The Role of the Family in Economic Development in Nineteenth-Century Latin America

Abstract

Family firms, characteristic of business organization in colonial Latin America, thrived throughout the nineteenth century because they responded dynamically to changes in the direction and character of the economy. Family affiliation afforded a primary means of mobilizing capital, training reliable per sonnel, expanding and diversifying the business, and guaranteeing its long-term success. Definition of family membership was flexible, and marriage often was used to recruit and hold new talent. A patriarch or matriarch typically directed the family and its investments. Businessmen sought diversification as soon as financially possible and, ideally, integrated their holdings into a complementary unit.