NEW GRANADA (Span. Nueva Granada), the title under Spanish colonial administration of that part of South America now known as the republic of Colombia, which at one time was extended to include Venezuela and Ecuador. It also was for a time the title of the united territories of Panama and Colombia under republican auspices. The Bogota plateau was invaded from the Caribbean coast and conquered in 1537 by Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada, who, in honour of his native province, called it the "Nuevo Reino de Granada." In 155o an audiencia real under the viceroyalty of Peru was established at Santa Fe (Bogota), but in 1564 this isolated group of Spanish settle ments was transformed into a presidency. In 1739, owing to the unmanageable size of the viceroyalty of Peru, it was divided and a new viceroyalty was created from the various provinces lying in the north-western angle of the continent, extending from Tumbez northward to the northern limits of Panama, and east ward to the Orinoco, to which the name of Nueva Granada was given. The new viceroyalty included the provinces of Tierra
Firma (now the republic of Panama) ; Maracaibo, Caracas, Cumana and Guyana (now included in Venezuela) ; Cartagena, Santa Marta, Rio Hacha, Antioquia, Pamplona, Socorro, Tunja, Santa Fe, Neiva, Mariquita, Popayan and Pasto (now included in Colombia) ; and Quito, Cuenca and Guayaquil (now included in Ecuador). In 1777 the provinces of Maracaibo, Caracas, Cumana and Guyana were detached from the viceroyalty to form the captaincy-general of Caracas; otherwise it remained as above until the termination of Spanish rule in South America.
For the republic of Colombia (1819-3o), the republic of New Granada (1831-61), the United States of Colombia (1861-86) and the republic of Colombia (1886 to date), see COLOMBIA.