The road toward Barrancabermeja: historical background of the colonization process in San Vicente de Chucurí, 1864-1900

Abstract

In the last three decades of the nineteenth century the processes of colonization were more dynamic in the drainage basins of the department of Santander, Colombia. Inthis period of time, the municipality of San Vicente de Chucurí was settled in the western side of the mountain range known as “Serranía de los Yariguíes”. This paper presents the relationship between the construction of the road between Zapatoca and the Magdalena River, the land uses on certain routes of travel and the beginning of colonization process between 1870 and 1910. The paper highlights the reasons that politicians and businessmen shared regarding the construction of the road and the character with the problems that were assumed to maintain its operation.

Keywords: Santander, road toward Barrancabermeja, colonization, San Vicente de Chucurí.