The Federation of Gran Colombia was originally an empire known as the Colombian Empire. When the Spanish entered the Peruvian-Portuguese War they realized it would be good for their country and winning the war if they were able to up the status of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. They were working on that when Brasilian troops had marched down onto the Viceroy and took away lots of Territory. By the end of the war the army at Bogota had managed to reclaim all their former territory and be raised up to Duchy status. The roads and lifestyle in Gran Colombia at the time had become one of the best places to live. Rivalling even the U.S's.