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Description
The idea of a unified collection of former colonies was something that the United States had implanted in the minds of many across the rapidly collapsing Spanish Empire in the Americas. Unfortunately, unlike the United States, the nations of South America were unable to achieve anything similar except for two: the United Provinces of Central America, which collapsed in the 1830s, and the Republic of Colombia, which was reformed into the "United States of Colombia" just a few years after its formation. Plagued for years by tensions between its constituent regions and between centralists and federalists. And even though a new constitution adopted in 1852 managed to soothe some of these tensions, the country was never fully at peace with itself and those around it. For instance, the country had claimed the Caribbean coastline as far north as Honduras, but ongoing internal tensions and a lack of realistic control eventually saw it drift out of their control. Then a war with Peru saw the country pushing itself south against Peru's territorial claim, followed almost immediately by being forced to back down against British claims in the Guyanas.

And all through this time, the country continually had to deal with uprisings and simmering unrest in Panama, which was constantly trying to agitate for independence. It all came to a head in 1898, when the United Kingdom came in to back Colombia against a US-sponsored uprising in Panama, all largely over the prospect of a canal across the isthmus. Tensions rose between the two great powers until eventually a tripartite treaty between the US, UK, and Colombia decided that the canal would be owned by neither great power and would back out of Colombia entirely, leaving it to its own devices. With that accomplished, the rebellion crushed, and the canal underway, Colombia for once looked like it might achieve some measure of Bolivar's dream.

Description
The idea of a unified collection of former colonies was something that the United States had implanted in the minds of many across the rapidly collapsing Spanish Empire in the Americas. Unfortunately, unlike the United States, the nations of South America were unable to achieve anything similar except for two: the United Provinces of Central America, which collapsed in the 1830s, and the Republic of Colombia, which was reformed into the "United States of Colombia" just a few years after its formation. Plagued for years by tensions between its constituent regions and between centralists and federalists. And even though a new constitution adopted in 1852 managed to soothe some of these tensions, the country was never fully at peace with itself and those around it. For instance, the country had claimed the Caribbean coastline as far north as Honduras, but ongoing internal tensions and a lack of realistic control eventually saw it drift out of their control. Then a war with Peru saw the country pushing itself south against Peru's territorial claim, followed almost immediately by being forced to back down against British claims in the Guyanas.

And all through this time, the country continually had to deal with uprisings and simmering unrest in Panama, which was constantly trying to agitate for independence. It all came to a head in 1898, when the United Kingdom came in to back Colombia against a US-sponsored uprising in Panama, all largely over the prospect of a canal across the isthmus. Tensions rose between the two great powers until eventually a tripartite treaty between the US, UK, and Colombia decided that the canal would be owned by neither great power and would back out of Colombia entirely, leaving it to its own devices. With that accomplished, the rebellion crushed, and the canal underway, Colombia for once looked like it might achieve some measure of Bolivar's dream.