PASTURE, PROFT, AND POWER: AN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY OF CATTLE RANCHING IN COLOMBIA, 1850-1950

Abstract

This article examines the expansion of cattle ranching into lowland forests of Colombia between 1850 and 1950. It also explores the role of introduced African grasses in the process of pasture development, with particular emphasis on productivity gains. And it suggests that paying greater attention to the costs and labor of pasture formation can push us to reexamine a number of common stereotypes about ranching (for example, that cattle were primarily a means to control territory). This, in turn, should help us better understand the nature of landed power and the dynamics of agrarian change in Colombia.