Because “the Waters Were Very Scarce”: Droughts and Social Responses on the Northern Coastal Plains of New Granada, 1739-1825

Abstract

From a climate history perspective, this article reconstructs the droughts that occurred on the Northern Coastal Plains of New Granada (modern-day Colombian Caribbean) between 1739 and 1825, as well as the social strategies developed to cope with them. The chronology is reconstructed through indirect qualitative evidence and compared with the occurrence of El Niño and La Niña events. The study concludes that, although droughts were less frequent than periods of excessive rainfall, they did occur, and their effects were exacerbated by social pressures such as clandestine trade, attacks by unconquered Indigenous groups, and the prioritization of supplies for Cartagena. Nevertheless, crises could be mitigated thanks to local relationships with water and ecosystems, expressed in agricultural calendars, diet, mobility, settlement patterns, housing types, and food preservation practices.