Santander State



Santander State was one of the states of Colombia, which existed from 1857 until 1886. Today the area of the former state makes up most of modern-day areas of the Santander Department and Norte de Santander Department in northeastern Colombia.

Limits
In 1863 it bordered:


 * Antioquia State in the West.
 * Boyacá State in the South.
 * Bolívar State and Magdalena State in the North.

Naming

 * 1857-05-13 : created as Estado Federal de Santander (Federal State of Santander).
 * 1858 recognized as Estado de la Federación in the constitution of the Granadine Confederation,
 * 1863 name Estado Soberano (Sovereign State of Santander) in the constitution of the United States of Colombia

Subdivisions


In 1857 the state was divided into the following departamentos:


 * Barichara.
 * Bucaramanga.
 * Charalá.
 * Fortul.
 * Ocaña.
 * Pamplona.
 * San Gil.
 * Socorro.
 * Vélez.

The law of 17 April 1859 divided the state into 7 departamentos:


 * Róvira Department (capital Concepción).
 * Ocaña Department (capital Ocaña).
 * Pamplona Department (capital Pamplona).
 * Santander Department (capital San José de Cúcuta).
 * Socorro Department (capital Socorro).
 * Soto Department (capital Bucaramanga).

In 1860 two more departamentos were created:


 * Guanentá Department (capital San Gil).
 * Charalá Department (capital Charalá).