Congress of Angostura
Encyclopedia
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
and took place in Angostura
Ciudad Bolívar
Ciudad Bolívar is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolivar State. It was founded with the name Angostura in 1764, renamed in 1846, and, as of 2010, had an estimated population of 350,691....
(today Ciudad Bolívar) during the wars of Independence of 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...
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...
. It met from February 15, 1819, to July 31, 1821, when the Congress of Cúcuta
Congress of Cúcuta
The Congress of Cúcuta was a constituent assembly where Gran Colombia was created. The Congress elected Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander president and vice-president, respectively....
began its sessions.
It consisted of twenty-six delegates, representing Venezuela and New Granada (today Colombia). Important parts of the countries were still under Spanish rule, so elections only took place in the areas of southern Venezuela and Margarita Island controlled by the patriot forces. The delegates from New Granada were chosen from among the exiles fighting alongside the Venezuelan patriots. At its first meeting on February 19, 1819, Bolivar gave his famous Address at Angostura, but not all of the proposals contained in it were accepted (most notably the suggestions of a powerful, centralized presidency and a hereditary senate, both modeled on the British example
Constitution of the United Kingdom
The constitution of the United Kingdom is the set of laws and principles under which the United Kingdom is governed.Unlike many other nations, the UK has no single core constitutional document. In this sense, it is said not to have a written constitution but an uncodified one...
, and a "fourth" branch of government
Separation of powers
The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...
, the "moral" one, loosely modeled on the Classical
Classical Greece
Classical Greece was a 200 year period in Greek culture lasting from the 5th through 4th centuries BC. This classical period had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire and greatly influenced the foundation of Western civilizations. Much of modern Western politics, artistic thought, such as...
Areopagus
Areopagus
The Areopagus or Areios Pagos is the "Rock of Ares", north-west of the Acropolis, which in classical times functioned as the high Court of Appeal for criminal and civil cases in Athens. Ares was supposed to have been tried here by the gods for the murder of Poseidon's son Alirrothios .The origin...
).
The Congress of Angostura is considered Venezuela's second legislative congress, the first being the one that met in 1811. Its culminating piece of legislation was the Venezuelan Constitution of 1819, officially adopted on August 15, but quickly made obsolete by the creation of the Republic of Colombia
Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia is a name used today for the state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1831. This short-lived republic included the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru and northwest Brazil. The...
on December 17, 1819. This new nation joined Venezuela, New Granada and Quito (today 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...
). In order to differentiate it from the present Republic of Colombia, historians have traditionally called the nation Gran Colombia. A constitution
Constitution of Cúcuta
The Constitution of Cúcuta, also known as Constitution of the Gran Colombia and Constitution of 1821 was the founding document and constitution of the country of Gran Colombia, unifying the territories of the Viceroyalty of New Granada as part of a federation...
for the new nation was created at the Congress of Cúcuta
Congress of Cúcuta
The Congress of Cúcuta was a constituent assembly where Gran Colombia was created. The Congress elected Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander president and vice-president, respectively....
in August 1821.
The congress established three large departments for the new country: Venezuela (corresponding to the modern country of Venezuela), Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca Department (1820)
Cundinamarca Department was one of the three departments of Gran Colombia until 1824.In the South-West it bordered Quito Department, in the East Venezuela Department...
(what today is Colombia, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and some parts of Central America) and Quito (today 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...
). Simon Bolívar was elected president, Francisco Antonio Zea
Francisco Antonio Zea
Francisco Antonio Zea was a Neogranadine journalist, botanist, diplomat and statesman that served as the 1st Vice President of Colombia under then-President Simón Bolívar...
vicepresident, Juan Germán Roscio
Juan Germán Roscio
Juan Germán Roscio , was a Venezuelan lawyer and politician of Italian background, served as the secretary of foreign affairs for the Junta of Caracas, and the main editor of the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence,. Roscio was also the chief architect of the Venezuelan Constitution of 1811.-...
vicepresident of Venezuela and Francisco de Paula Santander
Francisco de Paula Santander
Francisco José de Paula Santander y Omaña , was a Colombian military and political leader during the 1810–1819 independence war of the United Provinces of New Granada...
vicepresident of Cundinamarca.
Fundamental Law establishing Gran Colombia
"The Sovereign Congress of Venezuela, to which authority the people of the Republic of the New GranadaUnited Provinces of New Granada
The United Provinces of New Granada was a country in South America from 1811 to 1816, a period known in Colombian history as the Patria Boba. It was formed from areas of the New Kingdom of Granada. The government was a federation with a parliamentary system, consisting of a weak executive and...
have voluntarily stood by.
"Considering:
- "That united in a single Republic, the provinces of Venezuela and the New Granada have all proportions and ways to elevate themselves to a higher grade of power and prosperity.
- "That constituted in separate republics, for more stronger the ties that these have united them, so far from taking advantages of so many advantages, they would hardly consolidate and make respect their sovereignty.
- "That these truths, highly penetrated by superior talented men and of an enlightened patriotism, had moved the governments of both republics to convene in a reunion that the vicissitudes of wars decreed and decree the following fundamental Law of the Republic of Colombia:
"ARTICLE 1. The Republics of Venezuela and New Granada are from this day on united in a single one under the glorious title of Republic of Colombia.
"ARTICLE 2. Their territory will be the one that the Former General Capitancies of Venezuela and the Viceroyalty of New Granada
Viceroyalty of New Granada
The Viceroyalty of New Granada was the name given on 27 May 1717, to a Spanish colonial jurisdiction in northern South America, corresponding mainly to modern Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. The territory corresponding to Panama was incorporated later in 1739...
covering a total area of 115 thousand square leagues
League (unit)
A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...
, which in better circumstances will be defined precisely.
"ARTICLE 3. Debts acquired by both republics will be recognized in solidum by this law as a National debt of Colombia to which payment will be attached all goods and properties of the nation, and the most productive branches of the public rent will also be destined to pay these.
"ARTICLE 4. The Executive Power of the Republic will be vested on the President and in case of his defect a Vice President and his replacement will be appointed interimly by the acting Congress.
"ARTICLE 5. The Republic of Colombia will be divided into three great departments, Venezuela, Quito
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 Cundinamarca
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...
, that will contain the Provinces of New Granada which name will be suppressed from now on. The capitals of these departments will be the cities of Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
and 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...
, this last one without the name addition of Santa Fe.
"ARTICLE 6. Each department will have a superior administration and a chief, appointed, for now by this congress, with the title of Vice President.
"ARTICLE 7. A new city which will be named after El Libertador Simon Bolivar will be the capital of the Republic of Colombia. Its plan and situation will be determined by the First General Congress under the principle of proportioning it with the necessities of the three departments, and the greatness of these large country is destined by nature.
"ARTICLE 8. The General Congress of Colombia will meet on January 1, 1821, in Villa del Rosario de Cúcuta which is central to the country and will facilitate the reunion. Its convocation will be done by the President on January 1, 1820, in accordance with a previously regulated memos that will be formulated by a Special Commission and under the approval of the current Congress.
"ARTICLE 9. The constitution of the Republic of Colombia will be formulated by its General Congress, which will be presented as a draft project, and its laws will later be tested in execution.
"ARTICLE 10. The Arms and the Colombian flag will be decreed by the General Congress and will use the Arms and Flag of Venezuela because it is more known.
"ARTICLE 11. The current Congress will go on recess on January 15, 1820, due to new elections for the General Congress of Colombia.
"ARTICLE 12. A commission of six members an a President will temporarily replace Congress and with special attributions that will be determined by a decree.
ARTICLE 13. The Republic of Colombia will be solemnly proclaimed in towns and armies, with parties and public demonstrations, which will be verified in this capital on the 25th day of this present December in celebration of the birthday of the World's saviour, that under his sponsoring we have achieved this wished reunion and in which the state hasa regenerated.
"ARTICLE 14. The anniversary of this political regeneration will be celebrated perpetually with a national feast in which there will be awarded, just like in Olympia
Olympia, Greece
Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...
, the virtuous and the enlightened.
"The present fundamental law of the Republic of Colombia is solemnly proclaimed only in towns and armies, registered in all public registries and saved in every municipal cabildos and corporations, ecclesiastic or secular.
"Given in the sovereign Palace of the Congress of Venezuela in the City of Santo Tomás de Angostura
Ciudad Bolívar
Ciudad Bolívar is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolivar State. It was founded with the name Angostura in 1764, renamed in 1846, and, as of 2010, had an estimated population of 350,691....
, ten days before the month of December, in the lords' year of eighteen nineteen. Ninth of the Independence.
"The President of Congress, Francisco Antonio Zea; Juan Germán Roscio; Manuel Sedeño; Juan Martínez; José España; Luis Tomás Peraza; Antonio M. Briceño; Eusebio Afanador; Francisco Conde; Diego Bautista Urbaneja; Juan Vicente Cardozo; Ignacio Muñoz; Ramón García Cádiz. The Deputy Secretary, Diego de Vallenilla.
"Palace of the Sovereign Congress of Venezuela in Angostura, December 17, 1819-9th [year of independence].
"The sovereign Congress decrees that this fundamental law of the Republic of Colombia must be informed to the Executive Supreme Power by means of a delegation for its approval and then published and accomplished.
"The President of Congress, Francisco Antonio Zea. The deputy secretary, Diego de Vallenilla. Palace of the Sovereign Congress of Venezuela in Angostura, December 17, 1819-9th. Print it, Publish it, execute and Authorize with the Seal of the State.
"Simón Bolívar
"For his Excellency the President of the Republic, the Minister of Interior and Justice,
"Diego B. Urbaneja."