Sharpening our General View of the Past: The Great Challenge of Latin American Environmental History

This essay proposes that the great challenge of Latin American environmental history is to alter our general understanding of the region's past, making it more complete and precise, not just for environmental historians but for everyone. Including the environment in history allows to examine old historical problems through new lenses, and to propose new research topics. Therefore, the task goes beyond identifying what has not been done within the field of environmental history, it implies conceiving of strategies that will allow those doing Latin American history to realize that they can do their job better by taking the environment into account. The text reviews the way in which environmental topics have been included in the historiography about Colombia and invites readers to write compelling monographs, do comparative work and seek partners within and outside academia to build a view of the past that is more complex, accurate, and colorful, and thus achieve a better understanding of the present.