The Allure of the Foreign:
Imported Goods in Post-Colonial Latin America


Changing Consumption Patterns in Everyday Life in Two Peruvian Regions:
Food, Dress and Housing in the Central and Southern Highlands (1820-1920)
Thomas Krüggeler

This chapter compares changing consumption patterns in the central and southern highlands of Peru during the century after Independence. Due to its proximity to Lima and to a more dynamic regional economy, the emerging consumer world of the central highlands was always a step ahead of the southern region. But in both areas imports were appreciated for their symbolic and practical values and consumption was not limted to middle and upper strata of society. After examining the availability and the wide range of foreign goods in the Peruvian hinterland the chapter analyzes consumer behavior on the background of regional economic conditions, the meaning people and social groups attached to imports and foreign goods as tools for constructing social identities. The social and economic configuration of each region shaped the acceptance and use of foreign goods.

Author's e-mail: tkruggeler@compuserve.com or tkruegge@Geschichte.Uni-Bielefeld.de


homeorderingcontentscontributorsabout the book