Description

Almanacs, in the words of Patricia Cardona Z., in her analysis of early Colombian almanacs, are “time technologies”, being “means of diffusion of important information, both for public and private life”. They played a critical role in in disseminating knowledge of politics, economics, public health and the social and religious life of a country, factors especially in important in newly independent states, like Colombia, as they played a role in forging a coherent national identity.

What is today the Republic of Colombia became independent from Spain in 1819, as part of Gran Colombia, an entity which comprised modern Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador. This unstable union was dissolved in 1830, giving way to what we now know of as Colombia (plus Panama), but transitionally retaining its traditional colonial name of Nueva Grenada (the name Colombia would not be enduringly adopted until 1863).

As best as we can tell, the first proper almanac produced in Nueva Grenada was Francisco José de Caldas y Tenorio’s Almanaque para el año de 1811, calculado para el Nuevo Reyno de Granada (Bogotá: En la Patriótica de Santafé, 1810), which was followed by a sequel the next year. Political and economic instability due to the Colombian of Independence (1810-25) and its aftermath ensured that country’s print industry went through a difficult period of restructuring. Consequently, the production of almanacs during the first generation of the independence era was infrequent and irregular. Moreover, while important and influential in their time, the print runs of the early almanacs would have been quite limited, while their survival rate was very low, such that all examples are today extreme rarities.

Beyond the two Caldas y Tenorio almanacs (1810-1), the only issued we can trace between then and the mid-to-late 1830s is Benedicto Domínguez del Castillo’s Almanaque para la República de Colombia, Año de 1823 (Bogotá: Imprenta de Nicomedes Lora, 1822).

Fast forward, the firm Imprenta de José A. Cualla, best known for printing works for the Nueva Grenada government, issued the Almanaque Político i Mercantil de la Nueva Granada para el año de 1837 (1836) and the Almanaque nacional, o, Guía de forasteros en la Nueva Granada para el año de MDCCCXXXVIII (1837).

The present work, Almanaque político i mercantil de la Nueva Granada para el año de 1838 [1837], which bears the same title as the Cualla almanac for the year 1837 (we are not sure if the works are in any way related), was issued by the boutique Bogotá publisher Imprenta de Lleras i Compañía, is one of the few surviving early Colombian almanacs.
The Lleras i Compañía almanac was produced in only this single issue for the year 1838, while the production of almanacs in Nueva Grenada/Colombia in the following years remained infrequent and irregular.

Despite its small size, the present almanac is packed with useful and fascinating information that grants a valuable insight into the priorities and interests of Colombians during the 1830s, as well as the state of their young nation.

The work features 12 monthly Calendar pages interleaved throughout the text. Each is headed by a zodiacal sign, while below there is a listing of saints’ days and phases of the moon. Various acronyms appear at certain dates, representing Roman Catholic festivals and observances, the explanations for which are given in the ‘Nota’ on p. 26.

Page 2 concerns the Nueva Grenada government, listing President José Ignacio de Márquez, (in office, 1832, 1837-41) and the members of his cabinet. Next, there is a register of the Consuls of Nueva Granada (with their names) stationed in foreign countries, including Rome (Papal States), USA, Peru, Guayaquil and adjacent coats (Ecuador), Britain (plus a ‘Commercial Agent’ in Kingston, Jamaica) (p. 4). There is then a listing of the Foreign Consuls to Nueva Granada (with their names), including those of Rome (Papal States), Venezuela, Ecuador, France, Britain, Netherlands and the USA.

Following, is the ‘Times of the Foundation of Various Places’, a section describing the time and circumstances of the establishment of the major cities of Nueva Grenada (ex. Bogotá founded by Gonzalo Jimenes de Quesada in 1538, etc.) (pp. 8 and 10).

As for the economy, there is a detailed discourse on ‘Imports and Exports’, which reveals that Nueva Granada then had a large trade deficit. Imports for the year ending August 31, 1836 amounted to 4,142,000 pesos, of which over 75% entered the country through the customs houses of Cartagena and Santa Marta, while noting the rough consumption of the imports amongst the various provinces. Exports for the same year were 2,827,544 pesos, of which over 50% consisted of gold coinage, with other major articles being cotton, dye wood, leather goods, silver coinage, sugar and cacao, while the country additionally sent 77,036 pesos of quicksilver abroad but, for technical reasons, this was not to be included in the national trade statistics (p. 12).

In the section ‘Estadistica Judiciaria’ (Judicial Statistics), it is noted that in Nueva Granada during the year ending August 31, 1835, 300 individuals were prosecuted for crimes against society, 471 for crimes against people and 415 for crimes against property. In the year following, these numbers were 335 for social crimes, 323 for crimes against persons and 357 for crimes against property. From 1834-5 to 1835-6 homicides had decreased from 181 to 67. The overall criminal conviction rate remained unchanged with only 50% of the accused being found guilty. During these two years the number of women accused of crimes ranged from 152 to 140. Going forward, the author of the almanac suggests that the state should keep statistics on the ages and education of accused criminals to better prevent crime and target enforcement (p. 14).

Next, there is a listing of the heads of state of various nations in the Americas (ex. USA – Martin van Buren; Brazil – Emperor Dom Pedro II, etc.), as well a register of the ‘Eclipses in 1838’, noting the eclipses of the Sun, Moon and the satellites of Jupiter (p. 16).

Returning to the Nueva Grenada government, there is a listing of ‘Senadores’ (Senators) and ‘Representantes’ (Members of the House of Representatives) currently serving, as divided by province (pp. 18 and 20).

The section ‘Salidas de los Correos’ (Port Offices) details the times and routes of Nueva Grenada’s postal service, between various domestic locations, as well as to Venezuela and on to Europe and North America via Cartagena and Santa Martha. A chart below details postal rates (p. 22).

Interestingly, the page entitled ‘Taz Ferina’ (tos ferina or tosferina) is a public service announcement on ‘Whooping Cough’, noting that “this disease had reigned twice in the past year, wreaking havoc particularly among the children of this province. We will make some indications that may be useful in the private places of your patronage of good doctors and even to those people who cannot consult them. In Whooping Cough, three periods must be carefully distinguished because remedies suitable for the infection may not be useful for the other”. It continues by discussing these stages and the treatments (p. 24).

Finally, ‘Pesas i medidas’ (Weights and Measures) notes that a law was coming into effect that would standardize the vara Grenadina as the “Fundamental unit of all weights measures” across Nueva Grenada. On the lefthand margin of the page a sample one-eighth of the vara Grenadina is provided (p. 28).

A Note on Rarity

Like many ephemeral Colombian imprints of generation after Independence, which tended to have a limited print run and a very low survival rate, the present work is exceedingly rare. We can trace only a single institutional example, held by the Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia’s Fondo Pineda (which is incomplete, missing its title page). Moreover, we cannot trace any sales records for any other examples.

References: Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia: Fondo Pineda 37, pieza 2; Biblioteca del Ex-Coronel Pineda, o, Colección de las publicaciones de la imprenta en el Virreinato de Santafé: de 1774-1850… (1853), p. 135; Patricia Cardona Z., ‘Almanaques en Colombia en el siglo XIX: tiempo, recetas útiles y sociedad’, Revista de Historia de América, núm. 163 (julio-diciembre 2022), pp. 227.