La transformación de la hacienda Cacaotera de Ecuador en la década de 1870: El caso de juicio entre Camilo Landín y Baltazara Calderón de Rocafuerte

Abstract

: The economic history of Ecuador during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are strongly associated with the exportation of cacao to international markets. This boom generated important social, economic, political, and cultural transformations at a national level. One of these transformations was the emergence of new economic elites who disputed the prevalence of the old urban aristocracy. This paper addresses this phenomenon by analyzing the judicial process between the emerging landowner Camilo Landín and Baltazara Calderón, one of the most important Ecuadorian aristocrats of the 19th century. This process was oriented to determinate the ownership of an important portion of land. The analysis shows that, although the 19 th century was a period of extensive social transformations, old aristocracies still had strong social and economic capital.