and prospective possibilities for commercial relations. Therefore the countries must be studied carefully and individually. So far as transportation and travel are concerned South America is often divided broadly into three sections: the East, the West, and the North Coasts, to which a fourth is sometimes added, the Amazon Basin. We may begin with the nearest, the countries on the North Coast, follow with those on the West, and coming up from the south conclude with Brazil. With the Republics of the North Coast we have the greatest percentage of trade, with those on the East the largest amount. THE NORTH COAST CHAPTER II COLOMBIA: AREA, HISTORY, GOVERNMENT, POPULATION, ETC. Colombia, nearest to the United States of the republics of South America, is recognized as one of the richest and most beautiful of the countries of that continent, containing magnificent scenery, with extraordinary variety and wealth of natural resources. Colombia is noted as the first producer in the world of platinum, emeralds, and mild coffee; the first in South America of gold. AREA, POPULATION, BOUNDARY =Area.= Colombia is fifth in size of the countries of South America, with an area variously given, but approximately of 464,000 square miles. =Population.= She is probably third in population, official figures received March, 1921, of the 1918 census being 5,847,491. 6,000,000 may be credited to her in 1921. =Boundary.= Colombia has the good fortune to be the only South American country bordering upon two oceans. Having an irregular shape, with the Isthmus of Panamá dividing the two coasts nearly in the middle, Colombia has the Caribbean Sea on the north and northwest for a distance of 641 miles, and the Pacific Ocean, for a stretch of 468 miles, west of the main body of the country. Measuring the outline of all the indentations, the coast line would be two or three times as long. On the south are the Republics of Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil; on the east Brazil and Venezuela. The extreme length of the country, from 12° 24′ N. Lat. to 2° 17′ S., is a little over 1000 miles, as far as from New York to St. Louis; the greatest width, from 66° 7′ to 79° W. Long., is about 800 miles. HISTORY