Stormy Passage

This broad synthetic overview intentionally sets Mexico's history from 1750 to 1850 within the scope of more recent times. It creates an interpretive polarity by positing modernization and decolonization as interlocutors of Mexican history. The emphasis is clearly on socioeconomic trends, achievements, and deficiencies, with a frequent contemplation of their relation to the political system, its modifications, and the evolving power structure. Eric Van Young carefully evaluates national life in terms of effective national sovereignty and social inclusion—or lack thereof, since Mexico's very diverse population reflects its colonial past. The actions of foreign powers are frequently analyzed, and a recurring glance is directed at lingering privileges or social and racial prejudices derived from the past or produced by more recent developments.Van Young is an accomplished analyst of Mexican history, and this work reflects, and artfully culls materials from, his previous studies and his archival and historiographical knowledge. His ease and grace of expression facilitate reading a book that hopes to go beyond the specialist reader and reach a broader public. It is written to challenge easy conclusions and to expose many paradoxes that the author has discovered in his queries. He is especially good at pointing up the alternate tugs of transformation and permanence in Mexican history. This is promoted partially by careful contrasts and comparisons between the 1750–1850 period and more recent times, but also by other strategies. An innovative system of “boxes” and “detours” highlights assorted inconsistencies and persistently contrasting situations within socioeconomic and political institutions. Counterfactual hypotheses invite the reader to engage more fully with the difficulties of interpretation. Careful consideration is paid to the contrary or multilayered meanings of terms.The study is neatly divided into three large sections, the first dedicated to a general introduction and the late colonial period, the second to the turmoil of Mexican independence, and the third to the frailties of early nation building followed by general conclusions. Further readings are then suggested. While the introduction sets up the general intent and scope of the text, the rest of part 1 brings to life Mexico's colonial economy, its promises and limitations as well as its implications for the population involved in its structure and pace. Spain's urge to make major changes in colonial life to meet its eighteenth-century imperial challenges is brought into play here, as well as the stress that this urge implied for the well-being of Spain's Mexican subjects and the growth of inconformity at different levels of society. The Bourbon monarchical struggle to essentially improve the imperial economy, with a centralist peninsular bent, was only partially effective in thwarting foreign, especially British, incursion into Mexican markets or recouping Spanish power. But the Bourbon monarchy's centralism and penchant for peninsular Spanish reformers over local creoles, as well as ardent tax collection, caused disruption and disgruntlement within a colony that had become a central piece in the Spanish monarchy.Part 2 deals with the independence struggles, moving from autonomist desires to full-blown separation from Spain. What did or did not change as a consequence of this process? How clear were political goals? With an eye to before and after, and to both sides of the Atlantic, Van Young places the crisis of political legitimacy at the heart of things, politically and territorially. He delves into the emerging heated disputes over political organization and the differing formulas for articulating a vast territory, and ultimately the Spanish legacy itself in both regards. Entering into motivational factors within a complex society, Van Young masterfully synthesizes findings he has developed over decades of research, leaving the reader with the view of a restless society, but one fractured in its political and social objectives.Part 3 builds on the dilemma of incipient but foundering national goals, accompanied by social dissidence and economic frustrations. Independence and the ensuing decades are seen as not easily resolved by a unified national project—always short-lived, as the author scrupulously shows. Not only were trends at the top of society moving in the direction of confrontational interpretations of political paths forward, but localism had clearly established itself at the village level as a vibrant centrifugal force to be reckoned with under any circumstances. Finally, the study turns again to the economy, in constant tension with instability due to a continuing lack of a consensual formula of government or enduring political alliance. This section highlights sources of internal dissidence as well as the repeated diplomatic and military challenges that the country faced. The author continues his frequent references to future time periods, in a successful attempt to make clear not only the poignancy of events but also their relevance to a broader and more contemporaneous understanding of Mexico. He deals with the country's internal contradictions and complex efforts to define and maintain past achievements, discard mistaken holdovers, and advance hopefully in modernization and decolonization. His analysis spills over into the years 1850–57 to show the direction in which things were heading

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