“Goods of Great Taste and English Overcoats”: Studying the Cultural Impact of the Consumption of English Commodities by the Upper Class in Nineteenth-Century Bogotá
No. 38 (2009-05-01)Author(s)
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Ana Maria Otero-Cleves
Abstract
This article examines the cultural impact of the consumption of English goods by Bogotá’s upper class during the nineteenth century. It suggests that the consumption of English commodities after the country’s independence was one of the main mechanisms employed by the upper classes to ensure their social position as well as to build a modern nation according to European standards. Hence, the article explores the role that consumption of foreign goods played in processes of nation-building and social differentiation throughout the nineteenth century.
Keywords:
Consumption, cross-Cultural Consumption, commerce, imports, Bogotá, nineteenth century