War of the Supremes

War of the Supremes (1839–1842), a series of regional rebellions in Colombia, during the regime of José Ignacio de Márquez. The origins of the rebellions varied, but all shared a resentment of centralist control by Bogotá, and all were led by self-styled jefes supremos (supreme chiefs), usually of military extraction. The first revolt, in the southwestern province of Pasto in June 1839, started as a protest against the closure of several small convents; but by mid-1840, under the caudillo José María Obando, its goal was the ouster of Márquez, and a federal reorganization. Separate rebellions in the northeastern provinces, Antioquia, and the Atlantic coast (September-October 1840) also sought a vaguely defined "federalism"; rebels in Panama (November 1840) sought outright independence. By late 1840 the government's position seemed hopeless—a top official admitted as much in a famous circular—but crucial victories in October 1840–April 1841 turned the tide, and a combination of mass amnesties and occasional executions pacified the country by early 1842. The war produced a conservative, centralist reaction as seen in the Constitution of 1843; it also accelerated the political polarization that would give rise to the Liberal and Conservative parties by the end of the decade.

See alsoHerrán, Pedro Alcántara; Mosquera, Tomás Cipriano de; Márquez, José Ignacio de.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gustavo Arboleda, Historia contemporánea de Colombia, vol. 1 (1918).

Roberto M. Tisnés Jiménez, María Martínez de Nisser y la Revolución de los Supremos (1983).

Additional Bibliography

Botero Herrera, Fernando. Estado, nación y provincia de Antioquia: Guerras civiles e invención de la región 1829–1863. Medellín, Colombia: Hombre Nuevo Editores, 2003.

                                    Richard J. Stoller