United States of Colombia

History

The civil war of 1860–1862 resulted in the dissolution of the Granadine Confederation which had been subjected increasingly to efforts by conservatives to centralize rule over the federal states. The liberal General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera defeated the conservative government of President Bartolomé Calvo during 1862 and was installed as new president. Much power was distributed back to the states from the government in Bogotá.

Already in July 1861, when Mosquera had taken Bogotá and declared himself provisional president of the nation, one of his first acts was to rename the country United States of New Granada. This name was short-lived, as Mosquera changed the name again to United States of Colombia in November of the same year .

Colombian Constitution of 1863

On 3 February 1863, Congress approved the name United States of Colombia for the country, and on 8 May, the was promulgated. It established a federal system with a central presidency with a term of two years and without the possibility of immediate re-election. The president was elected by the states. On 12 May, Mosquera was chosen to be the first president.

The liberals attempted to establish the United States of Colombia with a decentralized, free market system. As with previous liberal presidencies, such as Mosquera's first two terms as president, a tough policy towards the Catholic Church was taken, much to the dismay of conservatives. Land possessed by the Church was seized and transferred to industrialists and the influence and rights of the Church was limited severely.

During 1871, attempts at modernization and economic reform resulted in the Colombian peso being associated with the French franc as part of the international gold standard.

Abolition

After several years of intermittent civil wars, during 1886 the Colombian Conservative Party led by President Rafael Núñez proclaimed a new constitution of a unitary and centralist character that abolished the United States of Colombia and created the Republic of Colombia. The conservatives immediately withdrew Colombia from the gold standard and the subsequent increase of printed currency resulted in troubling inflation.

Meanwhile, the new state would continue to be plagued by conflict between liberal and conservative factions, which eventually would result in the secession of Panama during 1903.

States

Main article: States of Colombia

The nine original states that formed the confederation were:

• Antioquia State,
• Bolívar State,
• Boyacá State,
• Cauca State,
• Cundinamarca State,
• Magdalena State,
• Panamá State,
• Santander State and
• Tolima State, and the territories were:
• Caquetá Territory,
• San Martin Territory and
• Nevada and Motilones Territory.

References

References

1. [[Constitutional history of Colombia#The constitution of 1863 - United States of Colombia]]
2. {{cite EB1911. George. Edmundson
3. "American Colonies - New Granada".
4. Jaume Olle. "Nueva Granada (República y Confederación)".