Canadian multinational corporations and economic nationalism: The case of imperial oil limited in alberta (CANADA) and colombia, 1899-1938

Entreprises et Histoire

Volumn 54, Issue 1, 2009, Pages 67-85

  Bucheli, Marcelo ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA CHAMPAIGN   (United States)

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EID: 77249093597     PISSN: 11612770     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3917/eh.054.0067     Document Type: Article

References (145)

1. This project was funded by the Research Fund Program 2007, Canadian Embassy, Washington DC. I wish to thank Douglass Cass and Tonia Fanella at the Glenbow Museum (Calgary)and the staff at the Canadian National Archives. I also thank the research assistantshipof Michelle Grimaldi, Susanna Kim, Donald Klippert, and Renata Owczarek. Previous observations from David Breen, Catherine LeGrand, and Mira Wilkins were very useful, but I am responsible for any error or inaccuracy.
2. The best studies on oil and nationalism in Latin America using these kind of sources are J. Brown, Oil and Revolution in Mexico, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1993
3. G. Philip, Oil and Politics in Latin America: Nationalist Movements and State Companies, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1982.
4. J. H. Dunning, "The Multinational Enterprise: the Background", in J. H. Dunning (ed.), The Multinational Enterprise, New York, Praeger, 1971.
5. K. Harrigan, "Vertical integration and corporate strategy", Academy of Management Journal, Vol.28, No.2, 1985, p. 397-425.
6. R. Grosse, "The Bargaining View of Government-Business Relations", in R. Grosse (ed.), International Business and Government Relations in the Twenty-First Century, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2005, p. 277-282.
7. I am aware that recent literature on corporate social responsibility defines 'corporate citizenship' by the way a company relates to the local society (see D. Matten, A. Crane, and W. Chapple, "Behind the Mask: Revealing the True Face of Corporate Citizenship", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 45, No. 1-2, 2003, p. 109-120). My article, however, does not analyze corporate social responsibility.
8. D. McDowall, The Light: Brazilian Traction, Light, and Power Company Limited, 1899-1945, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1988
9. C. Armstrong and H. V. Nelles. Southern Exposure: Canadian Promoters in Latin America and the Caribbean, 1896-1930, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1988.
10. G. Marchildon, "A New View of Canadian Business History", Business History, Vol.32, No.3, 1990, p. 162-168.
11. For some examples, see T. Traves, Essays in Canadian Business History, Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, 1984
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14. M. Bliss, A Living Profit: Studies in the Social History of Canadian Business, 1883-1911, Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, 1974.
15. Some of the major books on Canadian business history published afterwards do not give any importance to Latin America. R. T. Naylor only writes six pages of Canadian business in Latin America in his 376-page History of Canadian Business. Naylor does not takeinto account oil investments but only operations by commerce and utility companies. See R. T. Naylor, History of Canadian Business, Montreal, McGill University Press, 2006, p. 230-235.
16. Other studies ignore Latin America completely. See D. McCalla, The Development of Canadian Capitalism: Essays in Business History, Toronto, Copp Clark Pitman, 1990
17. J. Dwyer, Business History: Canada in the Global Community, North York, Captus Press, 2000.
18. C. LeGrand, "Informal Resistance on a Dominican Sugar Plantation During the Trujillo Dictatorship", Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol.75, No.4, 1995, p. 555-596.
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20. J. F. Isaza, J. Fernando and L. E. Salcedo. Sucedió en la Costa Atlántica: Los albores de la industria petrolera en Colombia, Bogota, Ancora, 1991.
21. P. Calvert, "The Murray Contract: An Episode in International Finance and Diplomacy", The Pacific Historical Review, Vol.35, No.2, May 1966, p. 203-224.
22. M. Bucheli, "Negotiating Under the Monroe Doctrine: Weetman Pearson and the Origins of US Control of Colombian Oil", Business History Review, Vol.82, No.3, Autumn 2008, p. 433-454.
23. J. Villegas, Petróleo, Oligarquía e Imperio, Bogota, Ancora, 1982.
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26. R. De la Pedraja Tomán, Petróleo, electricidad, carbón y política en Colombia, Bogota, Ancora, 1993.
27. M. T. Ripoll and J. Báez, "Desarrollo industrial y cultura empresarialen Cartagena: La Andian National Corporation y Refinería de Mamonal", Bogota, Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano, mimeo.
28. H. Klassen, A Business History of Alberta, Calgary, University of Calgary Press, 1999, p. 145.
29. J. Ewing, Imperial Oil Manuscript, Carton 6, Folder 56, p. 193. Business History Foundation Records, Historical Collections, Baker Library, Harvard Business School (hereafter Ewing Manuscript).
30. Ewing Manuscript, Folder 68, Part D, p. 50-56.
31. Ewing Manuscript, Folder 68, Part C, p. 49.
32. Ewing Manuscript, Folder 8(1/2), Part A, p. 1-8.
33. W. T. Easterbrook and H. Aitken, Canadian Economic History, Toronto, Mamillan, 1958, p. 521-522.
34. B. Broadfoot and M. Nichols, Memories: The Story of Imperial's First Century as Told by its Employees and Annuitants, Toronto, Plow and Watters, 1980, p. 2-3.
35. H. Klassen, A Business History⋯, op. cit., 1980 p. 145.
36. Ibid., H. Klassen, A Business History⋯, 1980 p. 145.
37. D. Breen, Alberta's Petroleum Industry and the Conservation Board, Edmonton, University of Alberta Press, 1993, p. 4-5.
38. D. Breen, "Anglo-American Rivalry and the Evolution of Canadian Petroleum Policy to 1930", Canadian Historical Review, Vol.52, No.3, September 1981, p. 285.
39. S. Gow, Roughnecks, Rock Bits and Rigs: The Evolution of Oil Well Drilling in Alberta, 1883-1970, Calgary, University of Calgary Press, 2006, p. 5.
40. D. Breen, Alberta⋯, op. cit., 2006 p. 10-16.
41. D. Breen, Alberta⋯, op. cit., 2006 p. 17.
42. D. Breen, "Anglo-American⋯", art. cit., p. 285-286.
43. D. Breen, Alberta⋯, op. cit., 2006 p.17.
44. D. Breen, "Anglo-American⋯", art. cit., p. 288.
45. D. Breen, "Anglo-American⋯", art. cit., p. 290.
46. R. Miller, "Small Business in the Peruvian Oil Industry: Lobitos Oilfields Limited before 1934", Business History Review, Vol.56, No.3, 1982, p. 401-402.
47. G. Gibb and E. Knowlton, The Resurgent Years, 1911-1927: The History of Standard Oil Company (New Jersey), New York, Harper and Brothers, 1956, p. 94-105, 369-380.
48. B. Broadfoot and M. Nichols, Story of Imperial⋯, op. cit., 1956 p. 3.,
49. D. Breen, Alberta⋯, op. cit., 1956 p.18.
50. D. Breen, Alberta⋯, Ibid., 1956 p. 20-21.
51. S. Gow, Roughnecks⋯, op. cit., 1956 p. 6.
52. D. Breen, "Anglo-American⋯", art. cit., p. 290-292.
53. S. Gow, Roughnecks⋯, op. cit., p. 6-7.
54. D. Breen, "Anglo-American⋯", op. cit., 1956 p. 294.
55. D. Breen, Alberta⋯, op. cit., 1956 p. 24.
56. D. Breen, Alberta⋯, op. cit., 1956 p. 23-24.
57. D. Breen, Alberta⋯, op. cit., 1956 p. 36.
58. G. T. Milne, Report on the Financial, Industrial, and Commercial Conditions in Canada, London, Department of Overseas Trade, 1922, p. 31.
59. D. Breen, Alberta⋯, op. cit., 1922, p. 37.
60. "Minutes of Annual General Meeting of Imperial Oil Limited", Toronto, Ontario, January 1922. Imperial Oil Archive, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta, p. 4. Hereafter, "Minutes GM".
61. C. Leithner, "The National Progressive Party of Canada, 1921-1930: Agricultural Economic Conditions and Electoral Support", Canadian Journal of Political Science, Vol.26, No.3, 1993, p. 435-438.
62. P. Grayson and L. M. Grayson, "The Social Base of Interwar Political Unrest in Urban Alberta", Canadian Journal of Political Science, Vol.7, No.2, 1974, p. 289-313.
63. R. J. McFall, "Regulation of Business in Canada", Political Science Quarterly, Vol.37, No.2, 1922, p. 200.
64. D. Breen, "Regulation of Business in Canada", Alberta, 1922, Vol.37, No.2, op. cit., p. 52-53.
65. G. Gibb and E. Knowlton, "Regulation of Business in Canada", Alberta, 1922, Vol.37, No.2, The Resurgent Years, op. cit., p. 370.
66. M. Wilkins, "Multinational Oil Companies in South America in the 1920s: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru", Business History Review, Vol.48, 1974, p. 430.
67. M. Wilkins, The Maturing of Multinational Enterprise: American Business Abroad from 1914 to 1970, Cambridge (Mass.), Harvard University Press, 1974, 27.
68. A. López, "La cuestión del Canal desde la secesión de Panamá hasta el Tratado de Montería", in A. Tirado Mejia (ed.), Nueva Historia de Colombia, vol.I, Bogota, Planeta, 1989, p. 164.
69. J. O. Melo, "De Carlos E. Restrepo a Marco Fidel Suárez: Republicanismo y gobiernos conservadores", in A. Tirado Mejia (ed.), Nueva Historia de Colombia, op. cit., p. 239-240.
70. A. López, "La cuestión del Canal desde la secesión de Panamá hasta el Tratado de Montería", Nueva Historia de Colombia, vol.I, 1989, p. 164.
71. T. Parks Taylor, Colombia and the United States, 1765 - 1934, Durham, Duke University Press, 1935, p. 452-456.
72. R. De la Pedraja, Historia de la Energía, op. cit., 1935, p. 192.
73. T. Parks Taylor, Colombia and the United States, 1765 - 1934, 1935, p. 452-456.
74. J. Villegas, Petróleo, op. cit., 1935, p. 46-68.
75. R. De la Pedraja, Historia de la Energía, op. cit., 1935, p. 192.
76. T. Parks Taylor, Colombia and the United States, 1765 - 1934, 1935, p. 452-456.
77. Colombia. Ministerio de Minas y Petróleos, Memoria 1944, Bogota, Imprenta Nacional, 1944, p. 43.
78. L. B. Beale, Report on the Financial, Industrial, and Commercial Conditions in Canada, London, Department of Overseas Trade, 1922, p. 32.
79. Minutes 1923, GM, p. 3.
80. V. Lauriston, "News from Fields of Canada", Oil and Gas Journal, Vol.21, No.41, March 8, 1923, p. 42.
81. W. H. Voskuil, "Price Stabilization in Oil Through Control of Production", Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol.139, 1928, p. 80-81.
82. Minutes, 1925, GM, p. 2.
83. T. Meloe, United States Control of Petroleum Imports, PhD Dissertation, Columbia University, 1966, p. 14-15, 22.
84. Minutes, 1924, GM, p. 2.
85. Minutes, 1924, GM, p. 2.
86. Minutes, 1924, GM, p. 2.
87. G. Wrong, "Relations with the United States", Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs, Toronto, The Canadian Review, 1925, p. 80-81.
88. R. De la Pedraja, "Relations with the United States", Historia de la Energía⋯, op. cit., 1925, p. 197.
89. G. Wrong, "Relations with the United States", Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs, 1925, p. 80-81.
90. Minutes, 1924, GM, p. 3.
91. R. De la Pedraja, Minutes, Historia de la Energía⋯, op. cit., 1924, p. 200.
92. J. Villegas, Minutes, Petróleo, op. cit., 1924, p. 108-110.
93. G. Colmenares, "Ospina y Abadía: la política en el decenio de los veinte", in A. Tirado Mejía (ed.), Nueva Historia de Colombia, op. cit., vol.I, p. 256.,
94. J. Villegas, "Ospina y Abadía: la política en el decenio de los veinte", Petróleo 1, 1924, op. cit., p. 108-110.
95. R. De la Pedraja, "Ospina y Abadía: la política en el decenio de los veinte", Historia de la Energía⋯ 1, 1924, op. cit., p. 200.
96. Minutes, 1924, GM, p. 2.
97. W. A. Craick, "Industries and Commerce", Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs, 1925-1926, Toronto, Ontario Press Limited, 1926, p. 253.
98. J. A. Aikin, "The Province of Alberta", Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs, 1925-1926, Toronto, Ontario Press Limited, 1926, p. 504.
99. F. W. Field, Report on the Financial, Industrial, and Commercial Conditions in Canada, London, Department of Overseas Trade, 1930, p. 48.
100. D. Breen, Alberta⋯, op. cit., 1930, p. 6-58.
101. F. W. Field, Report on the Financial, Industrial, and Commercial Conditions in Canada, 1930, p. 48.
102. Minutes 1925, GM, p. 3-4.
103. Minutes 1926, GM, p. 2.
104. Minutes, 1925, GM, p. 2.
105. R. De la Pedraja, Historia de la Energía, op. cit., p. 198., Minutes, 1925, GM, p. 2.
106. Minutes, 1927, GM, p. 4.
107. F. Ayearst, "G. Harrison Smith: The Power Behind the South American Oil Fields", Financial Post, May 7, 1926, p. 10.
108. F. Ayearst, "G. Harrison⋯", Financial Post, op. cit., 1926, p. 10.
109. "International 'Pete's' Amazing Development in Colombian Fields", Financial Post, August 6, 1926, p. 11.
110. "International Petroleum to Increase Production by 40 Per Cent at Same Cost", Financial Post, May 20, 1927, p. 1, 9.
111. "International 'Pete' Attracts Attention: $ay Earnings $5.00", Financial Post, December 16, 1927, p. 24.
112. Minutes, 1928, GM, p. 5.
113. "Industries and Commerce", Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs. Toronto, Canadian Review Press, 1927, p. 260-261.
114. Minutes, 1928, GM, p. 6.
115. For details of the strike and the government repression see J. Yunis, Barrancabermeja: nacimiento de la clase obrera, Bogota, Tres Culturas, 1986.
116. M. Archila, Aquí nadie es forastero: testimonios sobre la formaciónde una cultura radical: Barrancabermeja, 1920-1950, Bogota, CINEP, 1986.
117. M. Urrutia, The Development of the Colombian Labor Movement, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1969.
118. Minutes, 1928, GM, p. 8.
119. "International Petroleum Has Built Great Industry Out of South American Jungle", Financial Post, March 27, 1930, p. 36.
120. R. De la Pedraja, Historia de la Energía, op. cit., p. 199., "International Petroleum Has Built Great Industry Out of South American Jungle", 27, 1930.
121. E. Revéiz, A. Dávila, and D. Otero, "Análisis de algunos impactos regionales de tres complejos industriales en Colombia: estudio de tres casos", Documento Cede 045, Bogota, Universidad de los Andes, 1977.
122. M. Jiménez and S. Sideri, Historia del desarrollo regional en Colombia, Bogota, Universidad de los Andes, 1985.
123. E. Havens and M. Romieux, Barrancabermeja: conflictos sociales en torno a un centro petrolero, Bogotá, Universidad Nacional, 1966.
124. "International Petroleum Has Built", art. cit., p. 36.
125. J. Villegas, Petroleo⋯, op. cit., p. 27-132.
126. R. De la Pedraja, Petróleo⋯, op. cit., p. 28-33.
127. Minutes, GM, 1928, p. 6.
128. Minutes, GM, 1928, p. 7.
129. Minutes, GM, 1929, p. 2.
130. Minutes, GM, 1929, p. 5.
131. Minutes, GM, 1931, p. 3.
132. Minutes, GM, 1930, p. 3.
133. Minutes, GM, 1929, p. 6.
134. R. De la Pedraja, Petróleo⋯, op. cit., p. 39-64., Minutes, 1929.
135. See N. Gadano, Historia del petróleo en la Argentina, 1907-1955: desde losinicios hasta la caída de Perón, Buenos Aires, Edhasa, 2006.
136. L. Meyer, Mexico and the United States in the Oil Controversy, Austin, Universityof Texas Press, 1977.
137. J. Spencer, Oil, Politics, and Economic Nationalism in Bolivia, 1899-1942: The Case of the Standard Oil Company of Bolivia, PhD dissertation, University of California inLos Angeles, 1996.
138. M. Bucheli, "Multinational Corporations, Business Groups, and Economic Nationalism: Standard Oil (New Jersey), Royal Dutch-Shell, and Energy Politics in Chile, 1913-2005", mimeo, University of Illinois, 2008.
139. G. Philip, Oil and Politics⋯, op. cit., M. Bucheli, "Multinational Corporations, Business Groups, and Economic Nationalism: Standard Oil (New Jersey), Royal Dutch-Shell, and Energy Politics in Chile, 1913-2005", 2008.
140. Minutes, GM, 1930, p.1; Minutes, GM, 1933, p. 1.
141. F. W. Field, Report on the Financial, Industrial, and Commercial Conditions in Canada, London, Department of Overseas Trade, 1932-1933, p. 69.
142. F. W. Field, Report on the Financial, Industrial, and Commercial Conditions in Canada, Ibid., p. 70.
143. F. W. Field, Report on the Financial, Industrial, and Commercial Conditions in Canada, Ibid., p. 71
144. Minutes, GM, 1931, p. 3.
145. D. Yergin, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power, New York, Simon &Schuster, 1992, p. 409.