The
Republic of Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), or Greater Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1 ...
was a former independent country in northern
South America, a post-Spanish colonial country that existed from 1819 to 1831. Its initial subdivisions, created in 1820, were revised and expanded in 1824.
1820 Departments
The initial country subdivision of Gran Colombia was into three
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
s, without larger districts or smaller provinces. They were:
*
Cundinamarca Department
*
Quito Department
*
Venezuela Department
1824 Districts, departments, & provinces
Distrito del Norte
The Distrito del Norte (northern district) was in present-day
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. Its departments and provinces were:
*
Apure Department: 2 provinces —
Barinas Province
Barinas Province (1786 - 1864) was a province of the Captaincy General of Venezuela and later of Venezuela.
It was founded on 15 February 1786, with territory formerly part of the Maracaibo Province. In 1823, Apure Province was split from Barin ...
and
Achaguas Province.
*
Orinoco Department: 4 provinces —
Cumaná Province,
Barcelona Province,
Guayana Province
Guayana Province (1585−1864) was a former province of Spanish Colonial Venezuela and independent Venezuela, located in the Guyana region of northeastern South America.
The province was part of the Spanish colonial New Andalusia Province and ...
and
Margarita Province
Margarita Province (1525 - 1864) was one of the provinces of the Spanish Empire, then one of the provinces of Gran Colombia, and later one of the Provinces of Venezuela. In Gran Colombia it belonged to the Orinoco Department which was created in ...
.
*
Venezuela Department: 2 provinces —
Caracas Province and
Carabobo Province.
*
Zulia Department: 4 provinces —
Maracaybo/Maracaibo,
Coro Province
Coro Province (1811 - 1864) was a province in the Zulia Department of Gran Colombia, and later one of the provinces of Venezuela, after Venezuelan independence in 1830. In 1864 it became one of the States of Venezuela
The Bolivarian Republ ...
,
Mérida Province and
Trujillo Province.
Distrito del Centro
The Distrito del Centro (central district) was in present-day
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Cari ...
and
Panamá
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cost ...
. Its departments and provinces were:
*
Boyacá Department
Boyacá () is one of the thirty-two departments of Colombia, and the remnant of Boyacá State, one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".
Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the moun ...
: 4 provinces —
Tunja Province,
Casanare Province,
Pamplona Province, and
Socorro Province.
*
Cauca Department
Cauca Department (, es, Departamento del Cauca) is a Department of Southwestern Colombia. Located in the southwestern part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Valle del Cauca Department to the north, Tolima Department to ...
: 4 provinces —
Popayán Province,
Buenaventura Province
Buenaventura Province was one of the provinces of Gran Colombia. It belonged to the Cauca Department which was created in 1824. In 1857 Cauca State
Cauca State was one of the states of Colombia.
Today the area of the former state makes up mo ...
,
Chocó Province,
Pasto Province.
*
Cundinamarca Department: 4 provinces —
Bogotá Province,
Antioquia Province,
Mariquita Province,
Neiva Province.
*
Istmo Department: 2 provinces —
Istmo Province and
Veraguas Province
Veraguas () is a province of Panama, located in the centre-west of the country. The capital is the city of Santiago de Veraguas. It is the only Panamanian province to border both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It covers an area of 10,587.6&n ...
.
*
Magdalena Department: 3 provinces —
Cartagena Province,
Riohacha Province,
Santa Marta Province.
Distrito del Sur
The Distrito del Sur (southern district) was in present-day
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...
, and north of
Marañón River
, name_etymology =
, image = Maranon.jpg
, image_size = 270
, image_caption = Valley of the Marañón between Chachapoyas ( Leimebamba) and Celendín
, map = Maranonrivermap.png
, map_size ...
in present-day
Perú
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
. Its departments and provinces were:
*
Azuay Department
Azuay Department was created with the 1824 reform of the subdivisions of Gran Colombia.
* Cuenca Province - Capital: Cuenca. Cantons: Cuenca, Cañar, Gualaseo y Girón.
* Loja Province - Capital: Loja. Cantons: Loja, Catacocha, Cariamanga y Z ...
: 3 provinces —
Cuenca Province,
Loja Province
Loja Province () is one of 24 provinces in Ecuador and shares its southern border on the west with El Oro Province, on the north with El Azuay, and on the east with Zamora-Chinchipe. Founded on its present site in 1548 by Captain Alonso de Me ...
,
Jaén de Bracamoros y Maynas Province.
*
Guayaquil Department
Guayaquil Department was one of the departments of Gran Colombia.
It bordered
* Ecuador Department in the East
* Azuay Department in the South
* Pacific Ocean in the West
Subdivisions
2 provincias y 9 cantones:
* Guayaquil Province. Capita ...
: 2 provinces —
Guayaquil Province
, motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America
, pushpin_re ...
and
Manabi Province.
*
Ecuador Department
Ecuador Department was one of the departments of Gran Colombia.
It had borders to:
* Azuay Department in the South.
* Guayaquil Department in the West.
Subdivisions
3 provincias and 15 cantones:
* Pichincha Province. Capital: Quito. Canton ...
: 3 provinces —
Pichincha Province
Pichincha () is a province of Ecuador located in the northern Sierra region; its capital and largest city is Quito. It is bordered by Imbabura and Esmeraldas to the north, Cotopaxi and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas to the south, Napo and ...
,
Chimborazo Province
Chimborazo () is a province in the central Ecuadorian Andes. It is a home to a section of Sangay National Park. The capital is Riobamba. The province contains Chimborazo (6,267 m), Ecuador's highest mountain.
Cantons
The province is divided i ...
and
Imbabura Province
Imbabura () is a province located in the Andes of northern Ecuador. The capital is Ibarra. The people of the province speak Spanish, and a large portion of the population also speaks the Imbaburan Kichwa variety of the Quechua language.
The ...
.
Maps of subdivisions
File:AGHRC (1890) - Carta IX - Guerras de independencia en Colombia, 1821-1823.jpg , 3 departments in 1820: Quito, Cundinamarca, Venezuela
File:AGHRC (1890) - Carta XI - División política de Colombia, 1824.jpg , 12 departments in 1824
File:Carta de la República de Gran Colombia.jpg , Gran Colombia in 1827
See also
*
Provinces of Gran Colombia
*
Departments of Colombia
Colombia is a unitary republic made up of thirty-two departments ( Spanish: ''departamentos'', sing. ''departamento'') and a Capital District ('' Distrito Capital''). Each department has a governor (''gobernador'') and an Assembly (''Asamblea ...
— ''in present day country''.
External links
*
Ley de División Territorial de la República de Colombia—
*
Historia territorial de Colombia—
{{Gran Colombia independence, state=collapsed