Collection of Colombian governmental ledgers, 1817 - 1885

Format:

Other

Language:

Spanish

Subjects (All):

Colombia.

Colombia--Politics and government.

Genre:

Government records

Ledgers (account books)

Physical Description:

9 boxes (7 Linear Feet)

Place of Publication:

1817 - 1885

Biography/History:

From 1817 through 1885, when the ledgers in this collection were kept, Colombia was in the process of gaining and maintaining its independence from Spain and establishing its Republic. Europeans first visited what is now Colombia in 1499 and the Spanish established their first permanent settlement in Santa Marta in 1525. In pursuit of gold and land, the Spanish began a conquest of the territories of Chibchan speaking peoples, mostly the Musica and the Tairona nations. By the mid-1500s, the land was considered a Spanish colony and the Real Audiencia of Santa Fe de Bogotá government was established, but there was already anti-Spanish sentiment amongst the indigenous peoples. Notably, during this time, the Spanish introduced slavery to the region. The audiencia lasted from 1549 through 1740 and, during that time, the oppressed indigenous population was largely politically inactive. In the mid- to late-18th century, however, the sentiments of the South American-born Spanish population, the Criollos, began to align with the indigenous population. In 1809, the Criollos pushed for the abolition of slavery, restrictions on the Spanish government, and free trade. In 1810, many of the subordinated jurisdictions in New Grenada ousted their Spanish officials. There was an uprising in Bogota on July 20, 1810, that is considered Independence Day. They new governments officially declared independence from Spain in 1811. By 1816, the rebel forces reorganized under Francisco de Paula Santander in Casanare and then joined those of Simón Bolívar. On August 7, 1819, Simón Bolívar, the Criollo leader of the effort for South American independence from Spain, defeated the Spanish forces in Boyacá. After subsequent victories in Venezuela in 1821 and Ecuador in 1822, work began to establish Colombia as an independent country via the Congress of Angostura and the Congress of Cúcuta. The Republic of Colombia, known as Gran Colombia, lasted from 1819 to 1830 and included modern day Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, and Ecuador. Simón Bolívar served as the republic's president. By 1830, Bolívar resigned as leader and Venezuela and Ecuador had seceded from Gran Colombia. From 1832 through 1837, former Vice President Francisco de Paula Santander served as president of Colombia through a period of relative peace and prosperity. The remainder of the time period of this collection was dominated by a civil war that broke out in 1840 and a struggle between Colombia's Liberal and Conservative parties.

Summary:

This collection contains 72 ledgers and logbooks from Colombia that date from 1817 through 1885 and contain cargo, customs, military, post office, tax, tobacco, and treasury data and information. All but nine of the logbooks are associated with a specific location within Colombia. The ledgers are organized alphabetically by location. Those without locations consist of military, ship, and tobacco ledgers. The most prominently represented locations are Cartagena, Choco, Pasto, Popayán, Santa Marta, and Socorro. Most of the ledgers have an inventory number. It is unclear where these numbers came from or when they were assigned. The ledgers appear to have been bound after their active use and some of the pages are rendered inaccessible by the bindings. However, most of the ledgers are fully readable.

OCLC:

1583195433