Colombia declared independence on 20 July 1810, a date now celebrated as its national day.
The uprising began in Santa Fe de Bogotá, then the capital of the Spanish Viceroyalty of New Granada. A dispute involving a requested flower vase became the immediate spark for a wider political confrontation, known as the Bogotá or Florero de Llorente uprising. Local leaders formed a governing junta and rejected direct Spanish colonial authority.
The declaration did not instantly end the conflict. Royalist forces and independence supporters fought through a turbulent period, and Spanish control was temporarily restored in parts of the region. Military victory came later, especially after Simón Bolívar’s campaign and the Battle of Boyacá in 1819.
Colombia celebrates 20 July as Independence Day. Venezuela also has a major independence date in 1811, so the two countries are often confused in quick quizzes; their declarations occurred on different dates.