Samper Agudelo, Miguel (1825–1899)

Miguel Samper Agudelo (b. 24 October 1825; d. 16 March 1899), Colombian Liberal economist and politician. Samper's devotion to liberal economic principles distinguishes him as one of Colombia's leading nineteenth-century Liberals. Born to a modest family in Guaduas, Cundinamarca, Samper was trained as a lawyer at San Bartolomé College in Bogotá. He dedicated his energies to business rather than politics and invested profitably in tobacco production and trade in the Magdalena Valley during the 1850s. His brothers, José María, Silvestre, Antonio, and Manuel, were also active in politics and commerce. Samper's liberalism is apparent in his noted social commentary La miseria en Bogotá (1867), his fervent support of lower tariff rates (1880), and his staunch opposition to the monetary policies of the Regeneration. Despite his economic beliefs, his social conservatism is evident in his increased devotion to Catholicism later in his life. Samper's political roles included positions in the national congress, minister of finance under two administrations, and the Liberal presidential candidate in 1897.

See alsoColombia: Since Independence .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Miguel Samper, Escritos político-económicos, 4 vols. (1925–1927), and La miseria en Bogotá y otros escritos (1969).

Jaime Jaramillo Uribe, El pensamiento colombiano en el siglo XIX (1969).

Additional Bibliography

Samper, Armando. Miguel Samper: Su personalidad y su pensamiento. Colombia: Tres Culturas Editores, 1994.

                                      David Sowell