After the foundation of Bogotá and the installation of the new dependency of the Spanish Crown, several strategies were important to the Spanish conquerors.
The rich mineral resources of the Altiplano had to be extracted, the agriculture was quickly reformed, a system of encomiendas was installed and a main concern of the Spanish was the evangelisation of the Muisca.
On October 9, 1549, Carlos V sent a royal letter to the New Kingdom directed at the priests about the necessity of population reduction of the Muisca.
The indigenous people were working in the encomiendas which limited their religious conversion.
To speed up the process of submittance to the Spanish reign, the mobility of the indigenous people was prohibited and the people gathered in resguardos.
The formerly celebrated festivities in their religion disappeared.
Specific times for the catechesis were controlled by laws, as executed in royal dictates in 1537, 1538 and 1551.
The first bishop of Santafé, Juan de los Barrios, ordered to destroy the temples of the Muisca and replace them with catholic churches.
The last public religious ceremony of the Muisca was held in Ubaque on December 27, 1563.
The second bishop of Santafé, Luis Zapata de Cárdenas, intensified the aggressive policies against the indigenous religious practices and ordered the burnings of their sacred sites.
This formed the final nail in the coffin of the former polytheistic society.

The transition to a mixed agriculture with Old World crops was remarkably fast, mainly to do with the fertility of the lands of the Altiplano permitting European crops to grow there, while in the more tropical areas the soil was not so much suited for the foreign crops.
In 1555, the Muisca of Toca were growing European crops as wheat and barley and sugarcane was grown in other areas.
The previously self-sustaining economy was quickly transformed into one based on intensive agriculture and mining that produced changes in the landscape and culture of the Muisca.

The system of encomienda consisted of handing over terrains and indigenous people to the encomenderos.
In 1553, 300 to 500 indigenous people were provided to the encomendero of Cota.
The encomendero then had to pay tribute to the Spanish Crown.
After the foundation of Bogotá and the installation of the new dependency of the Spanish Crown, several strategies were important to the Spanish conquerors. The rich mineral resources of the Altiplano had to be extracted, the agriculture was quickly reformed, a system of encomiendas was installed and a main concern of the Spanish was the evangelisation of the Muisca. On October 9, 1549, Carlos V sent a royal letter to the New Kingdom directed at the priests about the necessity of population reduction of the Muisca. The indigenous people were working in the encomiendas which limited their religious conversion. To speed up the process of submittance to the Spanish reign, the mobility of the indigenous people was prohibited and the people gathered in resguardos. The formerly celebrated festivities in their religion disappeared. Specific times for the catechesis were controlled by laws, as executed in royal dictates in 1537, 1538 and 1551. The first bishop of Santafé, Juan de los Barrios, ordered to destroy the temples of the Muisca and replace them with catholic churches. The last public religious ceremony of the Muisca was held in Ubaque on December 27, 1563. The second bishop of Santafé, Luis Zapata de Cárdenas, intensified the aggressive policies against the indigenous religious practices and ordered the burnings of their sacred sites. This formed the final nail in the coffin of the former polytheistic society.
The transition to a mixed agriculture with Old World crops was remarkably fast, mainly to do with the fertility of the lands of the Altiplano permitting European crops to grow there, while in the more tropical areas the soil was not so much suited for the foreign crops. In 1555, the Muisca of Toca were growing European crops as wheat and barley and sugarcane was grown in other areas. The previously self-sustaining economy was quickly transformed into one based on intensive agriculture and mining that produced changes in the landscape and culture of the Muisca.
The system of encomienda consisted of handing over terrains and indigenous people to the encomenderos. In 1553, 300 to 500 indigenous people were provided to the encomendero of Cota. The encomendero then had to pay tribute to the Spanish Crown.
Spanish conquest of the Muisca