The Redemptive Work: Railway and Nation in Ecuador, 1895-1930 (Latin American Silhouettes)
by A. Kim Clark
Category: History

At the turn of the century, diverse political, economic, and social conditions divided Ecuador. During the construction of the Guayaquil-Quito Railway, the people of Ecuador faced the challenge of working together. The Redemptive Work: Railway and Nation in Ecuador, 1895–1930 examines local, regional, and national perspectives on the building of the railway and analyzes the contradictory processes of national incorporation. The elite landowners of the highlands were concerned with the transportation of their agricultural products to the coast, while the agro-export elite of the coast were more interested in forming a labor market. Because the underlying objectives were contradictory, only a partial consensus was reached on the nature of national development. The Redemptive Work is the first text to deal with these complex issues in Ecuador's history. It is useful for undergraduate and graduate courses in Latin American history, social history, anthropology, political science, and nation and state formation.