Patria Boba: Bogotá declares independence from Spain

Background. The crisis of the Spanish monarchy caused by Napoleon's forced abdications of Charles IV and Ferdinand VII in 1808 precipitated the events of July 20, 1810. News of the dissolution of the Supreme Central Junta in favor of a regency arrived in mid-1810, prompting cities in New Granada to establish their own autonomous governments. This political turmoil set the stage for the assembly in Santafé de Bogotá.

The Assembly. On July 20, 1810, José Acevedo y Gómez and six other patriots, including Camilo Torres Tenorio, Francisco Jose de Caldas, and Jorge Tadeo y Lozano, met in Santafé de Bogotá and proclaimed the independence of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. The day saw street riots that turned chaotic and ineffective. Separately, the governing junta created in the capital overthrew the reigning viceroy of New Granada and established an autonomous government claiming sovereignty over the whole viceroyalty.

Aftermath. On the morning of July 21, 1810, a document known as the Act of Independence was drafted and signed by the members of the group. The junta established an autonomous government claiming sovereignty over all of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. The period following the 1810 declaration became known as la Patria Boba, the Foolish Fatherland, because of intense conflicts over the nature of the new government or governments.