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 of Colombia.
In 1514, the Spanish first permanently settled in the area. With Santa Marta (founded on July 29, 1525 by the Spanish conquistador 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).
