It included present-day Colombia, mainland Ecuador (i.e. excluding the Galápagos Islands), Panama, and Venezuela, along with parts of northern Peru, northwestern Brazil, and claimed the Essequibo region.

Austria, France, and Russia only recognized independence in the Americas if the new states accepted monarchs from European dynasties.

The two of them had been allies in the war against Spanish rule, but by 1825, their differences had become public and were an important part of the political instability from that year onward.

Gran Colombia was dissolved in 1831 due to the political differences that existed between supporters of federalism and centralism, as well as regional tensions among the peoples that made up the republic.

The 1819 proclamation of a country with the name "Colombia" by the Congress of Angostura gave the term a specific geographic and political reference.

To break up regionalist tendencies and to set up efficient central control of local administration, a new territorial division was implemented in 1824.

[12] Realizing that not all of the provinces were represented at Cúcuta because many areas of the country remained in royalist hands, the congress called for a new constitutional convention to meet in ten years.

That year Colombia became the first Spanish American republic recognized by the United States, due to the efforts of diplomat Manuel Torres.

The two of them had been allies in the war against Spanish rule, but by 1825, their differences had become public and were an important part of the political instability from that year onward.

Having been incorporated later, Ecuador was also underrepresented in all branches of the central government, and Ecuadorians had little opportunity to rise to command positions in its army.

[14] The strongest calls for a federal arrangement instead came from Venezuela, where there was strong federalist sentiment among the region's liberals, many of whom had not fought in the war of independence but had supported Spanish liberalism in the previous decade and who now allied themselves with the conservative Commandant General of the Department of Venezuela, José Antonio Páez, against the central government.

That year, Congress began impeachment proceedings against Páez, who resigned his post on April 28 but reassumed it two days later in defiance of the central government.

In July and August, the municipal government of Guayaquil and a junta in Quito issued declarations of support for Páez's actions.

Bolívar, for his part, used the developments to promote the conservative constitution he had just written for Bolivia, which found support among conservative Ecuadorians and the Venezuelan military officialdom, but was generally met with indifference or outright hostility among other sectors of society and, most importantly for future political developments, by vice-president Santander himself.

In November two assemblies met in Venezuela to discuss the future of the region, but no formal independence was declared at either.

Internal political strife between the different regions intensified even as General Rafael Urdaneta temporarily took power in Bogotá, attempting to use his authority to ostensibly restore order, but actually hoping to convince Bolívar to return to the presidency and the country to accept him.

On 3 June 1828 Bolívar declared war on Peru over Gran Colombian claims on the Peruvian territories of Jaén and Maynas.

The United States wanted territorial rights in the future Panama Canal Zone, which Colombia had refused.

With the exception of Panama (which, as mentioned, achieved independence seven decades later), the countries that were created have similar flags, reminiscent of the flag of Gran Colombia: Before a new constitution could be written by the 1821 Congress of Cúcuta, the 1819 Congress of Angostura appointed Bolívar and Santander president and vice president, respectively.

The central government, which temporarily was to reside in Bogotá, consisted of a presidency, a bicameral congress, and a high court (the Alta Corte).

[20][21] In Peru, the dissolution of Gran Colombia is seen as a country ceasing to exist, giving way to the formation of new nation-states.

The significance of this view is that the treaties Peru had signed with Gran Colombia became void when the countersignatory ceased to exist.