“A great association of towns”. The revolt in Guayaquil and its perception of Gran Colombia (1827)

Through the study of the 1827 revolt of the department of Guayaquil, triggered by the insurrection of the Third Division of the Colombian Army, stationed in Lima, the article aims to show how the inhabitants of the city and its institutions perceived the Colombian republic into which the province had been incorporated in 1822. The analysis of records, proclamations, and reports of this event, as well as of materials regarding the incorporation of the province, reveals not only the strength of the municipal institutions, but also the fact that Gran Colombia was based on a contractualist conception of power. In fact, the Colombian republic was considered “a great association of peoples”, in which the latter and the nation shared the exercise of sovereignty.