Gran Colombia Studies Section: Beyond Borders—New Ways of Thinking of Northern South America in the Early Modern World

How can we draw connections between the histories of the northern Andes, the Caribbean, the Orinoco, and the Amazon in the early modern period and what can they teach us? While historians have often emphasized the need to go beyond national borders, the study of the historical experiences of Venezuela, Panamá, Ecuador, and Colombia remain fragmented due to nation-centered historiographies and academic institutions. This panel brings together exciting new research that looks across and beyond traditional geographic delimitations and national historiographies to reassess the key role northern South America occupied in the early modern period.