[[File:Coat of arms of New Granada (1854).svg|22px]] Democratic Societies"},"combatant3":{"wt":""},"commander1":{"wt":"[[Joséde Obaldía]]
[[Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera|Cipriano de Mosquera]]
[[Joaquín París Ricaurte]]
[[Pedro Alcántara Herrán]]
[[JoséHilario López]]
[[Tomás de Herrera]]{{KIA}}
Manuel María Franco{{KIA}}
Anselmo Pineda Gómez
[[Agustín Codazzi]]
[[Julio Arboleda Pombo]]"},"commander2":{"wt":"[[JoséMaría Melo]]
[[Juan JoséNieto Gil]]
Francisco Obregón"},"commander3":{"wt":""},"strength1":{"wt":"11,000"},"strength2":{"wt":"11,042"},"strength3":{"wt":""},"casualties1":{"wt":""},"casualties2":{"wt":""},"casualties3":{"wt":"4,000 deaths"},"notes":{"wt":""}},"i":0}}]}" id="mwAg">@media all and (min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .desktop-float-right{box-sizing:border-box;float:right;clear:right}}.mw-parser-output .infobox.vevent .status>p:first-child{margin:0}
Colombian Civil War of 1854 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Colombian Civil Wars | |||||||
![]() Generals Herrera, Cipriano de Mosquera and Codazzi during the Civil War | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Constitutionalist coalition![]() ![]() | Regeneration Army![]() ![]() | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
José de Obaldía Cipriano de Mosquera Joaquín París Ricaurte Pedro Alcántara Herrán José Hilario López Tomás de Herrera † Manuel María Franco † Anselmo Pineda Gómez Agustín Codazzi Julio Arboleda Pombo | José María Melo Juan José Nieto Gil Francisco Obregón | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
11,000 | 11,042 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
4,000 deaths |
The Colombian Civil War of 1854 was a civil conflict that took place in the Republic of New Granada (today Colombia). It was the popular response supported by both Liberals and Conservatives against the coup d'état orchestrated by General José María Melo on 17 April 1854.
The Liberals had won the 1848–49 Colombian presidential election and the Colombian Civil War of 1851 and were ruling the country for six years.
Among the causes of this civil war was the implementation of Free trade and the suppression of all protectionist barriers, an important Liberal principle. These changes had such an impact that they divided the Liberals into two factions : the Golgotas who defended radical free trade, and the Draconians, mainly local artisans, who defended some protectionist measures. Various factions of the army, aristocrats and popular sectors, seeking to implement democratic ideas, allied themselves with the artisans who demanded the reintroduction of protection tariffs. [1]
In the Presidential elections of 1853, José María Obando had presented himself on behalf of the "Draconians", and had defeated Tomás de Herrera, candidate for the "Gólgotas" or Radicals. [2] Nevertheless, the "Gólgotas" in Congress managed to introduce a new ultra-liberal Constitution that same year, which only increased tensions in the country.
By April 1854, the Draconian artisans and intellectuals believed the dismissal of Obando by Congress was imminent, which led their leader, General José María Melo, to propose to Obando to close the Congress and declare himself Dictator. Obando refused and on 17 April Melo took power himself, dissolved the House, abolished the Constitution and arrested the President and his ministers. [3]
On 17 April, Melo had 1,000 infantry soldiers and 500 cavalry under his command. [4] With the help of the armed artisans' Democratic Societies, he organized his forces into the so-called "Regeneration Army", calling into service all civilian members of the Auxiliary National Guard and veterans who had fought in the civil war of 1851. By mid-May he had already doubled the number of his troops. [5] At the beginning of August, the "Regeneration Army" totaled 11,042 troops. [6] [7]
When the Dictatorship was proclaimed, his opponents also took up arms. Vice President José de Obaldía assumed command of the Constitutionalist coalition, which was formed with Gólgotas Liberals and troops belonging to the Conservative Party. [2]
In many parts of the country, rebellions against the dictatorship broke out. Former president José Hilario López, commander of the Army in the south, defeated the Melo supporters in Cali, Buenaventura and Cartago. [2] Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera's troops dominated the Caribbean region starting from Barranquilla and confronted the governor of the province of Cartagena Juan José Nieto Gil, who supported the Melo government. Nieto Gil was diposed by the Constitutionalists on 12 June.
The "Regeneration Army" defeated that of General Tomás Herrera in Zipaquirá and Tiquizá in May and marched to Boyacá where they forced the troops of General Juan José Reyes to retire to Casanare in early July. But on 12 July, they suffered a defeat in the Battle of Bucaramanga.
Melo remained in power for eight months, but finally the "Constitutionalist" troops of Pedro Alcántara Herrán, Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, Julio Arboleda and José Hilario López, located in the north and south of the country and totaling 11,000 men, united and surrounded the 7,000 Melistas, who by autumn only held the city of Bogotá. [8]
On 4 December of the same year, the victorious alliance entered Bogotá, after defeating the Melista army and its allies, the "Draconian" Liberals and artisans. The latter presented tenacious resistance during the final assault on the capital in which general Tomás de Herrera was killed. This is why the winning party banished hundreds of artisans to the unhealthy area surrounding the Chagres River in Panama, most of whom died during the journey on foot. The conflict cost about 4,000 lives. [9]
After his defeat, José María Melo was tried and deposed by Congress. Mosquera demanded that Melo would be shot, but Herrán opposed his execution and he was exiled instead. Former President Obando, who had taken refuge in the nuncio's residence, was tried and removed by Congress from his position as president, for not preventing Melo's coup.
José de Obaldía became acting president until 1 April 1855, when Congress elected Conservative Congressman Manuel María Mallarino Ibargüen as new president.
Rafael Wenceslao Núñez Moledo was a Colombian author, lawyer, journalist and politician, who was elected president of Colombia in 1880 and in 1884. Núñez was the leader of the so-called "Regeneration" process which produced the Colombian Constitution of 1886 which was to remain until 1991.
Tomás Cipriano Ignacio Maria de Mosquera y Figueroa Arboleda Salazar, Prieto de Tovar, Vergara, Silva, Hurtado de Mendoza, Urrutia y Guzmán was a Colombian general, 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 conservative factions. After the liberals won, a new, federalist constitution was implemented, which established a two-year presidency, and the nation renamed the United States of Colombia. Mosquera served twice as president of the new government. From 1861 to 1862 he served in a non-elected, interim manner, while the constitution was written. From 1862 to 1864 he served in an elected manner. He had a fourth term from 1866 to 1867. Due to the liberal reforms carried out under his leadership, he is considered one of the most important persons in Colombian history of the 19th century.
The Republic of New Granada was a centralist unitary republic consisting primarily of present-day Colombia and Panama with smaller portions of today's Costa Rica, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil that existed from 1831 to 1858. The state was created after the dissolution of Great Colombia in 1830 through the secession of Ecuador and Venezuela. In 1858 the state was renamed into the Granadine Confederation. On 9 May 1834, the national flag was adopted and was used until 26 November 1861, with the Gran Colombian colours in Veles' arrangement. The merchant ensign had the eight-pointed star in white.
José Eliseo Payán Hurtado was a Colombian lawyer, politician, and military officer. Payán as Vice President of Colombia assumed the Presidency of Colombia because of the absence of President Rafael Núñez in 1887.
José Hilario López Valdés was a Colombian politician and military officer. He was the President of Colombia between 1849 and 1853.
The War of the Supremes was a civil conflict in Republic of the New Granada from 1839 to 1842 caused by the ambitions of various regional leaders to seize power and depose President José Ignacio de Márquez. It was called the War of the Supremes because of the participation of General José María Obando and other revolutionary gamonales who called themselves jefes supremos.
Domingo de Caycedo y Sanz de Santamaría was a Colombian statesman who served as the vice president of Gran Colombia and the Republic of New Granada. He served as acting President of Colombia a total of eleven times, the most terms any president has served to date. He is also credited for creating the Republic of New Granada after the division of Venezuela and Ecuador.
Pedro Alcántara Herrán Martínez de Zaldúa was a Colombian general and statesman who served as President of the Republic of the New Granada between 1841 and 1845. As a general he served in the wars of independence of the New Granada and of Peru.
José Arsenio Vicente del Carmen de Obaldía y Orejuela was the 7th Vice President of New Granada, and as such served as Acting President in two occasions.
Tomás José Ramón del Carmen de Herrera y Pérez Dávila was a Neogranadine statesman and general who in 1840 became Head of State of the Free State of the Isthmus, a short lived independent state which is located in what is now Panama. Tomás de Herrera also became acting President of the Republic of the New Granada for 3 months during the Colombian Civil War of 1854 against General José María Melo, who had committed a coup on 17 April.
José María Dionisio Melo y Ortiz was a Colombian general and political figure who fought in the South American wars of independence, and who rose to power and briefly held the presidency of Colombia in 1854. Of Pijao ancestry, he is considered the country's first and only indigenous president.
Mariano Ospina Rodríguez was a Colombian politician, journalist and lawyer, founder of the Colombian Conservative Party and later President of Colombia between 1857 and 1861 during the Granadine Confederation.
Manuel María Mallarino Ibargüen was the 8th Vice President of New Granada, and as such served as Acting President from 1855 to 1857.
José Santos Gutiérrez Prieto, was a Colombian statesman and soldier, who became president of the Sovereign State of Boyacá, and later elected as president of the United States of Colombia for the term of 1868-1870.
José María Ramón Obando del Campo was a Neogranadine General and politician who twice served as President of Colombia. As a General, he initially fought for the Royalist Army during the Independence Wars of Colombia, ultimately joining the revolutionary forces of Simón Bolívar towards the end, but once independence was attained he opposed Bolívar's Centralist government.
José María Rojas Garrido was a Colombian Senator, and statesmen, who as the first Presidential Designate became Acting President of the United States of Colombia in 1866 during the absence of President elect Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera. He was a prominent journalist for several Liberal Party newspapers, and is considered one of the most important orators in Colombia's history.
Juan José Nieto Gil was a Colombian politician, Army general and writer. A Liberal party caudillo of Cartagena, he served interimly as Governor of the Province of Cartagena, and was later elected President of the Sovereign State of Bolívar from 1859 to 1864. In 1861, during the Colombian Civil War, he fought on the side of the Liberal rebels against the Administration of President Mariano Ospina Rodríguez, and acting in rebellion proclaimed himself President of the Granadine Confederation in his right as the Presidential Designate, relinquishing power four months later to the Liberal leader, General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera y Arboleda, who led a successful coup d'état against the Conservative Government in Bogotá.
José Gregorio Ignacio Gutiérrez Vergara Azcárate was a Colombian politician and journalist, who served as Designated President of Colombia in 1861, during the War of Sovereignties. He was also Secretary (Minister) of Finance and President (Governor) of the Sovereign State of Cundinamarca.
The Colombian Civil War of 1851 was a Civil War in the Republic of New Granada between Liberals and Conservatives, fought between May and September 1851. The cause for the war was the Abolition of Slavery. The war was won by the Liberals.
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