Abstract

MENDIETA PARADA, Pilar. José Matías Carrasco and the building of the department of Beni (1830-1860). Estudios Bolivianos [online]. 2017, n.27, pp. 63-86. ISSN 2078-0362.

Abstract This article is based on the brochure Synoptic Description of Mojos written in 1834 by José Matías Carrasco, a scarcely known figure who was a political authority ofthe Mojos province and the department of Beni . Its objective is to reconstruct the visión of a subordínate authority of the Bolivian state on the former catholic missions of Mojos in a context of predominant liberal ideas at the beginning of the republic (1830 and 1860). Together with Alcide d’ Orbigny, José Matías Carrasco was a pioneer in the creation of the department of Beni in 1843 and its incorporation into the Bolivian national state through diverse policies promoting commerce, industry, citizenship, and demarcating its borders. Although his ideas were not successful asplanned, the article argües that Beni s consolidation as a department of the Bolivian state greatly owes to José Matías Carrasco.

Keywords : State-building; liberalism; José Matías Carrasco; Mojos; Beni; Alcide d'Orbigny.