Ibagué was founded by Spaniard Andrés López de Galarza on October 14, 1550, as "Villa de San Bonifacio de Ibagué del Valle de las Lanzas" ("Town of Saint Boniface of Ibagué of the Valley of the Spears") in a nearby location which now contains the urban area of the neighboring municipality of Cajamarca about 42 kilometers to the west of the modern city of Ibagué.