Religion at the service of politics. three ecclesiastics in the independence of New Granada, 1810-1816.

Abstract

Independence represented the political and social break with the establishment of the Old Spanish Regime. As a member of this society, the church was no stranger to the onslaught of the political upheaval of the early nineteenth century. In fact, her taking sides in the event had great repercussions, since the church was the institution with the greatest power and influence over New Granada society. With the return to the throne of Fernando VIII, the Reconquista company began, in charge of recovering the American territories that had become independent from the Spanish government. The Tierra Firme expeditionary army, at the head of Pablo Morillo, landed in the neogranadino Viceroyalty, siege cities, fought rebels, retaken territories and subjugated anyone who had participated in the rebel cause. With his arrival, three councils were established to judge the supporters of the revolutionary cause: the council of war, of purification, and the junta of kidnappings. The objective of this writing is precisely to identify and expose the participation of three priests of New Granada during independence, precisely from the reports rendered to the courts established by the reconquest, and thus demonstrate the particularity of the participation of clergymen in the process.