Historic church of Cúcuta: Here the deputies of New Granada (Colombia) and Venezuela met to sign the Constitution of Cúcuta, by means of which Gran Colombia was created.
The Congress of Cúcuta was a constituent assembly where the Republic of Colombia (historiographically called Gran Colombia because it covered the territories of the previous viceroyalty of Nueva Granada and Venezuela, which are several nations today) was created. The Congress elected Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander president and vice-president, respectively.
Cúcuta was the birthplace of Simón Bolívar's dream of uniting South America in one single federal state, and of the principles upon which the political institutions of South America would replace those inherited from the 300 years of Spanish colonial history.
Prior to 1819, Simón Bolívar, as well as others who facilitated the revolutionary establishment of the Venezuelan Republic, referred to all of South America as Colombia. Since then, Bolívar had proposed the union of what is today Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador in a nation by the same name. Since Bolívar based the borders of the proposed nation on the principle of uti possidetis, Panama and Ecuador were included, despite having no representation at this Congress or the one in Angostura, since they had been part of the old Viceroyalty of New Granada. At the Congress of Angostura in 1819 the word "Colombia" was, therefore, used to describe this new country, when it was proposed. The cities of Bogotá, Caracas, and Quito were designated regional capitals within the new nation. Most of the territory of this Gran Colombia, with the exceptions of southern Colombia and Ecuador, was largely independent from Spain at the time the Congress of Cúcuta began holding sessions.
Commemoration of the Constitution of Cúcuta, which was the result of the Congress of Cúcuta.
The culminating event of the Congress of Cúcuta took place on August 30, 1821, in the city of Cúcuta. A constitution had been written which established the law of the Republic of Colombia (Gran Colombia), and determined the country's capital and political boundaries. The convention, organized by Antonio Nariño and led by Simón Bolívar.
At 11 o'clock on the morning of October 3, 1821 Simón Bolívar entered the debating chamber of the Congress of Cúcuta, located at the time in the sacristy of the parish church of the town of Villa del Rosario de Cúcuta (the old name for the town). He was accompanied by a commission of deputies and the members of the joint chiefs of staff of his armed forces. He sat beside the speaker of the assembly and, whilst the entire assembly stood, was sworn in as the President of the nascent Republic of Colombia, composed of Venezuela and Cundinamarca, the republican name by which New Granada was by then known. After a speech, and the naming of Santander as Vice-President, the text of the Constitution of the new republic was read out.
Documents
Bolivar's speech
Sir:
The oath I have just taken in my capacity as President of Colombia represents for me an act of conscience, which further places me under the obligation to submit to the laws of my country. Only a profound sense of respect for the will of the people could compel me to submit to the onerous position of Supreme Magistrate. The gratitude for so doing which I feel emanates from the representatives of the people, moreover, imposes upon me the pleasant duty, to continue in the service of my country, to defend, with my possessions, my blood and my honour, this Constitution, which cements the Rights of Man, joining them in the cause of freedom, the public good, and glory. The Constitution of Colombia, together with her independence, will constitute the Holy Altar on which I shall make the necessary sacrifices. For her I will march to the very edge of Colombia to break the chains which bind the sons of Ecuador, and, making them free, invite them to join her.
Sir, I hope that you will authorize me to join together, in beneficence, those peoples which nature and Heaven have made our brothers. Once this work, born of our wisdom and my zeal, is done, nothing will remain for us to achieve but peace, so that we may give to Colombia its rest and its glory. Therefore, Sir, I preach you ardently, do not show yourself deaf to the call of my conscience and my honour, which bid me loudly to remain solely a citizen. I feel the necessity of quitting the Presidency of the Republic, which the people hold as the Master of their Hearts. I am the son of war; a man brought to power only by dint of combat; fortune has kept for me this rank and victory has confirmed me in it. But these are not the titles consecrated by justice, good fortune, and the will of the people. The sword which has governed Colombia is not the scales of justice, but the whip of misfortune which, sometimes, Heaven lets fall to Earth to punish tyrants and boastful nations. That sword serves no purpose when there is peace, and this should be the last time I am permitted to wield it; so I have sworn to myself, because I have promised it to Colombia, and because there can be no Republic where the people cannot wield power. A man such as myself, is a dangerous thing in a popular government; my existence is a clear and present danger to the sovereignty of the nation. I would wish to be a citizen, a free man, so that all may be free men. I prefer the name of Citizen to that of Liberator, for the latter being born of war, the former is born of law. I beseech thee, Sir, I should give up all my titles, if in exchange I could procure but one: that of The Good Citizen.
"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 covering a total area of 115 thousand square leagues, 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 and Cundinamarca, 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, Quito and Bogotá, 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 and 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 has 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, 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, 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."
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar Palacios Ponte y Blanco was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bolivia to independence from the Spanish Empire. He is known colloquially as El Libertador, or the Liberator of America.
The military and political career of Simón Bolívar, which included both formal service in the armies of various revolutionary regimes and actions organized by himself or in collaboration with other exiled patriot leaders during the years from 1811 to 1830, was an important element in the success of the independence wars in South America. Given the unstable political climate during these years, Bolívar and other patriot leaders, such as Santiago Mariño, Manuel Piar, José Francisco Bermúdez and Francisco de Paula Santander often had to go into exile in the Caribbean or nearby areas of Spanish America that at the moment were controlled by those favoring independence, and from there, carry on the struggle. These wars resulted in the creation of several South American states out of the former Spanish colonies, the currently existing Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, and the now defunct Gran Colombia.
The Venezuelan War of Independence was one of the Spanish American wars of independence of the early nineteenth century, when independence movements in South America fought a civil war for secession and against unity of the Spanish Empire, emboldened by Spain's troubles in the Napoleonic Wars.
Bolívar's campaign to liberate New Granada was part of the Colombian and Venezuelan wars of independence and was one of the many military campaigns fought by Simón Bolívar. Bolívar's victory in New Granada secured the eventual independence of northern South America. It provided Bolívar with the economic and human resources to complete his victory over the Spanish in Venezuela and Colombia. Bolívar's attack on New Granada is considered one of the most daring in military history, compared by contemporaries and some historians to Hannibal’s or Napoleon's crossing of the Alps in 1800 and José San Martín's Crossing of the Andes in 1817.
Cúcuta, officially San José de Cúcuta, is a Colombian municipality, capital of the department of Norte de Santander and nucleus of the Metropolitan Area of Cúcuta. The city is located in the homonymous valley, at the foot of the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, on the border with Venezuela. It comprises an area of approximately 1119 km2, with an urban area of 64 km2 and a rural area of 1055 km2. The city has a population of 777,106 inhabitants, which makes it the most populous municipality in the department and the sixth most populous municipality in the country. Similarly, its metropolitan area has an approximate population of 1,046,347.
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. He was the acting President of Gran Colombia between 1819 and 1826, and later elected by Congress as the President of the Republic of New Granada between 1832 and 1837. Santander came to be known as "The Man of the Laws".
The Congress of Angostura was convened by Simón Bolívar and took place in Angostura during the wars of Independence of Colombia and Venezuela, culminating in the proclamation of the Republic of Colombia. It met from February 15, 1819, established the new independent-from-Spain nation on December 17, was interrupted by further independentist activity, and reconvened on July 31, 1821, when the Congress of Cúcuta began its sessions. The Angostura assembly consisted of twenty-six delegates representing Venezuela and New Granada.
The Gran Colombia–Peru War of 1828 and 1829 was the first international conflict fought by the Republic of Peru, which had gained its independence from Spain in 1821, and Gran Colombia, that existed between 1819 and 1830.
The Constitution of Cúcuta, also known as Constitution of the Gran Colombia and Constitution of 1821, was the founding document and constitution of the Republic of Colombia, unifying the territories of the Viceroyalty of New Granada as part of a federation. It was signed during the Congress of Cúcuta on August 30, 1821.
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 consisted of the present-day nations of Colombia and Panama and parts of northwestern Brazil. In turn, the Granadine Confederation was replaced by the United States of Colombia after another constitutional change in 1863.
Gran Colombia, or Greater Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1831. It included present-day Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela, along with parts of northern Peru, northwestern Brazil, and Guyana. The terms Gran Colombia and Greater Colombia are used historiographically to distinguish it from the current Republic of Colombia, which is also the official name of the former state.
The constitutional history of Colombia is the process of formation and evolution of the different constitutions that Colombia has had since its formation.
Juan Germán Roscio was a Venezuelan lawyer and politician of Italian background. He served as the secretary of foreign affairs for the Junta of Caracas, as Venezuela's first foreign minister, and as chief of the Executive during the First Republic of Venezuela. He was also editor for Gazeta de Caracas and ran the Correo del Orinoco. He was the main editor of the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence, the chief architect of the Venezuelan Constitution of 1811 and the electoral rules for the election of the first Congress. He was also president of the Angostura Congress in 1819 and vice president of Gran Colombia.
The Isthmus Department, or Department of Panama, was one of the departments of the Republic of Gran Colombia and later of the Republic of Colombia. It was created in 1824 and named after the Isthmus of Panama. It covered the territory of what is now the country of Panama and some coastal territories farther northward along the Caribbean shoreline of present-day Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Colombian-Spain relations are the bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Colombia, formally established in 1881, several decades after Colombia's independence from the Spanish Empire. Both nations are members of the Organization of Ibero-American States and the United Nations.
The Convention of Ocaña was a constituent assembly that took place in the Colombian city of Ocaña between April 9 and June 10, 1828. Its objective was to reform the Constitution of Cúcuta and resolve political differences concerning the future of the republic.
La Cosiata, also known as the Revolution of the Morrocoyes, was a political separatist movement that broke out in the city of Valencia, Venezuela, carried out by General José Antonio Páez and Miguel Peña Páez on April 30, 1826, fighting for Venezuelan secession from Gran Colombia.
The dissolution of Gran Colombia and the disintegration of its political structures and central government culminated in the creation of three independent countries: the Republic of Venezuela, the Republic of Ecuador and the Republic of New Granada.
The 1827 Guayaquil uprising, also known as the Guayaquil Department rebellion, was a rejection of the centralist policies of Gran Colombia. This was one of the first separatist rebellions in the country of Gran Colombia before it dissolved in 1829.
The Venezuelan independence was the juridical-political process that put an end to the ties between the Captaincy General of Venezuela and the Spanish Empire. It also implied the replacement of the absolute monarchy by the republic as the form of government in Venezuela.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
