The Causes of the war of 1000 days (1900-1902) are closely linked to the political instability of Colombia during the nineteenth century.
This conflict was characterized by a Colombian civil war between liberal and conservative parties where Panama also participated as a department of the Colombian nation (in addition, the fight occurred almost entirely in Panama). It was nicknamed"war of 1000 days"for this time.
Throughout the nineteenth century, Colombia was a politically unstable country, a factor that evolved in 1886 to become the main cause of war. This was the year in which the constitution of 1863 was suppressed and replaced by a more centralist and conservative document.
The constitution of 1863 had been criticized as a result of federalist excesses during the period when the liberal radicals were in power.
With the period of Regeneration and the creation of the constitution of 1886, the centralist regime only managed to aggravate the political problems. The governments of some departments soon began to complain of these problems to the central government.
Poor policy decisions also gave rise to economic problems; The indigenous leader Victoriano Lorenzo had been fighting for the rights of indigenous land and economic autonomy, and soon negotiated an alliance with the liberal cause.
The war began as a result of the clash between liberals and conservatives.
These had used fraudulent elections to remain in power, and this led to much anger among the opposition. In addition, President Manuel Antonio San Clemente was too sick to rule the country, resulting in a power vacuum.
Causes of the war of 1000 days
Among the causes of this war was the opposition of the liberals to the government of Regeneration and the rejection of the Constitution of 1886 that they considered authoritarian.
At that time, the conservative party remained illegitimate in power through President Manuel Antonio San Clemente and Vice-President Manuel Marroquín.
The war began in the department of Santander and quickly spread to the rest of Colombia.
Since Panama was part of Greater Colombia, the military conflict also appeared there, however, it was not a war imposed from afar, as there were also deep differences between local liberals and conservative factions.
It is important to emphasize that all the causes of the war were political, it was not a war to defend the nation or a region. It also divided families and friends, even for economic reasons.
A major cause of the war for the Liberal Party was that they owned coffee plantations and merchants, who favored a government policy that had fewer regulations and lower tariffs.
But as a result of a conservative government that was in power, this faction was largely excluded from the decision-making process.
The Conservative Party, by winning the elections held in 1885, supposedly by fraudulent means created another factor that triggered the war, since the liberals did not accept the president-elect, as legitimate.
When customs revenues declined, the government issued currency notes without sufficient support and the value of the peso crashed, causing an economic crisis, leading the Liberals to the violence of the war.
Reform and amnesty were promised, but by not being fulfilled, the conflict extended to almost two and a half years (1000 days), the liberal party knew to be a loser, but did not want to give up because it felt such strong oppression from the conservative party .
Differences in morale, opinion and forms of government of both parties was another cause of this war.
Conservatives favored a strong central government, limited voting rights, and strong ties between church and state.
Liberals, on the other hand, favored stronger regional governments, universal voting rights and a division between church and state.
The first battle took place when the liberal forces tried to take Bucaramanga in November of 1899, but they were rejected.
A month later, the Liberals won their greatest victory of the war when the general Rafael Uribe Uribe Had a victory against the conservative force in the battle of Peralonso.
The victory in Peralonso gave the Liberals the hope and strength to extend the conflict for two more years against higher numbers. This was one of the main causes of the spread of the war, the hope of the opposition party.
The ruling government used military tactics, imprisonment and many other means to try to control the situation, but with little result, causing more hatred on the part of the opponents.
In this way, the pause of the war was short, reason why the violence continued. Thus, the lack of good tactics on the part of the government to end the opposition is considered another of the triggers of this conflict.
Other causes
In conclusion, the main triggers of this war of a thousand days, in summary way:
- The bad decisions and bad decision-making of the conservative party.
- The fraudulent choice that triggered it.
- Reduction of customs revenue.
- Bad economic measures.
- On the part of the liberals: Do not accept from early treaty treaties of peace offered.
- Outbreak of war in the coffee regions, being rural areas with little communication.
End of the war
From its inception to the next two and a half years, a disorganized guerrilla (an important cause in the development of the war, since they were ill-formed troops), but highly dangerous, exploded in rural areas with great destruction of property. This resulted in loss of life both in combat and illness.
Unable to pacify the camp by military tactics, imprisonment, fines and expropriation of property, the conservatives offered amnesty and political reform on June 12, 1902.
In November, the two most important liberal leaders, Rafael Uribe Uribe and Benjamín Herrera , Surrendered after negotiating peace treaties that promised amnesty, free elections and political and monetary reform. Panama separated shortly after the war.
References
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- Publisher team. (2010). "The War of a Thousand Days (1899-1902) - Part 1". Retrieved from panamahistorybits.com.
- British Encyclopedia publisher team (1998). "The war of one thousand days". Retrieved from britannica.com.
- Howerth, I. (1916). "The causes of war". The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 2, No. 2. (Page 118-124). Retrieved from jstor.org.
- "Republic of Colombia". Background. Retrieved from mtholyoke.edu.
- Mohan, K. (2014). "War of a thousand days." Retrieved from thehindu.com.
- Rochlin, J. (2011). "Social Forces and the Revolution in Military Affairs: The Cases of Colombia". Retrieved from hbooks.google.co.ve.