Isthmus Department
Isthmus Department Department of the Isthmus | |||||||||||||
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1824–1855 | |||||||||||||
Status | State of Colombia | ||||||||||||
Capital | Panamá | ||||||||||||
Religion | Roman Catholic | ||||||||||||
Government | Federal republic | ||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||
• Established | 1824 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1855 | ||||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||||
• 1825 estimate | 80,000 | ||||||||||||
Currency | Peso | ||||||||||||
ISO 3166 code | PA | ||||||||||||
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Today part of | Panama |
The Isthmus Department, or Department of Panama (Spanish: Departamento de Panamá), was one of the departments of the Republic of Gran Colombia and later of the Republic of Colombia. It was created in 1824 and named after the Isthmus of Panama. It covered the territory of what is now the country of Panama and some coastal territories farther northward along the Caribbean shoreline of present-day Costa Rica and Nicaragua (Mosquito Coast).
After the
History
The region of Panama was part of the Spanish Empire during the wars of independence against the Spanish. On November 28, 1821, Panama proclaimed its independence from Spain. Independence was achieved without bloodshed and with the participation of the most prominent men of the country, who through their financial contributions neutralized the Spanish army that guarded the Isthmus. Panama's independence movement began on November 10, 1821 with the independence of the Villa de Los Santos [es] led by Segundo Villarreal; eighteen days later, on November 28, after the patriot victory at the Battle of Carabobo, there was emancipation from the Spanish Empire and Panama's decision to voluntarily join Gran Colombia was officially proclaimed.[1]
Several factors influenced the final decision to join Panama to Gran Colombia, instead of
In 1826, the same year in which the Isthmus rejected the Bolivian constitution, the Congress of Panama was held in the capital of the department. But this remarkable event was not an obstacle for the first attempt of separation from Colombia to take place in that year. It so happened that the Congress of Colombia ignored the requests for commercial franchises for the Isthmus, which frustrated Panamanian aspirations. Consequently, a separatist movement arose to turn Panama into a Hanseatic country, under the protection of the United Kingdom and the United States. The movement was, however, repressed by the Colombian military stationed on the Isthmus.[4]
Regarding concrete separations, the first was carried out under the leadership of General José Domingo Espinar [es], who separated the Isthmus on September 26, 1830. However, he returned to reintegrate it to Gran Colombia on December 11 of the same year. The second attempt was made by Colonel Juan Eligio Alzuru [es] on July 9, 1831, following the example of Venezuela and Ecuador. But the movement was suffocated and its leaders executed on August 29 of that year by orders of General Tomás de Herrera.[2]
Administrative divisions
The department of the Isthmus was constituted with the territory of the current Republic of Panama, the north of the current department of Chocó, and the Costa Rican southern Pacific (from Punta Burica to the Golfo Dulce). In 1824, by means of the Law of Territorial Division of the Republic of Colombia [es], the department was subdivided into provinces. According to the laws of Gran Colombia, the civil government of the department was headed by an intendant and the military authority was represented by the General Commander of the department.
According to the provisions of the Law of Division of Colombia of June 25, 1824, the department consisted of two provinces and 10 cantons:
- Province of Panama. Capital: Panama City. In 1822 it consisted of six cantons: Panama, Portobelo, Darien del Sur, Nata and Los Santos. In 1824 the province of Panama included the cantons of Panama, Portobelo, Yaviza (formerly Darien del Sur), Nata, Los Santos and Chorrera.
- Province of Veraguas. Capital: Santiago de Veraguas. In 1822 it consisted of two cantons: Santiago and Alanje.[5] In 1824 the province of Veraguas was made up of the cantons of Santiago, Alanje, La Mesa and Gaimí (head of Remedios).
References
- ^ "Acta de fidelidad del Departamento del Istmo de Panamá a la República de Colombia". www.bicentenarios.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ^ a b "Contraloría de Panamá: Datos generales e históricos de la República de Panamá" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2008-11-18.
- ^ Juan B. Sosa, Límites de Panamá, 1919, Revista Loteria, Pág. 18-19.
- ^ Quintero, César. Evolución Constitucional de Panamá. Editorial Portobelo, 1999. Panamá
- ^ "Historia de Panama". Chiriqui.org. Archived from the original on 2008-09-14. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
See also
- History of Panama
- History of the Panama Canal
- Panama–Colombia separation