[1] After the disestablishment of Gran Colombia, the centralized government of the Republic of New Granada which was ratified by the constitution of 1843, was soon challenged by the independentist feelings of the different regions; particularly the provinces of Azuero, Chiriquí, Panamá, and Veraguas, which were demanding autonomous status.

During 1858 the new constituency, with its majority of conservatives, convened and signed the Constitution for the Confederation Granadine of 1858,[5] confirming Bogotá as its Federal Capital.

On May 10, 1859, another law was passed, this one giving the president the power to create administrative departments in states so to control their resources and how would they be used.

These laws angered many liberal leaders, especially general Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, an ex-president of New Granada, and a powerful and influential politician in the country.

This isolation and lack of roads was a severe restraint on the economy, as its already distant nuclei were too far from each other for trade to grow and investment to take place.

Although its population was still very Roman Catholic, and religion formed an essential part of life, the government approved a number of laws directed at controlling the clergy and church property during this time.

All of this drew direct criticism from the Vatican, even causing Pope Pius IX to condemn the government of Colombia for its actions.

After the creation of the Confederation Granadine, during the government of Mariano Ospina Rodríguez, the Jesuits were once again welcomed into the country and religious tensions eased.

This brief period of religious calm ended when Mosquera, who assumed the presidency a second time, continued with his anticlerical attitude driving once again the Jesuits out of the Confederacy giving them only seventy-two hours to leave the country or risk imprisonment, as he blamed them of endorsing the insurgency.

One of these was the Tuition of Cults, a law that prohibited religious officials to exercise their functions without authorization from the government, thus requiring special licenses to preach.

These laws were not approved as a direct attack on the Church, but what was pretended was to improve the situation of the national treasury which was depleted because of the Civil War currently being waged.

The Church assets were sold to the best buyer, improving industry and investment while putting money in the hands of the state.