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Political Cultures in the Andes, 1750-1950

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Latin America Otherwise

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Book

Pages: 400

Published: June 2005

Editors: Nils Jacobsen, Cristóbal Aljovín de Losada

Contributors: Nils Jacobsen, Alan Knight, Charles F. Walker, Carlos Contreras, Laura Gotkowitz, Margarita Garrido de Payan, Aline Helg, Derek Williams, Larson, Brooke, Serulnikov, Sergio, Mary Roldán, Cristóbal Aljovín de Losada

A major contribution to debates about Latin American state formation, Political Cultures in the Andes brings together comparative historical studies focused on Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru from the mid-eighteenth century to the mid-twentieth. While highlighting patterns of political discourse and practice common to the entire region, these state-of-the-art histories show how national and local political cultures depended on specific constellations of power, gender and racial orders, processes of identity formation, and socioeconomic and institutional structures.

The contributors foreground the struggles over democracy and citizens’ rights as well as notions of race, ethnicity, gender, and class that have been at the forefront of political debates and social movements in the Andes since the waning days of the colonial regime some two hundred years ago. Among the many topics they consider are the significance of the Bourbon reform era to subsequent state-formation projects, the role of race and nation in the work of early-twentieth-century Bolivian intellectuals, the fiscal decentralization campaign in Peru following the devastating War of the Pacific in the late nineteenth century, and the negotiation of the rights of “free men of all colors” in Colombia’s Atlantic coast region during the late colonial period. Political Cultures in the Andes includes an essay by the noted Mexicanist Alan Knight in which he considers the value and limits of the concept of political culture and a response to Knight’s essay by the volume’s editors, Nils Jacobsen and Cristóbal Aljovín de Losada. This important collection exemplifies the rich potential of a pragmatic political culture approach to deciphering the processes involved in the formation of historical polities.

Contributors. Cristóbal Aljovín de Losada, Carlos Contreras, Margarita Garrido, Laura Gotkowitz, Aline Helg, Nils Jacobsen, Alan Knight, Brooke Larson, Mary Roldan, Sergio Serulnikov, Charles F. Walker, Derek Williams

Praise

“ [T]here is much that is innovative, insightful and useful in the conceptual sections and case studies of this book. Political Cultures in the Andes will be of interest and benefit to Andeanists, Latin Americanists and non-Latin Americanists alike who are looking for new ways to research and think about ‘the political.’” - Journal of Latin American Studies

“Political Cultures in the Andes, 1750–1950, is a landmark and will be much discussed.” - David Cahill, Ethnohistory

“Political Cultures provides excellent background information about significant aspects of the political culture of the Andes. . . .” - Sheldon Avenius, Perspectives on Political Science

“[A]n important contribution to Andean studies and studies of political cultures.” - Marc Becker, The Americas

“[T]his collection will be essential reading for many professional scholars. Its case studies and its efforts to discuss the merits of a ‘political culture perspective’ will serve as points of departure not only for those interested in the Andes but also for historians of Latin American politics in general.” - Sujay Rao, History: Reviews of New Books

“[The issues] are fascinating and central to any understanding of power relations in Latin American societies. For those interested in the struggle, this book is an excellent place to start. It should stimulate animated discussions in upper-level courses and graduate seminars.” - W. John Green, Hispanic American Historical Review

“The various contributions . . . shed light on many aspects of Andean societies. For this reason the text is highly recommended to historians interested in the area and the period it covers.” - Peter Ross, Australian Journal of Politics and History

“This fine collection of essays provides a wealth of information about political struggles in the Andes . . . . ” - Kenneth J. Andrien, The Historian

“Political Cultures in the Andes is an extraordinary book, one of those books that both provides fresh perspectives and brings together significant trends that have been in the air recently. The volume is full of provocative and interesting essays. This is a must-read for historians interested in the Andes or politics in Latin America more generally.” - Peter Guardino, author of The Time of Liberty: Popular Political Culture in Oaxaca, 1750–1850

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Author/Editor Bios Table Of Contents Rights Additional Information

Author/Editor Bios

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Nils Jacobsen is Associate Professor of History and Director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of Mirages of Transition: The Peruvian Altiplano, 1780–1930.

Cristóbal Aljovín de Losada is Director of the Master’s Program in History at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima, Peru. He is the author of Caudillos y constituciones: Perú, 1821–1845.

Table Of Contents

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About the Series ix

Acknowledgments xi

The Long and the Short of It: A Pragmatic Perspective on Political Cultures, Especially for the Modern History of the Andes / Nils Jacobsen and Cristobal Aljovin de Losada 1

Is Political Culture Good to Think? / Alan Knight 25

How Interest and Values Seldom Come Alone, or: The Utility of a Pragmatic Perspective on Political Culture / Nils Jacobsen and Cristobal Aljovin de Losada 58

Part One

State- and Nation-Building Projects and Their Limitations 69

Civilize or Control:? The Lingering Impact of Bourbon Urban Reforms / Charles F. Walker 74

A Break with the Past? Santa Cruz and the Constitution / Cristobal Aljovin de Losada 96

The Tax Man Cometh: Local Authorities and the Battle Over Taxes in Peru, 1885–1906 / Carlos Contreras 116

“Under the dominion of the Indian”: Rural Mobilization, the Law, and Revolutionary Nationalism in Bolivia in the 1940s / Laura Gotkowitz 137

Part Two

Ethnicity, Gender, and the Construction of Power: Exclusionary Strategies and the Struggle for Citizenship 159

“Free Men of All Colors” in New Granada: Identity and Obedience before Independence / Margarita Garrido 165

Silencing African Descent: Caribbean Columbia and Early Nation Building, 1810–1828 / Aline Helg 184

The Making of Ecuador’s Pueblo Catolico, 1861–1875 / Derek Williams 207

Redeemed Indians, Barbarized Cholos: Crafting Neocolonial Modernity in Liberal Bolivia, 1900–1910 / Brooke Larson 230

Part Three

The Local, the Peripheral, and the Network: Redefining the Boundaries of Popular Representation in Public Arena 253

Andean Political Imagination in the Late Eighteenth Century / Sergio Serulnikov 257

Public Opinions and Public Spheres in Late-Nineteenth-Century Peru: A Multicolored Web in a Tattered Cloth / Nils Jacobsen 278

The Local Limitations to a National Political Movement: Gaitan and Gaitansimo in Antioquia / Mary Roldan 301

Concluding Remarks: Andean Inflections of Latin American Political Cultures / Nils Jacobsen and Cristobal Aljovin de Losada 324

Bibliography 337

Contributors 373

Index 377

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Additional Information

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Paper ISBN: 978-0-8223-3515-3 / Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-8223-3503-0 / eISBN: 978-0-8223-8661-2 / DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822386612

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