| This is a study of the social and economic history of the Reform era in the Mezquital region and its southern borderland of Mexico, and how the history of this region contributed to the peasant rebellion of 1869. During the third quarter of the nineteenth century, Mexico experienced some of the most turbulent events in Latin America. The age-old confrontation between the liberals and the conservatives finally led to the triumph of the liberal Constitution of 1857, the adoption of which sparked a series of political outbreaks that lasted for ten years. In the same period, the Mezquital was the site of one of the most spectacular silver bonanzas in the history of the Pachuca-Real del Monte mines. The economic activity that came with the sudden increase of silver production caused migration from within the area, from other Mexican states, and from as far away as Europe. The haciendas responded to the economic boom and played an important role in these developments.;The fear of slipping below the subsistence level into economic disaster contributed to peasant uncertainty, and led to conflict with the haciendas. Violent actions, from protests to outright rebellion, were the outcome, and the peasant rebellion of 1869 is a good example. The rebellion in that year was led by non-peasant leaders who wanted to introduce a Fourierist society among the peasantry. The proximity of the rebellion to the capital caused it to be viewed with great alarm among the government authorities, but the superior forces of the state and federal governments ultimately led to the defeat of the rebellion.;The Mezquital and its southern borderland was controlled by the landed elite. The elite-owned-and-operated haciendas and mining activities were interspersed with numerous peasant communities whose members comprised the majority of the population of the region. Despite their presence, the peasants shared little in the prosperity that came with the economic boom. Moreover, the traditional peasant communities that had provided minimal subsistence to the members could no longer provide sufficient economic livelihood for the members and thus forced them to search for additional work beyond their community. |
