Objective/Context:

The incorporation of the former governorship of Popayán into Colombia was challenging and was only achieved by sacrificing an essential part of the revolutionary program. The cost for the Republic was very high, since a model of society that the other New Granada provinces rejected survived, aggravated, in a region of capital importance. A political vortex came about where party disputes in the country would swirl about until the end of the century.

Methodology:

To understand this momentous gestation, this article, built from pamphlets of the time and military and judicial sources, follows the footsteps of Colonel José Concha, who was entrusted by the pro-independence authorities with the expansion of the Colombian project in the newly created department of Cauca.

Originality:

As will be seen, the insurmountable difficulties he faced in recruiting and marshaling resources are a clear indication of the fierce opposition of society as a whole to revolutionary innovations. The approach adopted, by insisting on the intensely passionate and emotional adherence that the royalist and revolutionary cause aroused during the last stage of the War of Independence in the southwest of New Granada, proposes a way to overcome the collapse of that historical reality in the face of the unchecked importance given to ethnic and corporate factors.

Conclusions:

Despite his activity and his arrests, Concha failed in his mission, and the Republic, in a certain way, gave in as well for this reason, leading to pacification ending up strengthening poisonous aristocratic ambitions.

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