NEW KINGDOM OF GRANADA

The 'New Kingdom of Granada' (Spanish: ''Nuevo Reino de Granada'') was the name given to a group of 16th century Spanish colonial provinces in northern South America, corresponding mainly to modern Colombia. It became part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada in 1717, and ceased to exist altogether with the latter's end in 1819 and the establishment of an independent republic.

Contents

Colonial history

Administrative divisions

Main cities

Colonial history

In 1514, the Spanish first permanently settled in the area. With Santa Marta (founded on July 29, 1525 by the Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas) and Cartagena (1533), Spanish control of the coast was established, and the extension of colonial control into the interior could begin. The ''conquistador'' Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada colonised a large area in the region, by following the Magdalena River into the Andean cordillera, defeating the powerful Chibcha people and founding the city of Santa Fé de Bogotá (''c.'' 1538, currently Bogotá) and naming the region ''El nuevo reino de Granada'', "the new kingdom of Granada", after the kingdom of Granada which had existed until 1492 in southernmost Spain.
To establish civil government in New Granada, an ''Audiencia'' (a "court of hearing") was established at Santa Fé de Bogotá in 1548-1549, a body that combined executive and judicial authority, until a ''presidencia'' or governor was established in 1564, assuming executive powers. At this point, New Granada was considered a Captaincy General within the Viceroyalty of Peru. The jurisdiction of the ''Audiencia'' court over the surrounding provinces determined the territory corresponding to New Granada, as new provinces were created in the following years.
The governor was loosely dependent upon the Viceroy of Peru at Lima, but the slowness of communications between the two capitals led to the establishment of an independent Viceroyalty of New Granada in 1717 (and its reestablishment in 1739 after a short interruption).

Administrative divisions

The New Kingdom was organized several Governments and Provinces:

Government/Province	Capital	Established	Founder
Government of Santa Marta	Santa Marta	1525	don Rodrigo de Bastidas
Government of Cartagena de Indias	Cartagena de Indias	1533	don Pedro de Heredia (Alternative Capital of Viceroyalty)
Government of Popayan	Popayan	1537	don Sebastián de Belalcázar
Province of Pasto	San Juan de Pasto	1539	don Lorenzo de Aldana
Government of Santa Fé (De Bogotá)	Santa Fé de Bogota	1538	don Gonzalo Ximénez de Quezada (Capital of Viceroyalty)
Government of Tunja	Tunja	1539	don Gonzalo Suárez Rendón
Government of Antioquia	Santa Fé de Antioquia	1541	don Jorge Robledo
Province of Chocó	Quibdó	1648	Manuel Cañizales
Government of Panama	Ciudad de Panama	1519	don Pedro Arias Davila
Vast Province of Guyana (special province)	Angostura	1595	don Antonio de Berríos

Main cities

The largest cities of the New Kingdom of Granada in the 1791 Census were
# Cartagena de Indias - 154.304
# Santa Fé de Bogotá - 108.533
# Popayan - 56.783
# Santa Marta - 49.830
# Tunja - 43.850
# Mompóx - 24.332