“Un repertorio de historia nacional”: el Boletín de Historia y Antigüedades y la institucionalización de la historia en Colombia, 1902-1919

Objective/context: The article examines the configuration of the journal Boletín de Historia y Antigüedades, an organ of the National Academy of History, as part of the institutionalization process experienced by national history in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Methodology: Using the tools of the history of written culture, the article studies the role played by the administration in the journal’s orientation, in the selection and positioning of specific topics, in its internal structuring and types of contributions, in the dynamics of printing and circulation, as well as in the reading practices it was the object of. Originality: Based on unstudied documentation, the paper reconstructs the intellectual and editorial conditions that explain the creation of the first history journal in the north of South America. In doing so, it problematizes the notion of official history to show the tensions that arose between the National Academy of History and the central State to control the journal. Conclusions: The Boletín had the double condition of being the news organ of the corporation it belonged to and a means of disseminating historical works and documents. Thus, it contributed to strengthening a type of historical writing conceived as scientific. With emphasis on the Independence era, the publication sought to offer a history of the country in its different periods based on the contributions of scholars from diverse parts of the national geography. The material existence of the journal resulted from discussions and negotiations between academics, public officials, and national authorities.