Empresas extranjeras en el sector de ого у de plata en Colombia, 1870–1914: Lafree-standing company como modelo aplicado рог inversionistas extranjeros

Abstract

The gold of Colombia (basically from Antioquia and north of Tolima) has been exported during the 19th century to the City of London in big quantities. Free-standing companies which had their head-quarters in London invested from the 1870 s in gold production. However, their success was quite modest. Only a few firms were able to pay annually high dividends. The explanation lays in the deficient evaluation of gold deposits, in poor abilities to make friends among local elites and workers and in frequent civil wars. Foreign free-standing companies differed in many ways from Colombian companies. They had more capital, their ownership was broader, and they used more modern (and expensive) technology. Altogether, Colombian gold production was much more dynamic during the last decades of nineteenth century than it has been assumed so far in literature. Nevertheless, foreign business in Colombian gold production had not any important impact on regional modernization. Nor have they been an effective instrument to exploit the country as there was a big difference between original intention and real effect.