Blog Two

Jacob Smithson

WH 130-741

Professor Pete Soland

24 October 2019

Economic Expansion in Mexico and other parts of Latin America

Throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, global economic expansion was occurring which drastically affected the entirety of the world. In particular however, the key players in the game of the Industrial Revolution included Europe, The United States, and Latin America. The Industrial Revolution began in Europe, quickly found its way to The United States, and soon after landed in Latin America. Pre-Columbian Natives utilized technology such as telegraphs, trains, steam engines, dams, and countless others in order to shape their new environment. Specifically however, Pre-Columbian Natives utilized “Aniego” which is a form of farming that makes use of natural flooding that occurs in certain regions in order to produce larger quantities of cotton which contributed greatly to The United States’ and Latin America’s economic expansion. As stated in Watering the Revolution, “The irrigation ecology created by practicing aniego in the Laguna included oases of vegetation that attracted flocks of aquatic birds,” (35). Through manipulating their environment the way they did, Pre-Columbian Natives were able to effectively alter their environment which in turn allowed them to better understand their world. 

Additionally, during the 19th and 20th centuries (as mentioned above), technology played an integral role in shaping the landscape during the Industrial Revolution for all parties involved. An example of this is a better form of communication for everyone around the globe in the form of the telegraph. This is best summarized by the author of Born in Blood & Fire when he states, “New technology transformed Latin America’s hazardous, unpredictable, and expensive communications with the rest of the world,” (Chasteen 163). In specific, change that occurred due to the European Conquest of the area as well as Colonialism includes instantaneous communication with far regions of the world such as Brazil due to a cable laid across the Atlantic Ocean as a means of communication with the west, new infrastructure such as dams in order to further increase agricultural economic expansion in Mexico, train tracks in order to allow the rapid import and export of crops and other goods to and from the United States and Mexico, and the integration of new laws and regulations regarding several aspects of the time (water, politics, etc). These changes allowed for rapid economic and environmental change the likes of which had never before been seen or thought of in that region of the world. During this time as well, The United States saw fit to annex certain regions of (what was then) Mexico by capturing and inhabiting the areas that are now known as California, Texas, New Mexico, and others throughout the American Southwest. This, in coordination with other aspects of the Industrial Revolution, changed the environment for Mexicans up to and including the present day. Furthermore, through the utilization of these new technologies, the world began to connect and new philosophies, politics, and religions were brought to regions such as Mexico and Latin America that had never been there before. 

Next, the use of environment and technology is greatly stressed in Watering the Revolution where the importance of agriculture is explained and is the reason for new constructions and laws regarding water which in turn contributed to the shaping of the environment. For example, it is stated that, “After independence, the Mexican state began gradually began compiling more precise geographical and scientific data throughout the country,” (27). If it were not for the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the European Conquest, and the desire for more economic expansion in the area, this geographical survey would not have taken place. However, it is because of this desire from those within the region to expand economically and be part of the Industrial Revolution that new regulations pertaining to many aspects of modern life were drafted. In particular however, laws regarding water were created in order to control waterways and as stated in Watering the Revolution, Mexican water law was passed that, “Greatly expanded federal authority over far more than the 1888 law…” (51). 

Finally, in the wake of the abundance of new technology that was available during this time, it is only fitting that political discussion were to take place regarding the technology and the environment as well as how they are interconnected. The previous example of Mexican water laws being passed is a perfect example of how this new environment and technology was to define the landscape politically, geographically, and technologically for the present day as well as the future.

Works Cited

Chasteen, John Charles. Born in Blood and Fire: a Concise History of Latin America. W.W. Norton & Company, 2016.

Wolfe, Mikael D. “Watering the Revolution.” River of Revolution, Duke University Press Books, 2017, pp. 13–51.