ABSTRACT
This chapter shows how Colombia was at the forefront of democratic political innovation in the early nineteenth century. It analyzes popular visions and practices of democracy and republicanism, and how many of those practices were restricted late in the century. It situates this popular democratic culture in the context of the broader Americas and Europe to challenge notions that view Colombian republicanism as simply a sham or failure and of Colombia as simply imitating (poorly) politics elsewhere. Instead, the chapter casts Colombians, especially popular actors, as political innovators.
