gems, beryl, emerald, Colombia

Montaña examines Colombia’s government revenue from the national emerald mines, particularly Muzo, from the standpoint of public finance and administration. The work discusses the various systems by which the mines had been exploited and their revenues collected, including leasing and the administration of the mines through the Sindicato de Muzo, and argues that the emerald deposits constituted an exceptionally valuable national asset whose fiscal potential had historically been poorly realized. Particular attention is given to government contracts, production and sales, revenues and expenses, the problem of illicit extraction and contraband, and the measures required to protect the state’s monopoly and obtain a greater return from the emerald trade. Montaña supports his arguments with financial accounts and documentary evidence concerning the administration of the mines, making the work an important contemporary source for the economic and administrative history of the Colombian emerald industry in the early twentieth century.