The causes of the 1000-day war (1900-1902) are closely linked to the Colombian political instability experienced during the 19th century.
This conflict was characterized by being 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 "the war of 1000 days" for lasting this time.
Throughout the 19th century, Colombia was a politically unstable country, a factor that evolved in 1886 to become the main cause of the war. This was the year that the 1863 constitution was suppressed and replaced by a more centralist and conservative document.
The 1863 constitution had been criticized as a result of federalist excesses during the period when the Liberal Radicals were in power.
With the period of La Regeneración and the creation of the 1886 constitution, the centralist regime only managed to aggravate the political problems. The governments of some departments soon began to complain about these problems to the central government.
Poor political decisions also led to economic problems; Indigenous leader Victoriano Lorenzo had been fighting for indigenous land rights and economic autonomy, and soon negotiated an alliance with the liberal cause.
The war began as a result of the confrontation between the liberals and the conservatives.
They had used fraudulent elections to stay in power, and this led to much anger among the opposition. Additionally, President Manuel Antonio San Clemente was too ill to rule the country, resulting in a power vacuum.
Causes of the 1000 day war
Among the causes of this war was the opposition of the liberals to the government of the Regeneration and the rejection of the Constitution of 1886 which 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 profound differences between the local liberals and the conservative factions.
It is important to note that all the causes of the war were political, it was not a war to defend the nation or a region. In addition, it divided families and friends, until it was extended to economic reasons.
A great cause of the war for the Liberal Party was that they were coffee plantation owners and traders, who were in favor of a government policy that had fewer regulations and lower fees.
But as a result of a conservative government 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 backing, and the value of the peso crashed, causing an economic crisis, driving the liberals into the violence of war.
Reforms and amnesty were promised, but when they were not fulfilled, the conflict was prolonged to almost two and a half years (1000 days), the liberal party knew itself to be the loser, but did not want to give up because of feeling such strong oppression from the conservative party.
The differences in moral, 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 1899, but were repulsed.
A month later, the Liberals won their greatest victory of the war when General Rafael Uribe Uribe had a victory against the Conservative force at the Battle of Peralonso.
The victory in Peralonso gave the Liberals hope and strength to extend the conflict for two more years against superior numbers. This was one of the main causes of the extension 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 to little avail, causing more hatred from opponents.
In this way, the pause of the war was short, so 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 thousand-day war, in summary:
- The slights and poor decision making of the conservative party.
- The fraudulent election that triggered it.
- Reduction of customs revenue.
- Bad economic measures.
- On the part of the liberals: Do not accept the peace treaties offered early on.
- Outbreak of war in the coffee growing regions, being rural areas with little communication.
End of the war
From its beginning until the next two and a half years, a disorganized guerrilla (an important cause in the development of the war, since they were poorly formed troops), but highly dangerous, broke out in rural areas with great destruction of property. This fact resulted in the loss of life both in combat and illness.
Unable to pacify the countryside through 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 Benjamin Herrera, surrendered after negotiating peace treaties that promised amnesty, free elections, and political and monetary reform. Panama separated shortly after the war.
References
- Editorial team. (2017). "The war of one thousand days." Recovered from incaribe.org.
- Editorial team. (2010). "The War of a Thousand Days (1899-1902) - Part 1". Recovered from panamahistorybits.com.
- Editorial team of Encyclopedia Britannica (1998). "The war of one thousand days." Recovered from britannica.com.
- Howerth, I. (1916). "The causes of war". The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 2, No. 2. (Pages 118-124). Recovered from jstor.org.
- "Republic of Colombia". Background. Recovered from mtholyoke.edu.
- Mohan, K. (2014). "War of a thousand days". Recovered from thehindu.com.
- Rochlin, J. (2011). "Social Forces and the Revolution in Military Affairs: The Cases of Colombia". Recovered from hbooks.google.co.ve.