 Gran
Colombia
As victory over Spain
became increasingly apparent, leaders from present-day
Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama convened a congress in
February 1819 in Angostura (present-day Ciudad Bolívar,
Venezuela) and agreed to unite in a republic to be known as
Gran Colombia. After Bolívar was ratified as president in
August 1819, he left Santander, his vice president, in
charge of Gran Colombia and traveled south to liberate
present-day Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. When present-day
Ecuador was liberated in 1822, it also joined Gran Colombia.
In 1821 the Cúcuta Congress wrote a constitution for the
new republic. The Cúcuta political arrangement was highly
centralized and provided for a government based on popular
representation with a bicameral Congress, a president, and a
Supreme Court consisting of five magistrates. The
constitution also guaranteed freedom for the children of
slaves; freedom of the press; the inviolability of homes,
persons, and correspondence; the codification of taxes;
protectionist policies toward industry and agriculture; and
the abolition of the mita system of labor.
Nonetheless, political
rivalries and regional jealousies progressively weakened the
authority of the new central state. Venezuelan leaders
especially were resentful of being ruled by Santander, a
native of present-day Colombia, in the absence of their
president and fellow Venezuelan, Bolívar. In 1826 General
José Antonio Páez led a Venezuelan revolt against Gran
Colombia. Outbreaks and disturbances also occurred
elsewhere.
On his return from Peru
in 1827, Bolívar was barely able to maintain his personal
authority. In April 1828, a general convention was convened
in Ocańa to reform the constitution of Cúcuta, but the
convention broke up as a result of conflicting positions
taken by the followers of Santander and Bolívar. Those
backing Santander believed in a liberal, federalist form of
government. Bolívar's followers supported a more
authoritarian and centralized government, and many,
especially those in Bogotá, called on Bolívar to assume
national authority until he deemed it wise to convoke a new
legislative body to replace Congress.
In August 1828, Bolívar
assumed dictatorial powers and attempted to install a
constitution that he had developed for Bolivia and Peru.
Unpopular with a large portion of the New Grenadine
populace, this constitution called for increased central
authority and a president-for-life who could also name his
own successor. During a constitutional convention held in
January 1830, Bolívar resigned as president, naming José
Domingo Caicedo as his successor. That same year, the
divisive forces at work within the republic achieved a major
triumph as the Venezuelan and Ecuadorian portions of the
republic seceded.
|
