Lylybium
25-06-2006, 20:07
Struggle for independence
July 20, 1810, the citizens of Bogotá created the first representative council to defy Spanish authority, with full independence being proclaimed in 1810. A long Independency War, led mainly by Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander in New Granada ended after the Battle of Boyaca, on August 7, 1819. That year, the Congress of Angostura established the Republic of Greater Colombia, which included all territories under jurisdiction of the Viceroyalty of New Granada.
The Republic
Bolívar was elected first president of Greater Colombia and Francisco de Paula Santander, vice president.
As the Federation of Greater Colombia was dissolved in 1830, the Department of Cundinamarca (as established in Angostura) became a new country, the Republic of New Granada.
In 1863 the name of the Republic was changed officially to "United States of Colombia", and in 1886 adopted its present day name: "Republic of Colombia".
Two political parties grew out of conflicts between the followers of Bolivar and Santander and their political visions -- the Conservatives and the Liberals -- and have since dominated Colombian politics. Bolívar's supporters, who later formed the nucleus of the Conservative Party, sought strong centralized government, alliance with the Catholic Church, and a limited franchise. Santander's followers, forerunners of the Liberals, wanted a decentralized government, state rather than church control over education and other civil matters, and a broadened suffrage.
In the late 19th Century, two civil wars resulted from bitter rivalry between the Conservative and Liberal parties. The War of a Thousand Days (1899-1902) cost an estimated 100,000 lives, and up to 300,000 people died during "La Violencia" (The Violence) of the late 1940s and 1950s, a bipartisan confrontation which erupted after the assassination of Liberal popular candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán.
A military coup in 1953 toppled the right-wing government of Conservative Laureano Gómez and brought Gen. Gustavo Rojas Pinilla to power. Initially, Rojas enjoyed considerable popular support, due largely to his success in reducing "La Violencia." When he did not restore democratic rule and occasionally engaged in open repression, however, he was overthrown by the military in 1957 with the backing of both political parties.
In July 1957, former Conservative President Laureano Gomez (1950-1953) and former Liberal President Alberto Lleras Camargo (1945-1946) issued the "Declaration of Sitges," in which they proposed a "National Front," whereby the Liberal and Conservative parties would govern jointly.
The National Front ended "La Violencia," and National Front administrations attempted to institute far-reaching social and economic reforms in cooperation with the Alliance for Progress. In the end, the contradictions between each successive Liberal and Conservative administration made the results decidedly mixed. Despite the progress in certain sectors, many social and political injustices continued.
The National Front system itself eventually began to be seen as a form of political repression by dissidents and even many mainstream voters, especially after what was apparently later confirmed as the supposedly fraudulent election of Misael Pastrana Borrero in 1970, which resulted in the defeat of the relatively populist candidate Gustavo Rojas Pinilla.
July 20, 1810, the citizens of Bogotá created the first representative council to defy Spanish authority, with full independence being proclaimed in 1810. A long Independency War, led mainly by Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander in New Granada ended after the Battle of Boyaca, on August 7, 1819. That year, the Congress of Angostura established the Republic of Greater Colombia, which included all territories under jurisdiction of the Viceroyalty of New Granada.
The Republic
Bolívar was elected first president of Greater Colombia and Francisco de Paula Santander, vice president.
As the Federation of Greater Colombia was dissolved in 1830, the Department of Cundinamarca (as established in Angostura) became a new country, the Republic of New Granada.
In 1863 the name of the Republic was changed officially to "United States of Colombia", and in 1886 adopted its present day name: "Republic of Colombia".
Two political parties grew out of conflicts between the followers of Bolivar and Santander and their political visions -- the Conservatives and the Liberals -- and have since dominated Colombian politics. Bolívar's supporters, who later formed the nucleus of the Conservative Party, sought strong centralized government, alliance with the Catholic Church, and a limited franchise. Santander's followers, forerunners of the Liberals, wanted a decentralized government, state rather than church control over education and other civil matters, and a broadened suffrage.
In the late 19th Century, two civil wars resulted from bitter rivalry between the Conservative and Liberal parties. The War of a Thousand Days (1899-1902) cost an estimated 100,000 lives, and up to 300,000 people died during "La Violencia" (The Violence) of the late 1940s and 1950s, a bipartisan confrontation which erupted after the assassination of Liberal popular candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán.
A military coup in 1953 toppled the right-wing government of Conservative Laureano Gómez and brought Gen. Gustavo Rojas Pinilla to power. Initially, Rojas enjoyed considerable popular support, due largely to his success in reducing "La Violencia." When he did not restore democratic rule and occasionally engaged in open repression, however, he was overthrown by the military in 1957 with the backing of both political parties.
In July 1957, former Conservative President Laureano Gomez (1950-1953) and former Liberal President Alberto Lleras Camargo (1945-1946) issued the "Declaration of Sitges," in which they proposed a "National Front," whereby the Liberal and Conservative parties would govern jointly.
The National Front ended "La Violencia," and National Front administrations attempted to institute far-reaching social and economic reforms in cooperation with the Alliance for Progress. In the end, the contradictions between each successive Liberal and Conservative administration made the results decidedly mixed. Despite the progress in certain sectors, many social and political injustices continued.
The National Front system itself eventually began to be seen as a form of political repression by dissidents and even many mainstream voters, especially after what was apparently later confirmed as the supposedly fraudulent election of Misael Pastrana Borrero in 1970, which resulted in the defeat of the relatively populist candidate Gustavo Rojas Pinilla.