Republic of Gran Colombia formally established

Background. The Congress of Angostura opened on 15 February 1819 as the national congress of the re-established Republic of Venezuela. At its first meeting on 19 February, Bolívar delivered his famous Address, whose proposals—including a ceremonial president-for-life, a hereditary senate, and a "moral" branch of government—were not accepted. The congress adopted the Venezuelan Constitution on 15 August 1819, but it was quickly made obsolete by the creation of the Republic of Colombia on 17 December 1819. Bolívar's desire to merge New Granada and Venezuela into a "greater republic of Colombia" is documented in his 1819 actions, including a provisional government in Bogotá with Santander before he resumed campaigning in Venezuela on 20 September 1819.

The Fundamental Law. On 17 December 1819, congressmen in Angostura enacted the Fundamental Law of the Republic of Colombia. This legislation gave the term 'Colombia' a specific geographic and political reference. The law established the state structure, though the full constitution was not promulgated until the Congress of Cúcuta in 1821, which formally defined the state's existence.