| |||||||
Language official |
Spanish | ||||||
others | Portuguese | ||||||
Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||
Government | Constitutional monarchy | ||||||
Legislature | Cortes | ||||||
Monarch | Maria | ||||||
Royal house: | Borbon-Wittelsbach | ||||||
Prime Minister | |||||||
Established | 1819 | ||||||
Independence | from Spain | ||||||
Currency | Peso |
The kingdom of New Grenada started off a division of the Spanish colonial empire called the Viceroyalty of New Granada. Like other parts of the Spanish possessions in South America a series of revolutions took place against the colonial power. In 1819 King Ferdinand of Spain was overthrown by his brother Don Carlos and went into exile on the island of Cuba which had remained loyal to him. The remaining royalist forces in New Granada declared their loyalty to Ferdinand and over a matter of time they defeated the revolutionaries and founded what is now known as the Kingdom of New Grenada. The current monarch is a descendant of Ferdinand's eldest daughter Isabella
History[]
Monarchy[]
In the early days of the kingdom the monarch had considerable power and could dismiss governments and declare war on a whim. However New Spain was transformed into a constiutional monarchy in 1881 after an armed insurrection that had lasted for 10 years after the assassination of Prime Minister Manuel Pinto. Since then the monarch has held no political power. The New Granadan monarchy operates under a system of absolute primogeniture, in other words the eldest child of the monarch becomes heir irrespective of gender. Aside from that the only restriction on succeeding to the throne is that the heir must be a Roman Catholic and married to one. The only time this altered the succession was when Princess Christina the niece and heir of Ferdinand VIII married a British businessman who was a member of the Church of England. As a result of this Christina's brother Adalbert took her place as heir. The current monarch is Maria II, a great-great grandaughter of Isabella
List of monarchs[]
Between 1833 and 1846 when Isabella reached the age of 16 power was invested in a Council of Regents headed by a Chief Regent.
List of Chief Regents
- Queen Maria Christina (widow of Ferdinand VII) 1833 - 1837
- General Pablo Morilllo 1837-1842
- General Baldomero Espartero 1842-1846
[]
Line of Succession[]
Maria's heir is her son Manuel Carlos, Prince of Cuba
1 Crown Prince Manuel Carlos, Prince of Cuba (b. 1970)
- 2 Infante Jaime (b. 2001)
- 3 Infante Rodrigo (b.2004)
- 4 Infanta Elena (b. 2009)
5 Infante Felipe, Duque de Bogotá (b. 1975)
- 6 Infanta Margarita (b. 2007)
- 7 Infanta Luisa (b.2007)
8 Infanta Sofia, Duquesa de Maracaibo (b. 1978)
- 9 Infante Jose (b. 2009)
10 Infante Alfonso, Conde de Barcelona (b.1947)
Politics[]
Government[]
The Cortes or parliament of New Grenada is divided into a lower house called the Congress of Deputies and an upper House called the Senate. The Congress consists of 500 Deputies while the Senate has 140 members, two from each province.
List of Prime Ministers[]
The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party in the Congress of Deputies. If no party holds a majority then the leader of the largest party is invited to attempt to garner support from a majority of deputies. Until 1948 a Prime Minister was allowed to serve an unlimited number of 5 year long terms of office. In that year the New Granadan constitution was altered so a Prime Minister could only serve a total of 3 terms
Prime Minister | Took office | Left Office | Party |
---|---|---|---|
Rafael Bernado Martinez | 10th December 1820 | 12th December 1830 | Conservative |
Francisco Azara | 12th December 1830 | 14th December 1845 | Conservative |
Salvador Morillo, 2nd Count of Cartegena | 14th December 1845 | 8th December 1850 | Conservative |
Vincente Morales | 8th December 1850 | 9th December 1860 | Liberal |
Ferdinand Cordova | 9th December 1860 | 10th December 1865 | Liberal |
Manuel Pinto | 10th December 1865 | 6th June 1871 (assassinated) | Conservative |
Rodrigo Hernandez | 6th June 1871 | 13th December 1885 | Conservative (1871-1880), Nacional (1880-1885) |
Eduardo Arenas | 13th December 1885 | 14th December 1900 | Nacional |
Political Parties[]
Parties representated in the Cortes[]
- National Party (Partido Nacional de la Nueva Granada)
- Liberal Party (Partido Liberal)
- Democratic Christian Party (Partido Democrata Christiano)
- Progressive Socialist Party (Partido Socialista Progresista)
- Communist Party (Partido Communista)
- Green Alternative (Alternativa Verde)
Regional and minor parties[]
Elections[]
Subdivisions[]
The Kingdom is divided into 70 provincias (provinces) which are further divided into 400 municipios (municipalities). The provincias and municipios all have elected administrations and leaders, gobernadores (governors) for the provincias and alcades (mayors) for the municipios. For these purposes, Havana the capital city is considered to be a province with the same rights as the others