[1] After the close of the Colombian War of Independence, the province of Bogotá became a territory of the first Republic of Colombia within the Cundinamarca Department.

When the (originally unitary) republic adopted a federal system, the province (along with Mariquita, Neiva, and San Martín) was designated the Sovereign State of Cundinamarca in 1857.

Multiple indigenous societies lived in the area of the province before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, including the Muiscas, Panches, and Pijaos.

[2] In 1536, the conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada led an expedition out of Santa Marta to explore the interior of New Granada.

The expedition defeated the Muisca Confederation and colonized a vast area along the course of the Magdalena River in the interior of the Colombian Andes.

[3] Emperor Charles I issued a real cédula in July 27, 1540 elevating the settlement of Santafé to the category of city, thereby granting it the authority to establish its own jurisdiction.

The Constitution of 1843 implemented a new division of the Republic of New Granada into provinces, which were further divided into cantons, and these into parochial districts.