States of Colombia

The centralist structure that came to be in the Republic of New Granada after the disestablishment of Gran Colombia and that was ratified by the constitution of 1843, was soon challenged; particularly the provinces of Azuero, Chiriquí, Panamá, and Veraguas, who were demanding an autonomous status.

Soon others followed suit, regionalism was too strong, and in order to prevent a breakup like the one Greater Colombia had, with Venezuela and Ecuador leaving the union, congress allowed the creation of other federal states: The Law of June 15, 1857, created the other states that would go on to form the Granadine Confederation: The nation was formed by the union of these Sovereign States which were confederated in perpetuity to form a Sovereign Nation, free and independent under the name of the “Granadine Confederation”.

In 1858 the new constituency, made up in its majority of conservatives, convened and signed the Constitution for the Granadine Confederation of 1858,[4] confirming Bogotá as its Federal Capital.

On July 12, 1861, after raising in arms against the constitutional government of the president Mariano Ospina Rodríguez, the general Tomas Cipriano de Mosquera created the Tolima State, carved out of Cundinamarca State.

The Colombian Constitution of 1886 converted the states into departments, the presidents became renamed as governors.