Bogotá Province

Santafé de Bogotá
Province of Gran Colombia and later of Republic of New Granada
1550–1857

Location of the province of Santafé de Bogotá in New Granada around 1810

Location of the province in New Granada around 1855
CapitalSanta Fe de Bogotá
DemonymBogotan(o/a), Santafereñ(o/a), Neogranadin(o/a)
Area 
 1820
215,627 km2 (83,254 sq mi)
Population 
 1789
119,779
 1820
172,000
 1835
255,569
 1843
279,032
 1851
317,351
  TypeGovernorate
Historical eraSpanish colonization of the Americas
Colombian War of Independence
 Established
1550
 Establishment
July 17, 1550 (1550-07-17)
 Dissolution
June 15, 1875 (1875-06-15)
 Disestablished
1857
Preceded by
Succeeded by
New Kingdom of Granada
Free and Independent State of Cundinamarca
Free and Independent State of Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca Department (1824)
San Martín Territory
Cundinamarca Province
Tequendama Province (New Granada)
Zipaquirá Province
Cundinamarca State

The province of Santafé de Bogotá, also known as the government of Santafé during the Spanish imperial era, was originally an administrative and territorial entity of the New Kingdom of Granada. It was created on July 17th, 1550, at which point New Granada was a province within the Viceroyalty of Peru. In 1717, province became part of Viceroyalty of New Granada after King Philip V of Spain issued a real cédula creating the new viceroyalty.

During the Spanish American wars of independence (1810–1816), parts of New Granada (including Santafé de Bogotá) declared independence as the Free and Independent State of Cundinamarca. Ideological and political differences between the various Granadian provinces gave rise to the first Colombian civil war. This period is known in Colombia as La Patria Boba (lit.'the Foolish Fatherland'). At the end of the war, Bogotá was incorporated into the United Provinces of New Granada.

After the close of the Colombian War of Independence, the province of Bogotá became a territory of the first Republic of Colombia within the Cundinamarca Department. After the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1830, Bogotá came under the control of the Republic of New Granada. When the (originally unitary) republic adopted a federal system, the province (along with Mariquita, Neiva, and San Martín) was designated the Sovereign State of Cundinamarca in 1857.

In modern times, the region is the location of the city of Bogotá located high in the Andes at 2,620 metres (8,600 ft).