The Free and Independent State of Cundinamarca (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''Estado Libre e Independiente de Cundinamarca'') was a rebel state in colonial

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 ...

, replacing the Spanish colonial

Viceroyalty of New Granada The Viceroyalty of New Granada ( es, Virreinato de Nueva Granada, links=no ) also called Viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada or Viceroyalty of Santafé was the name given on 27 May 1717, to the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire in norther ...

from 1810 to 1815. It was part of the Foolish Fatherland (''Patria Boba'') period at the beginning of the

Spanish American wars of independence The Spanish American wars of independence (25 September 1808 – 29 September 1833; es, Guerras de independencia hispanoamericanas) were numerous wars in Spanish America with the aim of political independence from Spanish rule during the early ...

. Its capital was

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, the former capital of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. Following the occupation of Spain during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, Cundinamarca was one of the states (such as

United Provinces of South America United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

(Argentina) and the

First Republic of Venezuela The First Republic of Venezuela ( es, Primera República de Venezuela) was the first independent government of Venezuela, lasting from 5 July 1811, to 25 July 1812. The period of the First Republic began with the overthrow of the Spanish colonial ...

) who replaced its

viceregal A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

government with a local ''

junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...

'' in the name of the deposed

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

. Following the creation of juntas all over New Granada, the provinces started establishing their own autonomous governments. Unable to unify them into a single state, the Junta Suprema in Santafé (the former vice-royal capital and the center of the Province of Cundinamarca), which had been installed on July 20, 1810, called for constitutional assembly for the province. In March, 1811, the province convened a "Constituent Electoral College of the State of Cundinamarca," which promulgated a constitution the following month declaring the creation of the Free and Independent State of Cundinamarca, with

Jorge Tadeo Lozano Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Viscount of Pastrana (January 30, 1771 – July 6, 1816) was a Neogranadine (now Colombian) scientist, journalist, and politician who presided over the Constituent College of Cundinamarca and was elected President of Cundin ...

as its first president. The constitution followed the model of the

Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

, and established Cundinamarca as a Catholic and constitutional monarchy, under the absent

(it would only declare full independence from Spain in August 1813).

Antonio Nariño Antonio Amador José de Nariño y Álvarez del Casal (Santa Fé de Bogotá, Colombia 1765 – 1824 Villa de Leyva, Colombia)Hector, M., and A. Ardila. Hombres y mujeres en las letras de Colombia. 2. Bogota: Magisterio, 2008. 25. Print. was a C ...

, who had been appointed as Mayor of the city of Santafé on August 30, 1811, started pushing for a strong centralist position from the newspaper he created, ''La Bagatela'' (or The Triffle). Nariño became a ruthless critic of Lozano, whom he accused of indecisiveness. The aggressive criticisms by Nariño and his followers led to a riot in the city on September 19, 1811, following which president Lozano and his vice president were forced to resign. Fearful of popular rioting, the legislature elected Nariño as president and conceded to his demands that increased the influence of the executive power. The conflict between centralist and federalist ideas that characterized the following years is called the

Foolish Fatherland The First Republic of New Granada, known despectively as the Foolish Fatherland (), is the period in the history of Colombia immediately following the declaration of independence from Spain in 1810 and until the Spanish reconquest in 1816. Th ...

. While Cundinamarca, including the old capital and administrative machinery, advocated the establishment of a strong centralist government, other parts of the old viceroyalty banded together as the

United Provinces of New Granada The United Provinces of New Granada was a country in South America from 1810 to 1816, a period known in Colombian history as '' la Patria Boba'' ("the Foolish Fatherland"). It was formed from areas of the New Kingdom of Granada, roughly corres ...

to support a

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

structure. Unable to unify the country in a centralist state, and fearing the loss of power that would come as a consequence of federalism, Cundinamarca under Nariño became embroiled in Civil War against other provinces, particularly Tunja, where the Federalist Congress had settled. On November 26, 1812, Nariño left with his army to conquer Tunja. On December 2, 1812, his army faced a federalist army commanded by

Antonio Ricaurte Antonio Ricaurte (June 10, 1786 – March 25, 1814) was a patriot of the Independence of Colombia and Venezuela and captain of Bolívar's army. He is remembered as the martyr of the Battle of San Mateo, where, in a heroic action, he blasted an e ...

and

Atanasio Girardot Manuel Atanasio Girardot Díaz (2 May 1791 – 30 September 1813) was a Colombian revolutionary leader. Son of Louis Girardot, wealthy merchant and French miner, Girardot fought with Simón Bolívar in the '' Campaña Admirable'' and other bat ...

in the Battle of

Ventaquemada Ventaquemada is a town and municipality in the Central Boyacá Province, part of the Colombian department of Boyacá. Ventaquemada is located at a distance of from the capital Bogotá and from the departmental capital Tunja. The urban centre is ...

, and was soundly defeated, having to retreat back to Bogota. The federalist troops, however, only started pursuing more than a week later. Following the defeat, and the subsequent declaration of independence from the Province of Socorro, Nariño resigned as soon as he arrived to the city, but not finding a suitable replacement, he was reinstalled as dictator. Nariño prepared to defend the city, which was sieged on December 24. Nevertheless, on January 9, 1813, in the Battle of San Victorino, Nariño's troops proved superior and the federalist armies were completely defeated. In June 1813, he was appointed dictator for life, and the following month, the Republic of Cundinamarca finally declared independence from the Monarchy. In July 1813, and motivated by his victory over the federalists, General Nariño began an intensive military campaign against the remaining Spanish and Royalist forces in the south, intending to reach

Pasto Pasto, officially San Juan de Pasto (; "Saint John of Pasto"), is the capital of the department of Nariño, in southern Colombia. Pasto was founded in 1537 and named after indigenous people of the area. In the 2018 census, the city had appr ...

and eventually

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

. Nariño's forces, known as the Army of the South, numbering 1500 to 2000 men, managed to capture

Popayán Popayán () is the capital of the Colombian departments of Colombia, department of Cauca Department, Cauca. It is located in southwestern Colombia between the Cordillera Occidental (Colombia), Western Mountain Range and Cordillera Central (Colo ...

in January 1814, but were utterly defeated in Pasto in May 1814, and Nariño was arrested and then sent to the Royal prison at

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

via Quito. The federalists took advantage of this to attack Bogota, which allowed General

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

of the United Provinces to force terms in December 1814. By mid-1815, however,

Pablo Morillo Pablo Morillo y Morillo, Count of Cartagena and Marquess of La Puerta, a.k.a. ''El Pacificador'' (The Peace Maker) (5 May 1775 – 27 July 1837) was a Spanish general. Biography Morillo was born in Fuentesecas, Zamora, Spain. In 1791 ...

arrived with a large Spanish force and returned the region to submission to the since-restored Ferdinand. Morillo's campaign culminated with the capture of Santafé on May 6, 1816.

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