# Independence of Panama from Spain

Independence of Panama from Spain was accomplished through a bloodless revolt between 10 November 1821 and 28 November 1821. Seizing the opportunity, when the Spanish governor left Panama to march on rebellious Ecuadorians, José de Fábrega led a push for independence. Rebels in the small town of Villa de Los Santos made the first declaration for independence and the movement quickly spread to the capital. Fearing that Spain would retake the country, the rebels quickly joined the Republic of Gran Colombia.

## History

Initial attempts to free Panama from Spain came from South American liberators, not Panamanians, who saw Panama as a strategic link, both politically and militarily between South America and the Central American states. As early as 1787, Venezuelan Francisco de Miranda attempted to interest the British in a canal project in Panama to increase trade for Britain, in exchange for military support to bolster South American independence hopes. The attack by Napoleon, who deposed the Spanish monarch in 1807, led to the push for independence throughout South America by Simón Bolivar. Though Bolivar did not set foot in Panama, he advocated for independence, declaring in his 1815 "Letter from Jamaica" that the independence of Panama would lead to commerce opportunities. In 1819 the Scotsman Gregor MacGregor led a failed attempt to free Panama.
When South American revolutionary zeal deposed Viceroyalty of New Granada Juan de la Cruz Mourgeón, he fled to Panama and was declared governor. Mourgeón was ordered to Ecuador to fight the separatists and appointed José de Fábrega as his successor. As soon as Mourgeón sailed, Fábrega seized the moment for Panama's independence.
On 10 November 1821, the first call for independence was made in the small provincial town of Villa de los Santos. Called the "Primer Grito de Independencia de la Villa de Los Santos" (Shout for Independence), it ignited rebels throughout the Panamanian countryside. Using bribes to quell resistance from the Spanish troops and garner their desertion, the rebels gained control of Panama City without bloodshed. On November 20, 1821, Fábrega proclaimed Panamanian independence in Panama City. An open meeting was held with merchants, landowners, and elites, who fearing retaliation from Spain and interruption of trade decided to join the Republic of Gran Colombia and drafted the Independence Act of Panama.

## Cause of the independence of the isthmus of Panama

In 1811, the Spanish Regency, responding to Governor Juan Antonio de la Mata's request, expanded trade freedoms, allowing Panamanian merchants to conduct business with “… ships and traders from the country, with the insurgent and rebellious colonies.”
Jamaica had become a vast warehouse of British manufactured goods, where Panamanian merchants eagerly sought to supply the markets of the American Pacific, given that trade with Spain had ceased. The dependence on British goods was so evident—even scandalous—that merchant ships began traveling in convoys under the protection of the English navy to avoid attacks by insurgent vessels. This smuggling trade had existed long before Governor Mata granted these freedoms, suggesting an entrenched and difficult-to-combat situation.
This scenario attracted an increasing number of foreigners to the Isthmus, who amassed considerable fortunes while defying colonial trade restrictions. The Crown attempted to restore control over the market by establishing the House of Trade of the Indies.
In June 1814, due to pressure from the commercial monopolies of Cádiz, the Spanish Regency revoked the decree allowing trade with the American colonies, significantly impacting legal commerce on the Isthmus, which had become a crucial hub for foreign merchandise and associated profits. This shift led Panama to recognize the importance of its independence. Panama's independence was not the result of an ideological, philosophical or other abstract change, but a direct consequence of economic imperatives. The main driving force behind this separation was the need to safeguard commercial activity, a fundamental pillar of the Panamanian economy, which was severely affected by the restrictions imposed on trade.