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 main ideological leader in the creation of Gran Colombia was Simón Bolívar, known as the Liberator, who wanted to create a nation strong enough to maintain its independence and compete economically with the European powers. It was the most ambitious dream of unity in Latin America.
Background
Gran Colombia was created in 1819 with the union of New Granada (today Colombia), Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama in an attempt to unite the peoples of northern South America into a single nation. Its constituent nations saw the new republic as a joining of forces to prevent the re-establishment of viceregal power, not a social, economic and political union of societies that were markedly dissimilar in their composition and the structure of their social power.
Before the union, some constituent countries had already tried other forms of government, notably federalism in the United Provinces of New Granada and the United Provinces of Venezuela. These experiments and their ensuing confrontations with other groups that were pro-Spanish or advocated a more centralized government caused them to fail and be reconquered by viceregal forces. Simón Bolívar concluded that a nation should be built with a solid unitary base in his Letter from Jamaica.
After the Republic was formed, the differences of opinions between federalists and centralists, as well as the disparities between the regions and their differing interests, accelerated the dispute over Gran Colombia's form of government. As a form of concertation, he decided on the centralist system headed by Bolívar.
Quito and Panama had not had real representation in the 1821 constitutional deliberations in Villa del Rosario, because they didn't formally become part of Gran Colombia until 1822. Despite support for the Constitution of 1821 in Guayaquil, Quito and Caracas, many supported a federalist constitution that allowed regional control and freedom; in particular, the Venezuelan military hoped to exert more power in its region. Likewise, the heroes and leaders of Panama were businessmen linked to shipping and international traffic. Anglophiles for mercantile reasons, they professed Manchester liberalism and therefore supported state abstentionism, free trade and an essentially commercial economy.
The union of the four nations had never been solid due to their uneven economic development and the lack of connecting routes between the three regions of the country, in which cohesion was only maintained during the war years thanks to the prestige and will of Bolivar.
Members of the military had been given the right to vote in the Constitution of 1821 as recognition for their effort in Bolívar's campaign to liberate New Granada. In 1827 Congress made a constitutional change so that only officers could vote.
La Cosiata
As a result of the constant onslaught of royalist guerrillas and the prevailing fear of a supposed "Holy Alliance" between France and Spain to recover the American colonies, Francisco de Paula Santander decreed on August 31, 1824 a general enlistment of all citizens between 16 and 50 years old, demanding from the department of Venezuela a contingent of 50,000 men to be sent to Bogotá. General José Antonio Páez, who had been exercising the functions of General Commander of the department since 1822, delayed the execution of the decree for almost a year, fearful not only of a general mutiny, but also to demonstrate his displeasure with the decisions of the central government.
After several uprisings in Venezuela due to forced enlistment, the continuous pressure from Bogotá to abide by the decree and also the intervention of influential leaders, including Miguel Peña, finally, José Antonio Páez declared himself in disobedience on April 30, 1826, assuming the government of Venezuela and committing himself not to obey orders from the Central Government of Bogotá.
Bolívar had been re-elected President and upon learning of this situation, left Lima for Venezuela on September 4, arriving in Guayaquil on September 12 and Bogotá on November 16, then heading to Cartagena and from there by sea, arriving in Puerto Cabello on December 31. Days later Bolívar met with Páez, reaffirmed the union, granted him a general amnesty and ratified him as civil and military chief of Venezuela. However, the divisions between Venezuelans and New Granadans grew in view of the delay in the constitutional reforms requested by the citizens, and intensified in subsequent years.