Following the
occupation of Spain during the
Napoleonic Wars, Cundinamarca was one of the states (such as
United Provinces of South America (current Argentina) and the
First Republic of Venezuela) who replaced its
viceregal government with a local
junta in the name of the deposed
Ferdinand VII. 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 as its first president. The constitution followed the model of the
Constitution of the United States, and established Cundinamarca as a Catholic and constitutional monarchy, under the absent
Ferdinand VII (it would only declare full independence from Spain in August 1813).
Antonio Nariño, 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. 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 and eventually
Quito. Nariño's forces, known as the Army of the South, numbering 1,500 to 2,000 men, managed to capture
Popayán 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 via Quito. The federalists took advantage of this to attack Bogotá, which allowed General
Simón Bolívar of the United Provinces to force terms in December 1814. By mid-1815, however,
Pablo Morillo 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. == List of presidents of the Free and Independent State of Cundinamarca ==