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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*
Affiliation:
West Georgia College, Carrollton, Georgia

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
Copyright
Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 1972

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References

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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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81 Gaceta de Colombia, March 5, 1826.

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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. 150151.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).

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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.

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