Opening salvos of Crisis in Gran Colombia

Written by Adam Blake, Journalist, LIMUN 2026

The opening salvos of LIMUN’s Crisis have rung out across the committee, with Spanish Royalists pitted against the Patriots of Gran Colombia throughout the course of the Colombian War of Independence between 1810-1825. To directly quote the Study Guide for this committee ‘Few historical events capture this year's LIMUN theme, Shared Futures: Building Diplomatic Pathways for Unity, more vividly than the wars that swept across South America in the early nineteenth century’. 

This Crisis, in the minds of its directors, shows the unification of peoples against the colonial force of Spain. Delegates in this committee are not just fighting against oppression but for the right to build a shared future where people’s rights are defined not by their place of birth or position in a colonial hierarchy, but by their capacity to unify around a shared ideal of independence and diplomacy.

This reality has been shown clearly by the interview I was permitted to give earlier today, with two delegates within the Patriot Cabinet, discussing both their treatment by the Spanish and their hopes for the future of Gran Colombia. José Cortés de Madariaga, a cleric, talked briefly on the torture they were subjected to during their imprisonment but was mainly focused on their right to practice their religion in freedom, a provision that, they allege, was denied to them by the Spanish. The other character I interviewed, a lawyer, was arrested for their attempts at constructing a constitution for a new free Colombia.

On the grand scale, the picture of the Crisis at the moment appears to be in favour of the Patriots, with land being contested by both the main two factions and other, as of yet unidentified, groups. In particular Margarita Island, a Caribbean island close to the coast of South America, has come under almost total Patriot control, with the exception of one Royalist fort that has gone mysteriously silent. The final piece of this Crisis puzzle so far can be found in Caracas with a democratic council being established within the city. Though it is too soon to comment, this appears to have significant backing from the general public.

More updates to follow soon, as we wait for the Royalist response to the aggressive maneuvering of the Patriot Cabinet.