This is a study of the role of regions in the development of modern nations in Latin America. Eduardo Posada-Carbó focuses on the Colombian Caribbean between 1870 and 1950. He examines the achievements and shortcomings of arable agriculture and the significance of the livestock industry, the link between town and countryside, the influence of foreign migrants and foreign capital, the relationship between local and national politics, and the extent to which regionalism represented a challenge to the consolidation of the national state in Colombia. This original study opens up the area to scholarly scrutiny for the first time, and has wider implications for Latin American historiography.