Colombia before Independence: Economy, Society, and Politics under Bourbon Rule

by Anthony McFarlane

Overview

This book describes and analyzes economic and political developments in Colombia during the final century of Spanish rule. Its purpose is threefold: first, to provide a general portrait of Colombian society during the late colonial period, showing the character of economic, social, and political life in the territory's principal regions; second, to assess the impact on the region of European imperialist expansion during the eighteenth century; and third, to provide a context for understanding the causes of independence. The book offers the only available survey of Colombian history and historiography for this period.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521416412
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/26/1993
Series:	Cambridge Latin American Studies , #75
Pages:	418
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.29(h) x 1.06(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Foundations; Part I. Economy and Society In Eighteenth-Century New Granada: 2. Regions and resources; 3. Mining frontiers and the gold economy; Part II. The Economics of Bourbon Colonialism: New Granada and Atlantic Economy: 4. New Granada and the Spanish mercantile system, 1700–78; 5. Commerce and economy in the age of imperial free trade, 1778–96; 6. Merchants and monopoly; Part III. The Politics of Bourbon Colonialism: Reconstructing the Colonial State: 7. Renovation: the establishment of the Viceroyalty; 8. Innovation: the Visita General and its impact; Part IV. Government and Politics: 9. Power, politics, and protest; 10. Science and sedition; Part V. Crisis in the Colonial Order: 11. War and the weakening of the colonial order; 12. The fall of royal government; Epilogue; Appendices; Bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

"McFarlane's masterful synthesis is acheived by a thorough and careful reading of the available historiography and by extensive research in Spanish and Colombian archives." American Historical Review

"With data drawn from years of patient investigations in archives of Bogotá, Madrid, and Seville, [McFarlane] has synthesized and expanded upon the published and unpublished works of Colombian, North American and British scholars to provide a brilliant portrait of eighteenth-century New Grenada." Jane M. Rausch, Bulletin of the Society for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies

From the Publisher