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Economic Experimentation in a Newly Independent Nation: Colombia Under Franciscode Paula Santander, 1821-1840

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2015

Eugene R. Huck
Eugene R. Huck*
Affiliation:
West Georgia College, Carrollton, Georgia
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Extract

Francisco de Paula Santander was Simón Bolívar's right arm in the formation of the state of Gran Colombia by the Liberator's own acknowledgement. While Bolívar, the President, was directing the winning of the last battles of the war Santander, the Vice President, was directing the government from Bogotá from 1821 until Bolivar returned from the wars in 1827. Although the control of the government was out of Santander's hands during Bolívar's dictatorship (1827-1830) and the turbulency following Bolívar's death in 1830, Santander took the helm again in October, 1832, as President. If one considers his three-year activity in Congress after his term as President ended in 1837, then, in a sense, Santander's influence in Colombia lasted for almost two decades when he died in 1840. Although much of his public life was concerned with other aspects of the nation, Santander gave considerable attention to the fiscal matters of the country. It was his guidance which helped Colombia through two decades of difficult economic experimentation.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Americas , Volume 29 , Issue 1 , July 1972 , pp. 17 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 1972

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References

1 Ospina, , Industria y protección en Colombia, 1810-1930, (Medellin, 1955).Google Scholar

2 Ibid., p. xi.

3 Belaunde, Victor Andres, Bolivar and the Political Thought in the Spanish-American Revolution, Albert Shaw Lectures on Diplomatic History, (Baltimore, 1938), pp. 271–272.Google Scholar

4 Bruno, Espinosa, printer, Cuerpo de leyes de la República de Colombia, (Bogotá 1822).Google Scholar A complete list of laws, decrees, and acts as well as the representatives to the Congress of Cúcuta is shown in the Gaceta de Colombia, October 14, 1821, p. 2. The first issues were published at Cúcuta and the others in Bogotá. All decrees and laws, coming from the meeting of Cúcuta, can be found in either source.

5 See Decree of March 1, 1922, in Correo de Ciudad de Bogotá, April 4, 1822, as quoted by Ospina, , Industria…, p. 89.Google Scholar

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8 Decree of March 28, 1825, as quoted in Ospina, , Industria…, p. 89.Google Scholar

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10 Ibid.

11 Law of October 3, 1821.

12 Law of October 4, 1821.

13 Gaceta de Colombia, September 23, 1821, p. 2.

14 Law of September 3, 1821.

15 Gaceta de Colombia, July 22, 1823, which quotes the Law of July 7, 1823. A fanegada was equal to 1.53 acres. The term was used until about 1850.

16 Gaceta de Colombia, July 13, 1823, pp. 1-2.

17 Gaceta de Colombia, September 4, 1825, p. 2. According to Rippy, J. Fred, Latin America and the Industrial Age, p. 13 Google Scholar, Elber's first boat launched was the Fidelidad in 1824 and a third was the Bolivar in 1825. “All three were flatboats built by men who knew the Ohio, but their drafts were too heavy for the Magdalena.” The Fidelidad was sent back to the United States and the other two wrecked in 1829. See Gilmore, R. L. and Harrison, John P., “Juan Bernardo Elbers and the Introduction of Steam Navigation on the Magdalena River,” Hispanic American Historical Review, 28 (1948), pp. 335–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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21 Ospina, , Industria…, pp. 91–92 quotes Law of July 30, 1824.Google Scholar

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23 Gaceta de Colombia, May 21, 1826. The “contributions” were possibly expected reimbursements from Peru whereas the active credits may have been expected revenue from produce exported. One can only guess.

24 Bushnell, , The Santander Regime…, p. 93.Google Scholar

25 Supplement to Gaceta de Colombia, April 2, 1826.

26 Bushnell, , Santander Regime…, p. 85.Google Scholar

27 Although it was ended by the Law of March 22, 1826, it was not listed in the Gaceta de Colombia until July 16, 1826.

28 Bushnell, , Santander Regime…, p. 79.Google Scholar

29 The tax varied with one's profession or station in life. See Gaceta de Colombia, June 18, 1826, for the different rates. For a discussion of the alcabala versus the direct contribution see Bushnell, , Santander Regime…, p. 108.Google Scholar

30 See the Gaceta de Colombia for the laws in question.

81 Gaceta de Colombia, March 5, 1826.

32 See Eugene R. Huck, “United States—Colombian Commercial Relations, 1820-1850,” (unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Alabama, 1963), for more on this subject.

33 USNA, SD, Consular Despatches, Cartagena, Vol. L, J. M. MacPherson to Henry Clay, August 7, 1826.

34 Ospina, , Industria…, p. 90.Google Scholar

35 Ospina, , Industria…, pp. 89–90 Google Scholar. He suggests that the reader see also the Law of September 26, 1827, the Decree of September 23, 1828, Circular of August 28, 1828, and the Decree of December 28, 1828.

36 Letras, Consejo de Estado Collection, Vol. L, p. 77. This collection is in the Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá.

37 Ibid., pp. 75, 75a.

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41 Ibid., p. 174.

42 Ibid., p. 164.

43 Ibid., p. 334.

44 Ibid., p. 339.

45 Ibid., p. 334.

46 Presidential Message to Congress, March 1, 1833; Gaceta de Colombia, March 1, 1833; Ospina, , Industria…, pp. 150–151.Google Scholar Santander's letters can be found in Cortázar, Roberto, (ed.), Cartas y mensajes de Santander, 10 Vols., (Bogotá, 1955)Google Scholar; Lecuna, Vicente (ed.), Cartas de Santander, 3 Vols., (Caracas, 1942)Google Scholar; and Archivo Santander, 24 Vols., (Bogotá, various dates circa 1920).

47 Ospina, , Industria…, p. 152 who is quoting De Soto's Memoria of 1833.Google Scholar

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49 Ibid., p. 170.

50 USNA, SD, Consular Despatches (Cartagena), MacPherson to McLane, Vol. II., August 5, 1833.

51 Ibid., Decembed 2, 1833.

52 Ibid., August 5, 1833.

53 Gaceta de la Nueva Granada, March 16, 1834.

54 Ibid., June 15, 1834.

55 USNA, DA, Consular Despatches (Cartagena), Vol. II., J. B. Feraud to Secretary McLane, no month, 1834.

56 Favell, Thomas R., “The Antecedents of Panama's Separation from Colombia: A Study in Colombian Politics,” (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Administered by Tufts College with the cooperation of Harvard University, 1950), p. 9.Google Scholar

57 Gaceta de la Nueva Granada, May 31, 1835, p. 1.

58 Although all of these concessions are listed in the newspapers during 1833 and 1834, the most convenient source is Ospina, , Industria…, pp. 161–166.Google Scholar

59 Galindo, Anibal, Apuntamientos para la historia economica i fiscal del pais, pp. 198–205 Google Scholar gives a good summary of the period. Gilmore, Robert L., “Federalism in Colombia, 1810-1858,” (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, 1949), pp. 143–144 summarizes Galindo.Google Scholar

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62 Santander to the Senate and House of Representatives, March 1, 1837.