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Title: Los ferrocarriles mediterráneos de este país i algunas de sus trascendentales consecuencias
Creator: Borda, Leopoldo
Publication Info: Unknown : Unknown, 1875.
Physical Details: 23 p. ; 24 x 15 5/10 cms.
Physical Condition: Front wrapper gone, as is title page, page one stained slightly, rest of the item, good.

Summary: This pamphlet is an analysis of the debates concerning the construction of the Colombian railroads. The author argued that in order to build railroads precise statistics were needed regarding the patterns of production and consumption. This information would determine whether railroads were indeed the transportation systems that would contribute to the economic development of different regions. The author asserted that the size of the projects and the amount of capital (and debt) necessary to carry them out had been overlooked by the provincial and central governments that advocated for them.
Historical Notes: During the 19th century there were many debates concerning the construction of railroads. Historian Frank Safford argues that in many cases the railroads were built in different regions with different commercial goals, and not necessarily in order to produce a national integrated system of transport for goods and people. Each railroad represented a large investment that depended on the political will and power of each region’s leaders. In addition to the economic, political and regional problems, Safford states that the railroads’ construction was particularly slow in Colombia due to the difficult topography. Safford, Frank 2010 El Problema de los Transportes en Colombia en el Siglo XIX. In Economía Colombiana del Siglo XIX. A. Meisel Roca and M.T. Ramírez, eds. Pp. 564-5. Bogotá: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Donor Notes: A reasoned essay opposing the construction of railways in Colombia as being highly economically prohibitive and unrealistic, 1875 - J.L.H.

Subject(s): Railroads -- Economic aspects -- Colombia
Railroads and state -- Colombia
Infrastructure (Economics) -- Colombia
Transportation -- Colombia -- History -- 19th century
Economic development -- Colombia -- 19th century

Type: Pamphlet
Language: Spanish
Format: JPG
PDF - Color
Donor: Helguera, J. León
Collection: Helguera, J. León Collection
Institution: Vanderbilt University
Accession Number: P01778
Record Number: 310
Islandora ID: islandora:825