The Bolivar Railway and the Consolidation of the Port of Barranquilla (1865-1941)

Abstract

The text analyzes the process of construction and operation of the Ferrocarril de Bolívar, which despite its short length, allowed generate significant economic, political and social that generated a profound change in the dynamics of power in the Bolivar Grande, as it allowed the development of a thriving sub-region and linked to economic development in the second half of the nineteenth century and eventually led to the formation of the Atlantic Department in the early twentieth century. The study of this railroad allows a clear view of latent regional tensions and unresolved in a turbulent nineteenth-century Colombia, and presaged the danger to the weak Colombian state against the greed of investors (local and foreign) who saw railroads the opportunity to speculate with them at the expense of national interests and the weakness resulting from the lack of technical knowledge required for the construction of these routes, which resulted in negotiations deeply disadvantageous to the State.

Note: Downloadable document is in Spanish.

Keywords: Colombian railroads, foreign direct investment, Barranquilla

JEL Classification: N76, N96, F21, F22