2020 -- H 8109

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LC005496

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

CELEBRATING THE 210TH ANNIVERSARY OF COLOMBIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY

ON JULY 20TH OF 2020

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Alzate, Giraldo, Shekarchi, Johnston, and Filippi

     Date Introduced: July 16, 2020

     Referred To: House read and passed

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     WHEREAS, In 1499, the Spanish arrived in what is now Colombia and founded the first

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permanent settlement in 1510, as part of Spain's colonial empire in the Americas; and

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     WHEREAS, In the 1800s, as Napoleon began invading many European countries,

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including Spain, patriots in Colombia and all over South America rose in rebellion against their

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Spanish rulers; and

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     WHEREAS, Cartagena, first declared its independence from Spain before the actual

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country itself did so. Eventually, when Bogotá rebelled on July 20th, 1810, the Vice Royalty of

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New Granada was forced to grant a temporary independence from Spain, which became the first

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step in the process of Colombia earning permanent independence, and culminated with the Battle

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of Boyacá in 1819, where Simón Bolívar triumphantly liberated New Granada, which is now

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Colombia, and secured the eventual independence of northern South America; and

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     WHEREAS, Today, Independence Day in Colombia is celebrated with parades and

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marches throughout the country, much like the 4th of July is celebrated in the United States; and

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     WHEREAS, Colombia's Independence Day falls only a couple weeks after America's

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Independence Day celebration, which is relevant and fitting because the two nations have so

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much in common; and

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     WHEREAS, Both the United States and Colombia gained their independence through

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patriots rallying against a distant monarchy, and the first President of each new country was the

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General who had united the people during its liberation; and

 

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     WHEREAS, Both countries were also built on the premise that liberty is an unalienable

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right and both have a deep commitment to a more peaceful world; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

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joins our Colombian American friends and neighbors in commemorating and celebrating

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Colombia's 210 years of Independence on July 20th of 2020; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Colombian American Cultural Society

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(CACS) and Colombia en Rhode Island.

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LC005496

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