Desigualdades territoriales en perspectiva histórica. De la Nueva Granada a los inicios de la República de Colombia, 1845-1886

Abstract

This research analyzes the production of territorial inequalities over a period of three decades (1850 – 1880) during which the country went through two crucial junctures: one economic—the export boom (mainly tobacco, quinine, and indigo)—which articulated territorial ecologies and agrarian capitalism with the capitalist world-ecology; and one political—the federal organization of the territory—which facilitated the transition from multiple provincial units to spaces hostile to the capitalist project, represented as "savage": the national territories.

The study addresses the discussions on territorial planning at the end of the Republic of New Granada period and, especially, throughout the existence of the United States of Colombia. The central argument emerging from the research is that both the federal structuring and the export cycles, during the period studied, deepened two types of territorial inequalities. The first was between States, as States like Antioquia, Cundinamarca, and Bolívar concentrated the greatest economic, social infrastructure, and communication benefits, while other States began to lag in these matters.

The second territorial inequality arose with the formation of “special territories” or “national territories,” which were peripheral spaces poorly integrated into the dynamics of capitalist development and converted into its internal frontier. These territories ultimately became, and remain to this day, highly conflictive areas with high levels of multidimensional poverty.

Furthermore, within the framework of the second half of the 19th century, the study includes a focus on both national and international travelers. Based on these territorial inequalities, the capitalist world-ecology, the agro-export dynamics, and their various facets within the selected context, these travelers recounted a series of experiences, perspectives, and visions surrounding the Magdalena River. Analyzing these accounts through a decolonial and environmental lens allows for a greater understanding of the background of their discourses and interests, as well as their conceptions of the territory, the landscape, and the aspects that comprise it.