Colombia for the new Republic. Simón Bolívar became the first President of Colombia, and Francisco de Paula Santander was made Vice President. However, the new republic was unstable and three countries emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (New Granada, Ecuador and Venezuela). Colombia was the first constitutional government in South America, and the Liberal and Conservative parties, founded in 1848 and 1849 respectively, are two of the oldest surviving political parties in the Americas. Slavery was abolished in the country in 1851. Internal political and territorial divisions led to the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1830. The so-called
National Library of Colombia which has also allowed the library to possess a general collection of the majority of the publications made in the country since the year 1830 as well as a newspaper library with publications of priceless value, like the "Aviso de Terremoto", considered the premiere periodical publication in the Republic of Colombia. The total collection of the Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia exceeds 2,000,000 volumes. Of this, approximately 25% was acquired through the beforementioned legal deposit laws. The other books have mostly come from donations. National Library of Colombia The National Library of Colombia () is the national library of Colombia. The