The Muisca Confederation was the loose collection of tribal chiefs (caciques) before the Spanish conquest of the central highlands of the Eastern Andes; the Altiplano Cundiboyacense. Before the arrival of around 120 conquistadors, around 1 to 2 million people ("Muisca" means person or people in their own language; Muysccubun, or Chibcha who ran a self-sufficient economy based on trade with their neighbors. They were best known for their advanced gold working and extraction of two very valuable minerals; salt and emeralds. The remnants of the confederation are mostly visible in the Colombian Spanish language, including many toponyms, such as Bacatá, their main settlement, became Bogotá, the Colombian capital. Read more...