Cauca State was one of the

states of Colombia States of Colombia existed from February 27, 1855, in the Republic of New Granada and the Granadine Confederation, where they were called "federal states". In the United States of Colombia they were called "sovereign states" (though they were not a ...

, which existed from 1857 until 1886. Today the area of the former state makes up most of modern-day west and southern Colombia, with some portion of its vast territories acquired by present-day Peru, Brazil, Ecuador and Venezuela.

Naming

* 15 June 1857 created as Estado Federal del Cauca (Federal State of Cauca). * 1858 recognized as ''Estado de la Federación'' in the 1858 constitution of the

Granadine Confederation The Granadine Confederation () was a short-lived federal republic established in 1858 as a result of a constitutional change replacing the Republic of New Granada. It consisted of the present-day nations of Colombia and Panama and parts of north ...

, * 1863 named Estado Soberano del Cauca (Sovereign State of Cauca) in the 1863 constitution of the

United States of Colombia The United States of Colombia () was the name adopted in 1863 by the for the Granadine Confederation, after years of civil war. Colombia became a federal state itself composed of nine "sovereign states.” It comprised the present-day nat ...

. Known as "Gran Cauca", because it was the largest and richest of the Union.

Subdivisions

On 15 June 1857 law, the state was divided into the following provincesGeografía Física y Política de la Confederación Granadina: Estado del Cauca, Obra dirigida por el General Agustín Codazzi, 2003 * Barbacoas Province (capital Barbacoas). *

Buenaventura Province Buenaventura Province was one of the provinces of Gran Colombia. It belonged to the Cauca Department Cauca Department (, ) is a department of Southwestern Colombia. Located in the southwestern part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean t ...

(capital Cali). * Chocó Province (capital

Quibdó Quibdó () is the capital city of Chocó Department, in the Pacific/Chocó natural region, Pacific Region of Colombia, and is located on the Atrato River. The municipality of Quibdó has an area of and a population of 129,237, predominantly A ...

). * Cauca Province (capital

Buga Buga may refer to: * Buga (surname) Places * Mount Buga, an inactive volcano in Zamboanga del Sur province, the Philippines * Buga (barangay), a barangay in San Miguel Municipality, Bulacan, Philippines * Buga, Valle del Cauca, city and municipa ...

). * Pasto Province (capital

San Juan de Pasto Pasto, officially San Juan de Pasto (; "Saint John of Pasto"), is the capital of the department of Nariño, in southern Colombia. Pasto was founded in 1537 and named after indigenous people of the area. In the 2018 census, the municipality ...

). *

Popayán Province Popayán Province was first a Spanish jurisdiction under the Royal Audience of Quito and the Royal Audience of Santafé, and after independence, was one of the provinces of the Cauca Department (Gran Colombia), later becoming the Republic of New ...

(capital

Popayán Popayán () is the capital of the Colombian department of Cauca. It is located in the Pubenza Valley in southwestern Colombia between the Western Mountain Range and Central Mountain Range. The municipality has a population of 318,059, an a ...

). *

Túquerres Province Túquerres is a town and municipality in the Nariño Department, Colombia. Climate Túquerres has a cold highland Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ...

(capital

Ipiales Ipiales is a city and Catholic bishopric in Nariño Department, southern Colombia, near the border with Ecuador. It is located at around , with an elevation of about 2950 m. Ipiales is located on the high plateau called "Tuquerres e Ipiales," the ...

). *

Caquetá Territory The Caquetá Territory () was a national territory of the Republic of New Granada and the subsequent states of the Granadine Confederation and the United States of Colombia from 1845 to 1886. Its capital was Mocoa. History The Caquetá Terri ...

(capital

Mocoa Mocoa () ( Kamëntšá: Shatjok) is a municipality and capital city of the department of Putumayo in Colombia. The city is located in the northwest of the Putumayo department Putumayo () is a departments of Colombia, department of Southern ...

). In 1858, the setup was changed, Barbacoas and Túquerres were added to Pasto: *

(capital Cali). * Chocó Province (capital

). * Cauca Province (capital

). * Pasto Province (capital

). *

(capital

). *

(capital

). In 1874, the provinces had been changed into municipalities and the number increased to 16: * Atrato (capital

). * Barbacoas (capital Barbacoas). * Buenaventura (capital Buenaventura). * Buga (capital

). * Caldas (capital Almaguer). * Cali (capital Cali). * Obando (capital

). * Palmira (capital Palmira). * Pasto (capital

). * Popayán (capital

). * Quindío (capital Cartago). * Santander (capital

Santander de Quilichao Santander de Quilichao is a city in the north of the Cauca Department, Colombia at 97 km to the north of Popayán and 45 km to the south of Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and th ...

). * San Juan (capital

Nóvita Nóvita is a municipality and town in the Chocó Department, Colombia. It was the first capital of Chocó Province. It was a traditional center for gold mining, Many of its residents are Afro-Colombians. In the 1850s, supplies, and possibly even ...

). * Toro (capital

Toro Toro may refer to: Places *Toro, Molise, a ''comune'' in the Province of Campobasso, Italy *Toro, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria *Toro, Shizuoka, an archaeological site in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan *Toro, Zamora, a ''m ...

). * Tulúa (capital

Tuluá Tuluá (), is a city located in the heart of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. A major industrial and commercial center, it is the region's fourth-largest city after Cali—the department capital— Palmira and Buenaventura. Founded around 1741 by Juan ...

). * Túquerres (capital Túquerres).

Naming

Subdivisions

References

See also