THE QUEST FOR MATERIAL PROGRESS IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: COLOMBIA 1840S-1900S A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Notre Dame in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Jairo A. Campuzano-Hoyos _________________________________ Edward Beatty, Director Graduate Program in History Notre Dame, Indiana April 2018 © Copyright by Jairo A. Campuzano-Hoyos 2018 All rights reserved THE QUEST FOR MATERIAL PROGRESS IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: COLOMBIA 1840S-1900S Abstract By Jairo A. Campuzano-Hoyos Historians have often framed the historiography of nineteenth-century Colombia around relatively homogeneous, identifiable groups and their ideological struggles, labeling them accordingly after the foundation of the Liberal and Conservative parties in 1849. However, during the second half of the nineteenth century, factionalism rather than consistency characterized these groups’ members and politics, particularly the Liberal party. Thus, although the way Colombians conceived of progress was to some extent linked with ideological principles, the traditional conservative-liberal dichotomy does not work to circumscribe a group of scattered Colombians looking for models of material progress in a global perspective. To a degree, simple references to the classic Liberal– Conservative dichotomy serves to obscure more than it reveals about how Colombians and Latin Americans overall thought in the nineteenth century. This dissertation examines a large body of knowledge about other Latin American countries that many Colombian intellectuals, politicians, and entrepreneurs circulated during the second half Jairo A. Campuzano-Hoyos of the nineteenth century. Due to the brokerage role this group of people sought to play in Colombia, I refer to them as Colombia’s “progress brokers.” Some of them, openly admirers of the United States’ and Europe’s developments, resolutely argued that neither the United States nor Europe provided an appropriate model to follow. I argue that Colombian progress brokers sought models of material and intellectual progress from among other Latin American countries between the 1840s and the 1900s, an issue largely ignored in the historiography on Colombia and on Latin America in general. To Ana, with love ii CONTENTS Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................... vii Disclaimer ...................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction: Looking for Appropriate Models of Material Progress in Latin America, 1840s-1900s ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 1 1.2 A Note on The Historiography ............................................................... 18 1.3 Colombian Progress Brokers and The Circulation of Ideas ..................... 29 Chapter 2: The Race for Progress and Colombia’s Place in The World .......................... 44 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 44 2.2 Early Perceptions of Colombia’s Intrinsic Riches and Potential Developments ........................................................................................ 49 2.3 Surveying Colombia .............................................................................. 55 2.3.1 The Mid-Nineteenth-Century Comisión Corográfica .................... 59 2.3.2 Nature and Progress ...................................................................... 70 2.4 Lagging Behind...................................................................................... 74 2.5 A Common Drawback. The “Empleomanía” Cancer .............................. 85 2.6 Conclusions ........................................................................................... 98 Chapter 3: The Circulation of Ideas ............................................................................. 100 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 100 3.2 Blind North Atlantic Imitations vs. Appropriate Latin American Models ................................................................................................. 104 3.3 Brokering Progress. Between Colombia and Latin America ................. 113 3.4 Early Diplomatic Missions in Argentina ............................................... 121 3.5 Looking to South America’s Pacific ..................................................... 126 3.6 From Paris and New York to Colombia ................................................ 139 3.6.1 Sociedad Latino-Americana, “Biblioteca Bolívar” ...................... 141 3.6.2 Latin Americans in New York and The Circulation of Useful Knowledge ..................................................................................... 154 3.7 Conclusions ......................................................................................... 167 iii Chapter 4: The Imperative for Peace and Appropriate Institutions: Crafting Models and Anti-Models ................................................................................................................ 169 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 169 4.2 Crafting Models and Antimodels in Latin America .............................. 177 4.2.1 Archetypal Chile ......................................................................... 182 4.2.2 Argentina and Mexico. The Antimodels ...................................... 196 4.2.3 Contrasting Specific Models. Centralism vs. Federalism.............. 208 4.3 Conclusions ......................................................................................... 217 Chapter 5: Models Appropriate For Colombia’s Particular Circumstances ................... 219 5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 219 5.2 Redefining Latin American Models ...................................................... 225 5.2.1 Argentina: Model of Population Growth and Industrialism .......... 228 5.2.2 Chile: Model of Republican Institutions ...................................... 246 5.2.3 Mexico: Model of Internal Order and Economic Growth ............. 262 5.2.4 Giving Up Colombia. Looking for Personal Progress Abroad ...... 280 5.3 Conclusions ......................................................................................... 289 Chapter 6: Models of Material Progress: The Colombian Fique Industry ..................... 290 6.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 290 6.2 From the Pre-Columbian Carrizo to The Modern Rueda de Solís ......... 295 6.3 The Configuration of The Colombian Fique Industry ........................... 321 6.4 Conclusions ......................................................................................... 328 Chapter 7: Conclusions ............................................................................................... 330 Index ........................................................................................................................... 336 Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 343 iv FIGURES Figure 2.1. Map of The Republic of New Granada by Joaquín Acosta, 1847…………...58 Figure 2.2. Map of South America, 1860 (Anonymous) ………………………………..69 Figure 3.1. Number of Colombian Diplomats Abroad, 1824-1907 (Average/Year)…...122 Figure 3.2. Exports from Buenaventura, 1872-1873…………………………………...127 Figure 6.1. Raspadora Mexicana or Rueda De Solís…………………………………...320 Figure 6.2. Desfibradora Lombar #2 Talleres Nacionales de Escobar Londoño & Cía..321 Figure 6.3. Coffee Production by Colombian Departments……………………………322 v TABLES Table 2.1. Uprisings and Civil Wars in Colombia, 1868-1885……….…………………95 Table 3.1 National and International Canjes of Bogotá’s Anales de Jurisprudencia, 1896-97……………………………………………………………………..120 Table 3.2. National Canjes of Colombia Ilustrada, 1889-1890………………………...165 Table 3.3. International Canjes of Colombia Ilustrada, 1889-1890……………………166 Table 6.1. National Production of Fique and Cabuya Sacks by Colombian Departments in 1934………………………………………………………327 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project began in 2011, when my dream of earning a Ph.D. abroad began to take shape. I first moved to England to learn English and to prepare the application for the scholarship that would eventually allow me to study in the United States. On a Colciencias-Fulbright scholarship, I began my doctorate in August 2013. My gratitude, then, goes to every single person who supported me during the years preceding and following my first day at the University of Notre Dame as a graduate student in the History Department. Besides my deepest admiration, I owe special gratitude to Edward (Ted) Beatty, my primary academic advisor. I have not enough words to thank Ted for his generosity, zealous support, savvy orientation, and sharp criticisms along the way. I also want to thank my committee members, Professors John Deak, Karen Graubart, and Jaime Pensado for their support, advice, and constructive criticisms. My gratitude goes also to professors who inspired me during my doctoral studies, especially to Lina del Castillo