Colombia

Abstract

Economic development came late to Colombia. To be sure, coffee exports had reached a fairly high level by the years 1880–95, but it was not until the beginning of the twentieth century that their full impact became visible. They tripled in volume between 1895 and 1918 and tripled again during the next 12 years. Whereas coffee accounted for 39 per cent of total exports during the period 1905–09, that figure had risen to 69 per cent by 1925–29.¹ Coffee cultivation, which had been mainly concentrated in the west of the country, spread eastwards at a rapid rate as a result of colonisation from Antiocha towards Caldas and the northern Cauca valley. While this colonisation did not end the pre-eminent role of large property it did lead to the emergence of an important stratum of small and medium producers whose contribution to production was by no means negligible² and whose expansion was especially noteworthy on the eve of the Great Depression.³ The coffee bourgeoisie was thus not affected because its most powerful fraction derived a large part of its profits from purely commercial activities.⁴ By setting up the National Federation of Coffee Growers in 1927, it took an important step towards asserting its economic and political authority.