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Colombian Civil War (1860–1862)
Encyclopedia
The Colombian Civil War of May 8 1860 to November 1862 was an internal conflict
between the newly formed conservative
Grenadine Confederation and a more liberal
rebel force from the newly seceded region of Cauca
, composed of dissatisfied politicians commanded by General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
, its former president. The Grenadine Confederation, created a few years earlier in 1858 by Mariano Ospina Rodríguez
, was defeated in the capital Bogotá
, with Mosquera deposing the newly elected president Bartolomé Calvo
on July 18 1861. Forming a provisional government, with himself as president, Mosquera continued to pursue the conservative forces until their final defeat in 1862. The resulting formation of the new United States of Colombia
would have significant cultural and economic consequences for Colombia.
, Panamá
and Veraguas. In order to satisfy the member states and avoid a repeat of past mistakes that had led to Venezuela
and Ecuador
leaving the previous union, during the formation of the Granadine Confederation the central government created a number of sovereign states from the different regions of Colombia.
The Province of Antioquía became the Sovereign State of Antioquía, and the Sovereign State of Santander, which included the provinces of Socorro
and Pamplona
, was created May 13, 1857. The Sovereign State of Bolívar, which included the Province of Cartagena, the Sovereign State of Boyacá, which included the provinces of Tunja
, Tundama, Casanare
, and the cantons of Chiquinquirá
and Vélez
. The Sovereign State of Cauca, which included the provinces of Buenaventura
, Chocó
, Pasto
and Popayán
and the region of Caquetá. The Sovereign State of Cundinamarca, which included the province of Mariquita, Bogotá
, Neiva, Sovereign State of Tolima, and finally the Sovereign State of Magdalena, which included the provinces of El Banco
, Padilla
, Santa Marta
, Tenerife
and Valledupar
.
Thus, by the time of the formation of the Granadine Confederation, Colombia consisted of a number of sovereign states, governed by the Congress of Colombia
as the office of vice presidency was abolished. Despite the creation of these states, the government under Mariano Ospina Rodríguez became centralist
, contrary to the wishes of the States who wanted more power and autonomy, thus increasing the levels of friction between the two levels of government.
On April 8 1859 the congress of the Granadine Confederation awarded to the president the power to remove the governors of the member states, and on May 10 1859 it created a second law that allowed the president direct control of the resources and government's of the member states through the creation of a number of administrative departments. Among many angered by these laws was respected and popular politician, leader of the Granada Liberal Party, Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, who denounced the laws as unconstitutional and rallied Liberal support. On May 8 1860, newly appointed Supreme Director of War Mosquera declared the Sovereign State of Cauca a separate nation from the Granadine Confederation and civil war broke out.
In the years prior to the outbreak of civil war, the central government under Mariano Ospina Rodríguez had attempted to thwart growing Liberal movements by supporting counter-insurrections in the member states. Most notable of these was Eustorgio Salgar
and the State of Santander in 1859. Salgar and politician Aquileo Parra were both captured by the army of the centralised government after Santander sided against the centralised government on the outbreak of the civil war, however the unrest continued to spread to other regions of the country, including Bolívar and Antioquía, which extended down to the River Chinchiná near Manizales
. Salgar, who would later go on to become president of Colombia, was released in 1861.
fell to them on July 18 1861. Mariano Ospina Rodriguez, his brother Pastor, Bartolomé Calvo and his cabinet were taken prisoner.
The following day, Mosquera ordered the execution of a number of politicians and officials from the Confederacy, including Plácido Morales, Andrés Aguilar and Ambrosio Hernández. Following the collapse of the Confederacy government and the assumption of power by Mosquera, a number of renegade generals in command of the remaining Confederate forces continued to resist, including Julio Arboleda in the Cauca, General Braulio Henao in Antioquia and General Leonardo Canal in Santander, however with the assassination of the first on November 12, 1862, the defeat of Henao at the battle of Santa Barbara, and the capitulation of Canal in Pasto, Nariño, resistance to Mosquera's new government was relatively short lived, and on May 8 1863 the United States of Colombia
was officially created from the Rionegro Convention.
Aside from the fall of the Granadine Confederation
and the formation of the United States of Colombia
, which would itself eventually fall during a civil war which saw the founding of the modern day Republic of Colombia in 1886, Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera's assumption of power in 1861 also had a profound social and economic impact on Colombia. Fearing the strength of Mosquera's power, other political leaders in Colombia worked to avoid a repeat of what Mosquera had done with the conservative government, by strengthening a federal government
based on a laissez-faire
policy, in which the regional and local autonomy were protected and there was no National Army, with new rules and powers given to the nine Sovereign States and their Presidents.
The new government also clashed with the positions of the church when, to help rejuvenate an economy ravaged by civil war, was put under secular control with its lands being sold to industrialists and developers. The government confiscated the property of religious communities and organizations such as schools, hospitals, monasteries, churches, land, houses and other properties that could be sold.
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
between the newly formed conservative
Colombian Conservative Party
The Colombian Conservative Party , is a conservative political party in Colombia. The party was unofficially founded by a group of Revolutionary Commoners during the Revolutionary War for Independence from the Spanish Monarchy and later formally established during the Greater Colombia...
Grenadine Confederation and a more liberal
Colombian Liberal Party
The Colombian Liberal Party is a center-left party in Colombia that adheres to social democracy and social liberalism.The Party was founded in 1848 and, together with the Colombian Conservative Party, subsequently became one of the two main political forces in the country for over a century.After...
rebel force from the newly seceded region of Cauca
Cauca Department
Cauca is a Department of Colombia. Located in the south-western part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Valle del Cauca Department to the north, Tolima Department to the northeast, Huila Department to the east and the Nariño Department to the south, covering a total area of...
, composed of dissatisfied politicians commanded by General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera y Arboleda was a Colombian general and political figure. He was president of Colombia four times. The first time was as president of Republic of New Granada from 1845 to 1849. During the Colombian Civil War of 1860-1862 he led liberal forces in a civil war against...
, its former president. The Grenadine Confederation, created a few years earlier in 1858 by Mariano Ospina Rodríguez
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...
, was defeated in the capital Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, with Mosquera deposing the newly elected president Bartolomé Calvo
Bartolomé Calvo
Bartolomé Calvo Díaz de Lamadrid was a Colombian lawyer, journalist, and statesman, who became President of the Granadine Confederation, in what is now Colombia, in 1861 in his role as Inspector General, because no elections were held on that year to the decide the presidency...
on July 18 1861. Forming a provisional government, with himself as president, Mosquera continued to pursue the conservative forces until their final defeat in 1862. The resulting formation of the new 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....
would have significant cultural and economic consequences for Colombia.
Background
The Granadine Confederation was formed in 1858 out of the Republic of the New Granada, however during the last few years of the previous Republic, there had been call for more autonomy from various member states of Colombia, such as Azuero, Chiriquí ProvinceChiriquí Province
Chiriquí is a province of Panama, it is located on the western coast of Panama, and it is also the second most developed province in the country, after the Panamá Province. Its capital is the city of David. It has a total area of 6,490.9 km², with a population of 416,873 as of the year 2010...
, Panamá
Panamá Province
Panamá is a major province of the country of Panama, containing the capital city, Panama City. The governor of the province is Mayin Correa, a former mayor of Panama City and elected by President Martinelli after being sworn in on July 1, 2009.-Districts:...
and Veraguas. In order to satisfy the member states and avoid a repeat of past mistakes that had led to 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...
and 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...
leaving the previous union, during the formation of the Granadine Confederation the central government created a number of sovereign states from the different regions of Colombia.
The Province of Antioquía became the Sovereign State of Antioquía, and the Sovereign State of Santander, which included the provinces of Socorro
Socorro, Santander
Socorro is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia. It was founded in 1681 by Don José de Archila and Don José Díaz Sarmiento.The town was very influential in the history of Colombia...
and Pamplona
Pamplona, Colombia
Pamplona is a municipality and city in Norte de Santander, Colombia.-Colonization:Nueva Pamplona del Valle del Espíritu Santo, the name by which Don Pedro de Ursúa and Don Ortún Velasco de Velázquez paid tribute to the capital of the province of Navarre in Spain, was founded on 1 November 1549...
, was created May 13, 1857. The Sovereign State of Bolívar, which included the Province of Cartagena, the Sovereign State of Boyacá, which included the provinces of Tunja
Tunja
Tunja is a city and municipality located in the central part of Colombia, in the region of "Alto Chicomocha". As of the 2005 Census it had 152,419 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Department of Boyacá and part of the subregion of the Central Boyacá Province. It is approximately 145 km...
, Tundama, Casanare
Casanare Department
Casanare is a department of Colombia. It is in the central eastern region of the country. Its capital is Yopal. It contains oil fields and an 800 km pipeline leading to the coastal port of Coveñas owned by BP.-Municipalities:# Aguazul# Chameza...
, and the cantons of Chiquinquirá
Chiquinquirá
Chiquinquirá is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Western Boyacá Province. Located some 115 km north of Bogotá, Chiquinquirá is 2570m above sea level and has a yearly average temperature 58°F....
and Vélez
Velez
- Places :* Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, Spain* Vélez de Benaudalla, Spain* Vélez Sársfield , Buenos Aires, Argentina* Vélez-Blanco, Spain* Vélez-Málaga, Spain* Vélez-Rubio, Spain* Vélez, Santander, Colombia- Sports clubs :...
. The Sovereign State of Cauca, which included the provinces of Buenaventura
Buenaventura, Colombia
Buenaventura is a port city and municipality located in the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia . Buenaventura is the main port of Colombia in the Pacific Ocean....
, Chocó
Chocó Department
Chocó is a department of Colombia known for its large Afro-Colombian population. It is in the west of the country, and is the only Colombian department to have coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It also has all of Colombia's border with Panama. Its capital is...
, Pasto
Pasto
Pasto, officially San Juan de Pasto, is the capital of the department of Nariño, located in southwest Colombia. The city is located in the "Atriz Valley", on the Andes cordillera, at the foot of the Galeras volcano, at an altitude of 8,290 feet above sea level...
and 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...
and the region of Caquetá. The Sovereign State of Cundinamarca, which included the province of Mariquita, Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Neiva, Sovereign State of Tolima, and finally the Sovereign State of Magdalena, which included the provinces of El Banco
El Banco
El Banco is a Colombian Municipality and town located in the southern most part of the Department of Magdalena by the Magdalena River.-External links:...
, Padilla
Padilla
-Places:* Padilla Municipality, Tamaulipas, in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas* Padilla, Cauca, in Colombia* Padilla, Bolivia* Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, in the Philippines* Padilla Bay, in the U.S. state of Washington* Padilla de Abajo, in Spain...
, Santa Marta
Santa Marta
Santa Marta is the capital city of the Colombian department of Magdalena in the Caribbean Region. It was founded in July 29, 1525 by the Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas, which makes it the oldest remaining city in Colombia...
, Tenerife
Tenerife, Magdalena
Tenerife is a town and municipality of the Magdalena Department in northern Colombia.-External links:...
and Valledupar
Valledupar
Valledupar is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Cesar Department and was founded in 1550 by the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Santana. Its name, Valle de Upar , was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; Cacique Upar...
.
Thus, by the time of the formation of the Granadine Confederation, Colombia consisted of a number of sovereign states, governed by the Congress of Colombia
Congress of Colombia
The Congress of the Republic of Colombia is the name given to Colombia's bicameral national legislature.The Congress of Colombia consists of the 102-seat Senate , and the 166-seat Chamber of Representatives ...
as the office of vice presidency was abolished. Despite the creation of these states, the government under Mariano Ospina Rodríguez became centralist
Centralization
Centralisation, or centralization , is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, become concentrated within a particular location and/or group....
, contrary to the wishes of the States who wanted more power and autonomy, thus increasing the levels of friction between the two levels of government.
On April 8 1859 the congress of the Granadine Confederation awarded to the president the power to remove the governors of the member states, and on May 10 1859 it created a second law that allowed the president direct control of the resources and government's of the member states through the creation of a number of administrative departments. Among many angered by these laws was respected and popular politician, leader of the Granada Liberal Party, Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, who denounced the laws as unconstitutional and rallied Liberal support. On May 8 1860, newly appointed Supreme Director of War Mosquera declared the Sovereign State of Cauca a separate nation from the Granadine Confederation and civil war broke out.
Response of the Granadine Confederation
Eustorgio Salgar
Eustorgio Salgar Moreno was a lawyer, Colombian general and political figure, who was president of the Granadine Confederation from 1870 until 1872. Elected at age 39, was one of the youngest Presidents of the nation.- Biographic data :...
and the State of Santander in 1859. Salgar and politician Aquileo Parra were both captured by the army of the centralised government after Santander sided against the centralised government on the outbreak of the civil war, however the unrest continued to spread to other regions of the country, including Bolívar and Antioquía, which extended down to the River Chinchiná near Manizales
Manizales
Manizales is a city and municipality in central Colombia, capital of Department of Caldas and part of the region of Colombian Coffee-Growers Axis, near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano....
. Salgar, who would later go on to become president of Colombia, was released in 1861.
Progress of the war
On August 28 1860 the rebel army marched on Manizales and united with various leaders from the other sovereign states that supported Mosquera. On August 29 an agreement was formed that would result in Mosquera and his forces retiring to Cauca and disbanding, with Mosquera being granted the position of President of the Granadine Confederacy in return. Ospina, however, declines to ratify the proposed agreement and the liberal forces resumed the war. Following a successful invasion of the region of Antioquia by the rebel army, the capital BogotáBogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
fell to them on July 18 1861. Mariano Ospina Rodriguez, his brother Pastor, Bartolomé Calvo and his cabinet were taken prisoner.
The following day, Mosquera ordered the execution of a number of politicians and officials from the Confederacy, including Plácido Morales, Andrés Aguilar and Ambrosio Hernández. Following the collapse of the Confederacy government and the assumption of power by Mosquera, a number of renegade generals in command of the remaining Confederate forces continued to resist, including Julio Arboleda in the Cauca, General Braulio Henao in Antioquia and General Leonardo Canal in Santander, however with the assassination of the first on November 12, 1862, the defeat of Henao at the battle of Santa Barbara, and the capitulation of Canal in Pasto, Nariño, resistance to Mosquera's new government was relatively short lived, and on May 8 1863 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....
was officially created from the Rionegro Convention.
Consequences of the war
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...
and the formation 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....
, which would itself eventually fall during a civil war which saw the founding of the modern day Republic of Colombia in 1886, Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera's assumption of power in 1861 also had a profound social and economic impact on Colombia. Fearing the strength of Mosquera's power, other political leaders in Colombia worked to avoid a repeat of what Mosquera had done with the conservative government, by strengthening a federal government
Federal government
The federal government is the common government of a federation. The structure of federal governments varies from institution to institution. Based on a broad definition of a basic federal political system, there are two or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and...
based on a laissez-faire
Laissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....
policy, in which the regional and local autonomy were protected and there was no National Army, with new rules and powers given to the nine Sovereign States and their Presidents.
The new government also clashed with the positions of the church when, to help rejuvenate an economy ravaged by civil war, was put under secular control with its lands being sold to industrialists and developers. The government confiscated the property of religious communities and organizations such as schools, hospitals, monasteries, churches, land, houses and other properties that could be sold.