But the incident did not revive Bolivar's waning popularity. News came in 1829 that Paez had again assumed the dictatorship of Venezuela. This was fatal to Bolivar's hopes. With New Granada in a ferment behind him he could not expect to conquer Paez and the formidable llaneros. He made a half-hearted attempt to raise an army, but recoiled before the insuperable difficulties. Again he resigned the presidency, protesting that he was ready to sacrifice all personal ambition to secure the integrity of the Colombian union and the establishment of a strong and ordered government. Again he was re-elected, but meanwhile civil war was raging in Ecuador, where his own troops disavowed his authority. Rebellion also broke out in Pasto, and Peru intervened in Ecuador and sent a fleet to capture Guayaquil and an army to invade Cuenca. Bolivar exhausted his last resources in despatching troops to meet the Peruvian onslaught, but the principal result of the war was to put General Flores in a position to make himself independent dictator of Ecuador. Despairing of longer maintaining himself, but loath to give up his ever-cherished idea of union, the Liberator entered into negotiations with European diplomats to appoint a prince of a reigning family as king of Colombia. But the idea was impracticable. There was no place for a monarch, either native born or foreign, on the Granadan highlands, and Venezuela had already virtually separated. Although a rebellion in Antioquia headed by his old companion in arms, General Cordoba, failed in the fall of 1829, at the end of the year word came that Venezuela had formally declared her independence and had pronounced a sentence of perpetual banishment against the Liberator. This was the last straw, and Bolivar made no further resistance to his fate, but summoned a congress and retired to his country house penniless, sick, and heartbroken. All his vast estates had been sacrificed to the cause of independence; the hardships of his innumerable marches over the cold mountain roads had broken his health; and his mode of life during the intervals of peace had not tended to restore it. Although only forty-seven he was a dying man. Still he clung to his hopes of vindication and re-election, but seeing that even the bulk of his own friends opposed, he at last sent in a formal resignation. He lived only a few months after congress had elected Mosquera president.
Though Bolivar's overthrow was a triumph for the federalists and red republicans, congress shrank from going too far and installed a wealthy aristocrat as president. However, his feeble administration was soon driven from power by the revolt of General Urdaneta, who made use of Bolivar's name as a rallying cry, but who in fact was actuated alone by personal ambition. The federalists and anti-Bolivarists did not leave him long in possession, and in May, 1831, he was expelled in his turn. Obando and Lopez, both bitter enemies of the Liberator during his lifetime, and the latter suspected of complicity in the cowardly murder of the great Marshal Sucré, came to the head of affairs. New Granada's intestine troubles made her too weak to attempt the coercion of Venezuela and Ecuador, so their independence was recognised and the Colombian republic ceased to exist.
CATHEDRAL—PANAMA.
A federalist Constitution for New Granada was framed in 1832, and shortly afterwards Santander became the first legal president. Unquestionably the strongest man in the nation, a good administrator and a shrewd politician, he was helpless to check the tendency toward disintegration, though he reduced Bolivar's army of twenty thousand to less than one half, and did much to establish civil administration. His energy in enforcing order earned him the title of the "Man of Laws," and many Granadans regard him as the real founder of their nationality. Marquez, who succeeded to the presidency in 1837, was not radical enough to suit the advanced federalists and republicans, although the first serious rebellion which broke out against him was caused by his suppression of convents in reactionary and Catholic Pasto. At the same time Obando was intriguing against the government, and many of the provincial governors aided the plots. When summoned to trial, Obando fled to the wilds of Popayan and Pasto, and civil war raged through 1839 and 1840. In this latter year Panama successfully revolted, maintaining its independence until 1842. Tomas Mosquera, the minister of war, with the help of his son-in-law, General Herran, eventually triumphed over the rebels. In 1841 the latter became president, and set vigorously to work to strengthen the power of the central government.
By this time, all the people who took any interest in politics had divided into two parties. The liberals insisted on universal suffrage, the separation of Church and State, the granting the provinces the fullest autonomy, the division of the greater portion of the national revenue among the provincial governments, and even opposed the theoretical right of any government to impose its will on the individual citizen. The conservatives believed in respecting the clergy, in continuing the old system of education under priestly control, and resisted any further emasculation of the national government. Herran recalled the Jesuits, and under his direction a conservative convention framed a more centralising Constitution than that of 1832. Bolivar's ashes were delivered to the Venezuelan government with impressive solemnities, and his memory apotheosised as the father of the nation and the apostle of centralisation. Herran was succeeded by his father-in-law, Tomas Mosquera. During his administration, which lasted until 1849, steam navigation was introduced on the Magdalena, the Panama railway was begun, the finances were brought into some sort of order, the army was further reduced, and the post-office system was improved.
CROSSING THE MOUNTAINS IN 1850.