Cauca State was one of the states of Colombia

States of Colombia

States of Colombia existed from February 27, 1855 in the Republic of New Granada and the Granadine Confederation, were they were called "federal states"...

.

Today the area of the former state makes up most of modern day west and southern Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, with some portion of its vast territories acquired by present day Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

 and Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

.

Naming

• 1857-06-15 created as Estado Federal del Cauca (Federal State of Cauca).
• 1858 recognized as Estado de la Federación in the 1858 constitution of the Granadine Confederation
  Granadine Confederation
  The Granadine Confederation was a short-lived federal republic established in 1858 as a result of a constitutional change replacing the Republic of New Granada. It comprised the present day nations of Colombia and Panama...
  
  ,
• 1863 named Estado Soberano del Cauca (Sovereign State of Cauca) in the 1863 constitution of the United States of Colombia
  United States of Colombia
  The United States of Colombia was the name adopted in 1861 through the Rionegro Constitution for the nation which had been known as the Republic of New Granada since the dissolution of the federation of Gran Colombia in 1830-1831....
  
  .

Known as "Gran Cauca", because it was the largest and richest of the Union.

Subdivisions

In the 15 june 1857 law the state was divided into the following provinces

• Barbacoas Province (capital Barbacoas).
• Buenaventura Province
  Buenaventura Province
  Buenaventura Province was one of the provinces of Gran Colombia. It belonged to the Cauca Department which was created in 1824. In 1857 Cauca State was declared and the province was one of its provinces....
  
   (capital Cali
  Calì
  Calì, also written in English as Cali, is an Italian surname, widespread mainly in the Ionian side of Sicily.For the surname Calì is assumed the origin of the Greek word kalos , or from its Sanskrit root kali, "time."The surname refers to:...
  
  ).
• Chocó Province (capital Quibdó
  Quibdó
  Quibdó is the capital city of Chocó Department, in western Colombia. The municipality of Quibdó has an area of 3,337.5 km² and a population of 100,000 mainly consisting of Afro Colombians and Zambo Colombians. Quibdo serves a a receptor for those persons affected by the Colombian armed...
  
  ).
• Cauca Province (capital Buga
  Buga
  Buğa or Boğa means "bull" in Turkic languages, also transliterated as Bugha, or Buqa . It may refer to one of the following persons.*Tala Buga, the khan of Golden Horde between 1287 and 1291...
  
  ).
• Pasto Province (capital San Juan de Pasto).
• Popayán Province
  Popayán Province
  Popayán Province was one of the provinces of Cauca Department .It was also one of the provinces of the Republic of New Granada...
  
   (capital Popayán
  Popayán
  Popayán is the capital of the Colombian department of Cauca. It is located in southwestern Colombia between Colombia's Western Mountain Range and Central Mountain Range...
  
  ).
• Túquerres Province (capital Ipiales).

There was also the Caquetá Territory

Caquetá Territory

Caquetá Territory was a territory of the United States of Colombia.In the North it bordered San Martín Territory.In the 1863 constitution it was part of Cauca State....

 (capital Mocoa

Mocoa

Mocoa is a municipality and capital city of the department of Putumayo in Colombia.The city is located in the northwest of the Putumayo department. The municipality borders the departments of Nariño to the west and Cauca to the north.-External links:...

).

See also

• Colombian Civil War (1860-1862)