Throughout history, the borders and territorial organization of Colombia have been through various transformations, mainly due to political and demographics criteria, but much less due to cultural factors, among other internal and external factors. Even when the independent governments have at various points tried to organize the territory of the nation in order to achieve a better administration, the general shape of the artificial borders of the subnational entities have followed the outline made during the Spanish conquest and the colonial periods.

Most of the territorial changes were made during the 19th century, the period in which the Colombian War of Independence took place, as well as the most violent civil wars that the country has endured.

Background The history of the administrative and political organization of Colombia does not begin with the arrival of the Spanish to the New World. Before this, numerous peoples and groups existed, each with their own cultural structures, differing from one another. One of such peoples, and perhaps the most advanced one, that inhabited the Colombian territory was the indigenous Muisca people, who formed one of the most organized societies of the continent in the interior of the country.

In 1508, the first colonial political and administrative subdivisions began to be made, in turn becoming the base for modern Colombia.

The Kingdom of Tierra Firme was created that same year, becoming the first Spanish colonial territorial entity on the continental New World. It covered the northern coastal territories of South America and the southernmost territories of continental Central America, from the Guianas all the way to the Cabo Gracias a Dios, in modern-day Honduras and Nicaragua. This entity was created 16 years after Columbus' landing at Guanahani and 9 years after the moment Alonso de Ojeda landed at Cabo de la Vela, in the Guajira Peninsula, the northernmost point of continental South America.

Earliest colonial territorial subdivisions

Early Spanish Colonial Governorates in Tierra Firme (1498–1526) +Governorates and Provinces of the Columbian Viceroyalty in Tierra Firme (1498–1526) Kingdom Capital CreationProvincesCapitalFromToNotes Tierra FirmeSanta María(1510–1520)Panama(1520–1526)Castilla de OroSanta María15141520Capital transferred to Panama CityPanama15201526Integrated into the Audiencia of HispaniolaCoquivacoaSanta Cruz15021504Abandoned by Alonso de Ojeda, its founderMargaritaNew Cadiz15251526Integrated into the Audiencia of HispaniolaSanta MartaSanta Marta15251526Integrated into the Audiencia of HispaniolaTrinidadCumucurapo15251526Integrated into the Audiencia of HispaniolaVeraguaNombre de Dios15081526Integrated into the Audiencia of Hispaniola Viceroyalty of New Granada (1717–1822) + Subdivisions of the Real Audiencias of Santa Fe, Quito, Panama and Caracas (1717–1822) Kingdom Capital CreationProvincesCapitalFromToNotes New Granada Santa Fe Santa FeSanta Fe15491810Declared autonomy and formed a free state18161819Reconquered in 1816. Part of Colombia in 1819AntioquiaAntioquia15761810Declared autonomy and formed a free state18161820Reconquered in 1816. Part of Colombia in 1819BorjaBorja17171721Returned to the Audiencia of Quito in 1721CaracasCaracas17171725Returned to the Audiencia of Santo Domingo in 1721CartagenaCartagena15491810Declared autonomy and formed a free state18161819Reconquered in 1816. Part of Colombia in 1819CasanarePore16601810Declared autonomy. Part of Colombia in 1819ChocóNóvita17261810Declared autonomy and formed a free state18161820Reconquered in 1816. Part of Colombia in 1820DariénYaviza17511821Declared autonomy. Part of Colombia in 1822GirónGirón16311794Integrated into the Province of New PamplonaGuayanaAngostura17171725Returned to the Audiencia of Santo Domingo in 172517621776Returned to the Audiencia of Santo Domingo in 1776GuayaquilGuayaquil17171721Returned to the Audiencia of Quito in 1721JaénJaén17171721Returned to the Audiencia of Quito in 1721MaracaiboMaracaibo17171776Returned to the Audiencia of Santo Domingo in 1776MargaritaLa Asunción17171725Returned to the Audiencia of Santo Domingo in 1725MariquitaMariquita15641810Declared autonomy and formed a free state18101820Reconquered in 1816. Part of Colombia in 1820NeivaNeiva16101810Declared autonomy and formed a free state18101820Reconquered in 1816. Part of Colombia in 1820New AndalusiaCumaná17171725Returned to the Audiencia of Santo Domingo in 172517401776Returned to the Audiencia of Santo Domingo in 1776New PamplonaNew Pamplona17951810Declared autonomy and formed a free state18161821Reconquered in 1816. Part of Colombia in 1821PanamaPanama17511821Declared autonomy. Part of Colombia in 1822PopayánPopayán17181721Returned to the Audiencia of Quito in 1721PortobeloPortobelo17511821Declared autonomy. Part of Colombia in 1822Quijos y MacasBaeza17171721Returned to the Audiencia of Quito in 1721QuitoQuito17171721Returned to the Audiencia of Quito in 1721RiohachaRiohacha17891823Conquered by Colombia by 1823San FaustinoSan Faustino16621810Integrated into the Province of New PamplonaSanta MartaSanta Marta15491822Conquered by Colombia by 1822SocorroSocorro17951810Declared autonomy and formed a free state18161821Reconquered in 1816. Part of Colombia in 1821Tierra FirmePanama17171722Returned to the Audiencia of Tierra Firme in 1722TrinidadSan José17171725Returned to the Audiencia of Santo Domingo in 1725TunjaTunja15491810Declared autonomy and formed a free state18161819Reconquered in 1816. Part of Colombia in 1819VeraguasVeraguas17171722Returned to the Audiencia of Tierra Firme in 172217511821Declared autonomy. Part of Colombia in 1822 Quito Quito QuitoQuito15631810Declared autonomy and formed a free state18121822Reconquered in 1812. Part of Colombia in 1822BorjaBorja16191822Conquered by Colombia by 1822CuencaCuenca17711822Conquered by Colombia by 1822EsmeraldasAtacames17381793Integrated into the Province of PopayánGuayaquilGuayaquil15631804Returned to the Audiencia of Peru in 1804JaénJaén15631821Joined the Republic of Peru in 1821QuijosBaeza17751804Returned to the Audiencia of Peru in 1804Quijos y MacasBaeza15631775Separated into the Provinces of Quijos and MacasPopayánPopayán15631821Conquered by Colombia by 1821MaynasJéberos16191804Returned to the Audiencia of Peru in 1804MacasMacas17751822Conquered by Colombia by 1822 Tierra Firme Panama Tierra FirmePanama15631751Passed to the Audiencia of New Granada in 1751VeraguasVeraguas15631751Passed to the Audiencia of New Granada in 1751 Venezuela Caracas CaracasCaracas17861811Integrated into the First Republic of VenezuelaGuayanaAngostura17861817Integrated into the Third Republic of VenezuelaBarinasBarinas17861811Integrated into the First Republic of VenezuelaMaracaiboMaracaibo17861821Conquered by Colombia by 1821MargaritaLa Asunción17861811Integrated into the First Republic of VenezuelaNew AndalusiaCumaná17861811Integrated into the First Republic of VenezuelaTrinidadPuerto España17861797Conquered by the United Kingdom

United Provinces of New Granada and Free State of Cundinamarca (1811–1816) Country Capital CreationProvincesCapitalFromToNotes United ProvincesTunjaAntioquiaAntioquia18111816Reconquered by Spain in 1816CartagenaCartagena18111816Reconquered by Spain in 1816CasanarePore18141819Incorporated into Colombia in 1819ChocóNóvita18131816Reconquered by Spain in 1816CundinamarcaSanta Fe18121812Left the federation in 181218141816Reconquered by Spain in 1816MariquitaMariquita18141816Reconquered by Spain in 1816NeivaNeiva18111816Reconquered by Spain in 1816PamplonaPamplona18111816Reconquered by Spain in 1816SocorroSocorro18121816Reconquered by Spain in 1816TunjaTunja18111816Reconquered by Spain in 1816Valle del CaucaCali18121816Reconquered by Spain in 1816 Cundinamarca Santa Fe CundinamarcaSanta Fe18111814Conquered by the United Provinces in 1814CasanarePore18131814Conquered by the United Provinces in 1814ChocóNóvita18111813Joined the United Provinces in 1813SocorroSocorro18121812Joined the United Provinces in 1812 Republic of Colombia (Gran Colombia) (1819–1831)

+ Subdivisions of the Republic of Colombia (1819–1831) Department Capital AdmissionProvincesCapital Apure Barinas BarinasBarinasAchaguasAchaguas Azuay Cuenca CuencaCuencaLojaLojaJaén y MaynasJaén Boyacá Tunja CasanarePorePamplonaPamplonaSocorroSocorroTunjaTunja Cauca Popayán BuenaventuraIscuandéChocóNóvitaPastoPastoPopayánPopayán Cundinamarca Bogotá AntioquiaAntioquiaBogotáBogotáMariquitaMariquitaNeivaNeiva Ecuador Quito ChimborazoRiobambaImbaburaIbarraPichinchaQuito Guayaquil Guayaquil GuayaquilGuayaquilManabíPortoviejo Istmo Panama PanamaPanamaVeraguasSantiago Magdalena Cartagena CartagenaCartagenaRiohachaRiohachaSanta MartaSanta Marta Maturín Cumaná CumanáCumanáBarcelonaBarcelonaMargaritaLa Asunción OrinocoCumanáApureAchaguasBarinasBarinasCumanáCumanáBarcelonaBarcelonaGuayanaAngosturaMargaritaLa Asunción Venezuela Caracas CaraboboValenciaCaracasCaracas Spanish Haiti Santo Domingo Santo DomingoSanto Domingo Zulia Maracaibo CoroCoroMaracaiboMaracaiboMéridaMéridaTrujilloTrujillo

United States of Colombia (1863–1886)

States of the United States of Colombia (1863–1886)

+ States of the United States of Colombia (1863–1886) Name CapitalEstablished Population(1874) Total area (1874)State creationJoined the US of Colombia mi2 km2 Antioquia ANT Medellín Bolívar BOL Cartagena Boyacá BOY Tunja Cauca CAU Popayán Cundinamarca CUN Bogotá Magdalena MAG Santa Marta Panamá PAN Panamá Santander SAN Socorro Tolima TOL Ibagué

Federal District of the United States of Colombia (1863–1886)

+ Federal District of the United States of Colombia (1863–1886) Name CapitalEstablished Population(1851) Total area (1862)CreationSuppression mi2 km2 Federal District DF Bogotá

Territories of the United States of Colombia (1863–1886)

+ Territories of the United States of Colombia (1863–1886) Name CapitalEstablishedUnder the jurisdiction ofCreationSuppressionState Bolívar ANT LandázuriSantander Caquetá BOL MocoaCauca Casanare BOY TameBoyacá La Guajira CAU RiohachaMagdalena San Andrés CUN San AndrésBolívar San Martín MAG San MartínCundinamarca Sierra Nevada PAN Espíritu SantoMagdalena Vásquez SAN Puerto ReyesCundinamarca

References