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Colombia Developments Leading to Independence
Throughout the colonial period, events in Spain
affected the
political, economic, and intellectual state of the
colonies. One
such event was the ascension of the Bourbons to the
Spanish throne
in 1700. Upon the death of Charles II--the last in the
line of the
Spanish Hapsburgs--the Austrian Hapsburgs and Charles's
nephew
Philip of Anjou, a Bourbon and the grandson of French king
Louis
XIV as well the designated heir to the Spanish throne,
contended
for the Spanish throne. The War of the Spanish Succession
(1702-14)
ended in the triumph of the Bourbons over the Austrians,
and the
Treaty of Utrecht recognized the Bourbon succession in
Spain on the
condition that Spain and France would never be united
under one
crown.
Beginning with Philip of Anjou, now known as King
Philip V
(reigned 1700-46), the Bourbon kings placed themselves in
more
direct control of their colonies, reducing the power of
the Supreme
Council of the Indies and abolishing the House of Trade.
In 1717
Philip V established the Viceroyalty of New Granada
(present-day
Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador), and in 1739
Bogotá
became its capital. Other Bourbon kings, particularly
Charles III
(reigned 1759-88), tried to improve the profitability of
the
American colonies by removing restrictions that had
hindered
Spain's economic development in the 1500s and 1600s. Such
measures
included the liberalization of commerce with the colonies
and the
establishment of additional authorized ports. In 1774 the
crown
allowed free exchange among the colonies of Peru, New
Spain, New
Granada, and Guatemala. These reforms allowed the crown
control
over the de facto trade among the colonies that previously
had been
illicit. When Charles III declared war on Britain in 1778,
he
levied taxes on the colonies to fund the war. These fiscal
decrees
affected imports and exports, the sale of general
items--especially
tobacco and alcohol--and the production of silver and
gold. The
crown demanded tribute from Indians and the church and
expected the
general population to fund the naval fleet that patrolled
the
Spanish American coast. Excessive and increasing taxation
in the
late 1700s contributed to the discontent of the criollos
with the
Spanish administration, which manifested itself in the
Comunero
Revolt of 1781, the most serious revolt against Spanish
authority
before the war for independence. The rebellion was a
spontaneous
but diffuse movement involving many towns. The most
important
uprising began among artisans and peasants in Socorro (in
presentday Santander Department). The imposition of new taxes by
the
viceroy stimulated the revolt further.
Almost without exception, the rebels expressed their
loyalty to
the king and the church while calling for a repeal of new
taxes and
a modification of government monopolies. The rebels
succeeded in
getting government representatives to abolish the war tax,
taxes
for the maintenance of the fleet, customhouse permits, and
tobacco
and playing-card monopolies; to reduce the tribute paid by
the
Indians and the taxes on liquor, commercial transactions,
and salt;
and to give preference to those born in the New World for
appointments to certain posts. Later, however, government
negotiators declared that they had acted under duress and
that the
viceroy would not honor the agreements. The leaders of the
rebellion were subjected to severe punishments, including
death for
the more prominent among them. The rebels had not sought
independence from Spain, but their revolt against the
king's
administration and administrators, despite protestations
of loyalty
to the king himself, was not far removed from a fight for
independence. In this light, the rebellion was a prelude
to the
struggle for freedom.
In the late 1700s, the Enlightenment served as a second
major
influence in the struggle for independence. After the
Comunero
Revolt, the outlook of the local upper-class and
middle-class
criollos changed as the ideas of the Enlightenment
strengthened
their desire to control their own destiny. This movement
criticized
the traditional patterns of political, economic, and
religious
institutions and as such was a threat to both the central
state and
the religious authorities. The North American and French
revolutions also contributed intellectual foundations for
a new
society, as well as examples of the possibilities for
change.
A third major event of the late colonial period that
may have
led to the struggle for independence was the Napoleonic
invasion of
the early 1800s. In 1807 Napoleon Bonaparte made his
brother Joseph
the king of Spain, forcing Charles IV to abdicate and his
son
Ferdinand VII to renounce the throne. In exile, Ferdinand
VII
organized royalist supporters under the Central Council
Junta
Central) of Seville, later called the Council of the
Regency
(Consejo de Regencia). This council constituted a
provisional
government for Spain and the colonies.
Both Napoleon and the royalists competed for support of
Spain's
colonists in the New World. Napoleon wrote a liberal
constitution
for Spain in which he recognized the colonies as having
rights
equal to those of Spain. In competition for the colonies'
loyalties, the Central Council offered them certain
privileges,
such as participation in Spanish courts. Colonists,
however, were
not satisfied with the council's measure because of the
larger
representation accorded the representatives from Spain.
Despite
conflict with the peninsulares holding colonial
authority in
the viceroyalty, additional concessions to criollos to win
their
support resulted in the creation of a criollo governing
council in
Bogotá on July 20, 1810. The new local government passed
reforms
favoring power-sharing by the criollos and
peninsulares and
loosened the economic restrictions previously placed on
the colony.
Most of the old Spanish laws remained in effect, however.
The
establishment of other criollo governing councils laid the
basis
for the first attempts at independence from Spain.
Data as of December 1988
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