Coffee and the Origins of Modern Economic Development in Colombia

Abstract

In comparison with Brazil, Mexico and the Southern Cone economies, Colombia may be characterized as a latecomer to export and industrial development. Throughout the nineteenth century, Colombia struggled to establish a solid export base. Its efforts bore little fruit, however, partly because of the nearly continuous political instability the country experienced throughout the century, associated with the difficult process of building a national state after achieving political independence in 1819. Moreover, the notorious geographical barriers which characterized the country tended to fragment the economy into a set of semi-autonomous regions.