During the Spanish American wars of independence (1810–1816), Mariquita declared itself a Free State and then joined the United Provinces of New Granada.

Prior to Spanish colonization, the area that was to become Marquita Province was home to several indigenous societies that had established complex trade networks with inhabitants of the Central and Eastern Cordilleras.

[4] The Spanish crown, under the direction of Don Juan de Borja, president of the Real Audiencia, launched a campaign of extermination against these indigenous groups.

Despite facing severe atrocities, many indigenous people, such as those led by Cacique Calarla, chose death over submission to Spanish rule.

[5] Between 1510 and 1540, the main governorships of the New Kingdom of Granada were established from the dissolution of New Andalusia and Castilla de Oro: Santa Marta, Cartagena, and Popayán.

[4] A significant event during this period was the selection of Mariquita by José Celestino Mutis in 1783 as the headquarters for the Royal Botanical Expedition to New Granada.

The town was also the birthplace of prosecutor Francisco Antonio Moreno y Escandón, colonial painter Gaspar de Figueroa, and prominent patriot José León Armero Racines.

Rebels attacked tobacco and aguardiente stores and the local jail, freeing prisoners who had communicated with José Antonio Galán, then in Mariquita.

This Convention declared that the province of Mariquita would be independent from Spain, Cundinamarca, or any other government not popularly and legitimately elected by the people.

The new governor and captain general of New Granada, Francisco Montalvo Ambulodi, assumed his position on May 30, 1813, and was promoted to viceroy on April 28, 1816.

Following the liberation of New Granada and Venezuela, the Congress of Angostura promulgated the Fundamental Law on December 17, 1819, establishing the Republic of Colombia.

Among these provinces was Mariquita, which encompassed approximately the territory of the present-day department of Tolima, as well as portions of what are now Antioquia, Caldas, and Cundinamarca.

Vesga's forces retreated to the plains of Calunga, where they were defeated by General Joaquín París's troops on January 9, 1841.

Like the modern departments that descend from the province, the terrain was traversed by countless rivers, streams, and creeks, including the Magdalena.

Although the general extent of the province almost always corresponded to what is now the department of Tolima, there were constant changes to the edges, particularly in the Nare River region).

[7] At the time of the proclamation of independence (1814), Mariquita bordered the following provinces (clockwise): Antioquia, Tunja, Santa Fe, Neiva, and Popayán.

Continuing through the highlands of Tigre and Canelo, it reached the mouth of La Mulata Creek in the Samaná River.

The border then followed the Samaná to its confluence with the La Miel River, tracing the latter upstream to its source in the Nevado del Ruiz.