The Colombian Civil War of 1876 (also called War of the Schools) was a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

in the

United States of Colombia United States of Colombia () was the name adopted in 1863 by the for the Granadine Confederation, after years of civil war. Colombia became a federal state itself composed of nine "sovereign states.” It comprised the present-day nations ...

(present-day

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

) that went on from 1876 to 1877. The causes of the war date back to approximately 1870, when members of the

Colombian Liberal Party The Colombian Liberal Party ( es, Partido Liberal Colombiano; PLC) is a centre to centre-left political party in Colombia. It was founded as a classical liberal party but later developed a more social-democratic tradition, joining the Socialis ...

led by the Liberal radical

Eustorgio Salgar Eustorgio Salgar Moreno Salazar (1831–1885) was a Colombian lawyer, general and political figure, who was president of the United States of Colombia from 1870 until 1872. Elected at age 39, he was the youngest president of Colombia. Biographi ...

attempted to introduce

public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

for the Colombian states, while the

Colombian Conservative Party The Colombian Conservative Party ( es, Partido Conservador Colombiano) is a conservative political party in Colombia. The party was formally established in 1849 by Mariano Ospina Rodríguez and José Eusebio Caro. The Conservative party along ...

advocated for putting education solely under the control of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church. Pasions and Interests: Civil war of 1876-1877 in the Sovereign State of Santander
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Antecedent

Its origin was the discontent of the conservatives for the secularizing measures adopted in education and for the openly anti-religious and anti-clerical spirit of the radicals. The government in power would have invited a German Mission to transform teaching methods in schools, until then controlled by the Catholic Church. This secularist initiative failed when the Church promoted resistance from conservative factions, which would end up sparking inter-partisan violence once again, blocking the attempt to secularize education.

War

At the beginning of 1876, in the government of Aquileo Parra, the Church continued to refuse to cede the monopoly of education and, in July 1876, war finally broke out in the State of Cauca, which hardened in the months following the United States. from Antioquia, Tolima, Cundinamarca and Santander.

References

Military history of Colombia Civil wars involving the states and peoples of South America 1876 in Colombia Civil wars of the Industrial era Conflicts in 1876 {{Mil-hist-stub

Antecedent

War

See also

References