Forged through Family: Kinship, Factionalism, and Independence in Bogotá

News of the French invasion of Iberia and the abdication of the Spanish Monarchs in 1808 shook the Viceroyalty of New Granada. Within a year, the city of Quito had declared itself autonomous from New Granada only to be suppressed by royalist forces. By 1810, debates over the future of New Granada’s relationship with the struggling Spanish government spread across the kingdom. These debates invoked Spanish political traditions, questions of loyalty, and fears about the future of New Granada if Spain were to fall to the French. Importantly, participants argued over the question of autonomy and even the more radical step of declaring independence.

The outcome of the debates is well known. New Granada fragmented in the following years and experienced a brutal civil war in what makes up the period known as La Patria Boba. My paper examines the debates that occurred in Bogota using newspapers and correspondence to investigate the nature of the divisions between the new factions that emerged in the city. While the role of ideas is an important factor in explaining the divisions, kinship ties and familial obligations offer a powerful lens to understand how the community of Bogota grappled with issues like loyalty and independence. More importantly, kinship ties helped inform the creation of new political units that would be used to justify waging war.