Territorial Rule in Colombia and the Transformation of the Llanos Orientales

Prior to the 1980s, Colombia’s Llanos Orientales was a vast plain of tropical grassland east of the Andes. Populated mainly by indigenous people, the area was considered "primitive" until exploitable petroleum deposits were discovered. The finding transformed the Llanos into the fastest growing region in the country. In this volume, Jane Rausch surveys sixty years of history in the Llanos, between 1946 and 2010, combining perspective gained by her first-hand experiences with archival research. She examines the Colombian government’s Llanos policies and the political, economic, and social changes they have brought about. Rausch’s large-scale historical survey of the region ultimately reveals that as a South American frontier, the Llanos is politically and economically critical to both Colombia’s present and its future.
Jane M. Rausch, professor emerita of history at the University of Massachusetts--Amherst, is the author of five books, including Colombia: Territorial Rule and the Llanos Frontier and From Frontier Town to Metropolis: A History of Villavicencio, Colombia, since 1842.