Colombia and World War I Colombia and World War I The Experience of a Neutral Latin American Nation during the Great War and Its Aftermath, 1914–1921 Jane M. Rausch LEXINGTONBOOKS Lanham•Boulder•NewYork•Toronto•Plymouth,UK PublishedbyLexingtonBooks AwhollyownedsubsidiaryofRowman&Littlefield 4501ForbesBoulevard,Suite200,Lanham,Maryland20706 www.rowman.com 10ThornburyRoad,PlymouthPL67PP,UnitedKingdom Copyright©2014byLexingtonBooks Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyany electronicormechanicalmeans,includinginformationstorageandretrievalsystems, withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher,exceptbyareviewerwhomayquote passagesinareview. BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationInformationAvailable LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Rausch,JaneM.,1940- ColombiaandWorldWarI:theexperienceofaneutralLatinAmericannationduringtheGreatWar anditsaftermath,1914-1921/JaneM.Rausch. pagescm Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN978-0-7391-8773-9(cloth:alkalinepaper)--ISBN978-0-7391-8774-6(electronic) 1.WorldWar,1914-1918--Diplomatichistory.2.WorldWar,1914-1918--Colombia.3.Neutrality-- Colombia--History--20thcentury.4.Colombia--Politicsandgovernment--1903-1930.5.Colombia-- Foreignrelations--20thcentury.I.Title.II.Title:ColombiaandWorldWar1.III.Title:Colombia andWorldWarOne. D621.C7R382014 940.3'25861--dc23 2014009835 TMThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsofAmerican NationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary Materials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992. PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica Contents ListofFigures vii Preface ix 1 Colombiain1914 1 2 EuropeinFlames:TheConchaAdministrationandthe OutbreakofWorldWarOne:August1914–August1915 23 3 StayingtheCourse:DiplomaticandEconomic Developments:August1915–April1917 43 4 NewChallenges:U.S.DeclarationofWaronGermanyand theControversialAccessionofSuáreztothePresidency: April1917–November1918 65 5 CollateralDamage:TheAftermathofWar:November1918 toNovember1921 87 Conclusion 109 Annex1:LawsofWar:RightsandDutiesofNeutralPowersand PersonsinCaseofWaronLand(HagueV);October18, 1907* 115 Annex2:Thomson-UrrutiaTreaty(1914)* 121 Bibliography 125 Index 129 AbouttheAuthor 137 v List of Figures Fig.1.1 Colombiain1914. 3 Fig.2.1 JoséVicenteConcha. 24 Fig.2.2 RafaelUribeUribe 30 Fig.3.1 Caribbeanregionsshowingbananazoneand railroads. 49 Fig.3.2 Colombiashowingoilfieldsandplatinummines.52 Fig.4.1 MarcoFidelSuárez 78 Fig.4.2 LaureanoGómez 80 Fig.5.1 “Contratosa‘Mares’” 91 Fig.5.2 “AGreatConscienceAwakener.” 104 vii