Chorographic Commission

The Chorographic Commission (Comisión Corográfica in Spanish) was a scientific project initially commissioned in 1850 by the Republic of the New Granada (a region which is now Colombia) that was initially led by the Italian engineer Agustín Codazzi. The purpose of the commission was to make a complete description of the New Granada and its provinces, but there were also economic interests, such as the research and acknowledgement of natural resources, the construction of means of transportation, the promotion of international commerce as well as foreign investment and immigration. In this sense there was also a political interest in the construction of a national identity where the mestizo culture was highlighted and there was a hierarchized representation of racial democracy. The commission took place in two stages; the first between 1850 and 1859, led by Agustín Codazzi, and the second between 1860 and 1862 by Manuel Ponce de León.

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