Updated to include the historic 2022 presidential election, this deeply informed and accessible book traces the history of Colombia thematically over the past two centuries. LaRosa and Mejía move beyond the common perception of a failed state to explore the rich heritage and dynamism that have characterized Colombia past and present.

Michael J. LaRosa and Germán R. Mejía offer a comprehensive approach to Colombian history in the post-independence era, from about 1810 to the present. This third edition includes vital updates that dive into the historic 2022 presidential election and signing of the Peace Accords with FARC in 2016.

This deeply informed and accessible book thematically traces the history of Colombia, moving beyond the common perception of a failed state to explore the rich heritage and dynamism that have characterized Colombia past and present. The book focuses on the factors that have contributed to Colombia’s unification and development and looks at political projects, economic activity, and cultural development that have pushed Colombia forward. Also included are a photo essay, detailed chronology for further study and research, and a chapter dealing with Colombians abroad.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword by Pamela S. Murray

Introduction

1 Origins

Precedents

The Crisis of Empire

1810: The Development of the Juntas

The First Republic (1811–1816)

The Final Battle against Absolutism

Colombia: The Second Republic (1819–1830)

The End of an Era of Change

2 The Colombian Nations

Colombian Indigenous Population

The Afro-Colombian Population

Other Colombians

Demography and Its Numbers

Colonizers and Settlers: The Nineteenth Century

An Urban Country: The Twentieth Century

3 The Dynamics of a Political Community

Citizenship

Rights

The Democratic Model and Politics

Government

The Formation of Law

4 The Cadence of Unity

The Parties and the Nation

Communion in Beliefs

A Common Memory

A Single Institutionalism

5 Conflict

The Spanish Evacuation

Political Conflict in the Nineteenth Century

Panama Separates

Conflict in the Twentieth Century

La Violencia

Insurgency Intervention

Narco-violence

Plan Colombia, 2000

6 Colombians Search for Peace

The Nature of the Colombian Armed Conflict

The Stages of the War

The Peace Processes in Historic Perspective

The Future

7 Economic Unity

Colonial Colombia Compared

Monopoly and Political Problems in the Eighteenth Century

Coffee

The Percolating Twenties

Oil and Industrialization

The National Front

Modern Times

Photo Essay

8 A Common Space

From Horse Path to Highway

Steamships and Railways

Aerial Cables and Airplanes

Mail and Communications Systems

Print Media

9 Cultural Dynamism

Sculpture and Painting

Literature

Theater

Architecture

Music

10 Daily Life

Popular Religious Celebrations

Sports

Beauty Pageants

Retaking the Colombian Urban Centers

Radio, TV, and Soap Operas

Gastronomy, Colombian Style

University Life in Colombia

11 Colombia and the World

The Early Days

The Canal Project

1928

World War II and Jorge Eliécer Gaitán

Korea and the Alliance for Progress

Pope Paul VI and the Close of the 1960s

Contadora, Central America, and Colombia’s Neighbors

Uribe and Bush: Brothers in Arms

Enter Santos

12 Colombians Abroad

Preliminary Observations on Colombian Emigration

Why Colombians Leave: A Historic Overview

Bienvenidos to Queens

The 1980 Refugee Act

The Special Case of Colombians in Venezuela

Remesas—Sending Money Home

Colombians Abroad: Some Names

Some Sustained (and Unfortunate) Stereotypes

Peace Process and the Great Reverse Migration?

13. 2016 and Beyond: ¡Basta Ya!

The Elusive Peace

The Pandemic

Economic Data

Migratory Processes

Trouble on the Streets of Colombia

Tourism: The Contemporary Trend

Conclusion

Colombian Chronology, 1810–2022

Selected Bibliography

Index

About the Authors