The civil war of 1860–1862 resulted in the dissolution of the Granadine Confederation which had been subjected increasingly to efforts by conservatives to centralize rule over the federal states.

Already in July 1861, when Mosquera had taken Bogotá and declared himself provisional president of the nation, one of his first acts was to rename the country United States of New Granada.

[4] On 3 February 1863, Congress approved the name United States of Colombia for the country,[citation needed] and on 8 May, the Constitución de Rionegro [es] was promulgated.

During 1871, attempts at modernization and economic reform resulted in the Colombian peso being associated with the French franc as part of the international gold standard.

The conservatives immediately withdrew Colombia from the gold standard and the subsequent increase of printed currency resulted in troubling inflation.