PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove We checkout fTom you} record. TOAVOI) FINES munonorbdmddodue. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE ‘ MSU Is An Afflrmdtve ActioNEquel Opponunlty lnetltmion XEXICAH URBAN HISTORY: THE CASE OF TAIPICO, TAHAULIPAS 1876-1924 By Hercial E. Ocasio-Helendez A D SSERTATIOH Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of History 1988 ... .- "-- .. "' 'e- . D e-- -~ |.o<.. . .>._, u...’ he 8‘ wife. O ,‘ ‘ ‘ A“ I ‘5’: SET g s D}, ‘. t< ‘3'. ABSTRACT KEXICAH URBAH HISTORY: THE CASE OF TAIPICO, TAHAULIPAS 1876-1924 By larcial E. OcasiD-lelendez This study examines the urban development of Tampico, Mexico, between 1876 and 1924. This lexican Gulf river port city grew from a small town in 1876 to become lexico's major seaport, fifth largest city, and the world's first oil international port by 1924. The events and factors that allowed its development are discussed and analyzed in this study. Growth was a major aim of Tampico's citizens. The control exerted by its business community over a large region, stretching west into Zacatecas, determined the city‘s growth. By 1876, however, political chaos in lexico had disrupted Tampico's economy and it was in shambles. The Porfirio Diaz' revolution, and his thirty-five year dictatorship, facilitated Tampico's growth. Under his ”peace,“ the city's oligarchy resumed seeking economuc development and growth, attracting investments, and securing permits and funds from the national government. Thus, they created a modern port infra-structure for better and faster communications with the interior through railroads, roads, and waterways as well as with the rest of the world through excellent port facilities. lew economic factors appeared to control Tampico's development after the 1901 oil discoveries. The city became a source of foreign currency. ' u e .' "-‘. I‘O'Ol “‘9‘.- 3 'I._ .. ‘ \ ‘Qfi‘ ~ .... -._, ._“‘ ‘fi— ._. .- 0.‘ .1 ., -. ..,‘ ‘ : ‘1.’ . :‘_ -‘e .5 . ‘. C ‘ .__.- '5' \ .__‘ 3; u. I \k Fnl Marcial E. Ocasio-Melendez Labor. lexican foreign relations, and the war were affected, especially during the Revolution. Oil companies and foreign. governments, revolutionaries and labor leaders, protected the city, but decreased federal control. However, its semi-independence was challenged and Jeopardized by the post-revolutionary central governments. A. combination. of research methods and techniques were employed. Primary and secondary sources were consulted in Mxico and the 11.8. Guided interviews with older residents were also conducted. As a result, this study finds various factors acted upon Tampico's urban development. These included government promotion of new ventures and capital investment, railroad companies' interests, and oil-related enterprises, yet, the most important was the shared and permeating ideology (1823- 1924) among the city's.inhabitants of a local capitalism. This ideology allowed all urban groups to accept, deal with, and collaborate with the investors -- whether national or foreign -- to develop their city, and increase their standard of living. It made Tampico a unique city in Mexico's urban history. ‘$ Copyright by Harcial E. Ocasio-Helendez 1988 To my mother Amparo. To Melody. Emmanuel. and my most special Hadrina Gertrude. To the memory of two great teachers: David C. Bailey and Leslie 8. Rout, Jr. 1 .0 .t _- 2 I__ 'O' ‘U‘I ’ ' I e e;.’ an.-- . a..- --. ’5 ‘- \“ ‘e '- ..:~ *0: ‘ V,‘: I v“ ‘ ‘ .;. u " “:S : 4. e: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Every work of research is a task of great magnitude, and requires the assistance of many people over a long period of time. I wish to thank John Bratzel, who took me under his wing after the heartfelt absence of David Bailey and Leslie 8. Rout, Jr. John has seen this work to its final conclusion adding excellent and wise advice to it. I must also thank Professors Alan Fisher and Donald Lammers for their constant help, support and encouragement all these past years. They have been great models of professional behavior and scholarship. There are many other people in the department of history that have also been most helpful, especially Professors Gordon Stewart and Stanley Chojnacki. Others; Drs. Harcus, Loromer, Reed, Robinson, and. Bailey' have also encouraged my efforts or given me assistance whenever it was needed. The history department staff also contributed to this work by their excellent help with burocratic paperwork and with the necessary 'elan vital' and encouragement when everything seemed to be going wrong. My thanks to Mrs. Swanson, lary Reed, Cindy, Judy and Peggy. I want to give my thanks to the staffs and director of the Archivo General de la lacién in lexico City. Also to the staff at the Instituto de Investigaciones Histéricas de Tamaulipas and its director, Lic. Fidel Zorilla. They answered my questions about Tamaulipas, and helped me with the material available in Ciudad Victoria. The mayors of Tampico, Lic. iv . ,... .w --‘1el‘ we I n ‘0.- 'e1 0:"; one On ' u - l-Q . .. . new" in . ea. .fe :‘ '~¢ . . |::' “g- ‘vn. ,‘- "~.‘. ._. . n,, . .- ~... .‘ ’e. .-- I...” ‘- ’a .I - ..-‘ ... ".lb .: U i . "-. t ‘_‘= I A 3.“~ .‘-h h ‘ l - n. a Q~.‘ ‘m n .J‘; ' s. 9‘ lg; 5 ‘- .l I" ' ." .3” . 01". e‘.‘ . . 'c‘ln ‘~.‘: .t. ‘1- Joaquin Contreras Cantu (1981-83) and Manuel Gonzalez Teran (1983-86), allowed me to work and to use the facilities of the Municipal Archive. and gave support and encouragement for this study. My thanks also to their staffs, especially to Lic. Javier Cruz GDmez, who as Municipal Secretary (1981-83) gave me all his cooperation. Moreover, my thanks to the man in charge of the archive, and most diligent city hall employee, Don Florentino Ramirez Paniagua. This work has also received great assistance from the friendship, and great scholarship, of Lic. Carlos GonzAlez Salas, a most prolific writer, university professor, and city historian of Tampico. His constant help during my visits and residence in the city nurtured my search for knowledge and understanding, and provided interviews and visits to otherwise inaccessible materials. My thanks also to all the people in Tampico, and there were many, that received no and helped me while in the city. I also received great assistance for this study from my friends Stella Gonzalez de Garibay and Jorge Gariabay. Their help in finding about documents in the Archivo General and learning about Mexico, and their friendship means a lot to a foreigner in the land. Thanks. Thomas Benjamin and Gertrude Bauer, two gifted and special friends, have given me copious and excellent advice, encouragement, and help. They have added greatly to my intellectual and humanistic world, and to the completion of this study. My deepests thanks go to my mother and the children, who have encouraged my efforts, and endured life for several years without my presence and constant help. This success is a tribute to their collaboration and support. 1988 Marcial E. Ocasio-Meléndez 'v. II. III. IV. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables List of Figures List of Abbreviations INTRODUCTION PROLOGUE: MAN OVERBOARD! A THOUSAND HOPES: DIAZ Y EL TREN The Port on the PAnuco, 1823-1869 Econondc Voes (1886-1878) Railroad Projects and Their Impact on the City Two Major Problems Challenge Economic Renewal (1880-1890) HARBOR FOR THE UNITED STATES, 1890-1905 The Mexican Central and the Jetties The “New" Tampico The Commercial Boom THE LITTLE OIL CENTER AT THE FOOTSTOOL OF THE UNITED STATES Chapapoteras and the Mexican 011 Market The Entrepreneurs TAMPICO'S REVOLUTION: ALARMS, RUMORS, BUT FEV GUNSHOTS The City Keeps Growing Francisco Madero and Henry Clay Pierce: Associates? Labor in Tampico The Death of Madero Brings Changes to Tampico The Huerta Interlude Another beico-United States Conflict? The Constitutionalists Play the Tune, the Oilmen Call the Dance Carranza vs. Villa A RICH OIL CITY IN A POOR REVOLUTIONARY COUNTRY The Oil Boom and Its Problems vi viii 25 27 47 56 7O 98 104 117 134 151 153 163 187 189 193 205 212 215 220 224 229 243 246 o" I I on on. (I) CONTENTS - continued The National Scene Tampico's Social Scene Population Growth and Land Needs City's Views VI. THE TVO TAMPICOS Urban Consequences of the 'Oil Boom" The Labor Situation Tampico's Labor Situation Tampico's Land Problems State Politics and Tampico Conclusions Bibliography vii 252 277 285 293 311 313 317 319 326 334 346 357 --' . ‘-. . u ‘U .. 5.. -.. *I 1.. i.- '~ I . ' o ‘v ‘ l ‘d. .. ' . h a... ‘-. . . :‘ I‘. .,.I .H 'u t h-e . ‘1 .¢_ T' _ ~ ‘ 1. u“ 1" . ‘I A. ~‘. II. III. IV. VI. VII. VIII. IX. XI. XII. LIST OF TABLES Population of Tampico Between 1823 and 1877 North Americans in Tampico, 1867 Comparative Mexican Exports By Custom Houses (1885-1886) Mexican Imports From Major Trading Partners (1893-1895) Tampico's Custom House Monthly Receipts (1894-1895) Income and Expenditures of Tampico (1894) Tampico's Income and Expenditures (1895-1899) Tampico's City Council, 1910-1914 Vorld Oil Production, 1910-1925 Tampico's Population (1860-1922) Oil‘s Share of the Mexican Federal Income Land Owner's of the Isleta Project in Tampico, 1920 viii 32 72-73 80 102 120 121 124 207-208 245 247 250 294 (DmQOUT-waT-a LIST OF MAPS Mexico in 1810 Tampico (1824) Grid Plan of Tampico (1824) Tampico's Municipal Jurisdiction Tampico's Hinterland and Roads Tampico's Road System by 1879 Foreign Commerce Distribution for 1827, by Custom Houses Foreign Commerce Distribution for 1872-73, by Custom Houses Tampico: Rivers and Lagoons (1894) Railroad Lines and Neighboring States Tampico (1913) Tampico and Its Development (1921) Tampico's 'Llanos del GolfD' Section Dona Cecilia's Plan of 1917 Northern Shore of the PAnuco Vest of Tampico Southern Shore of the PAnuco East of Tampico ix 29 34 36 38 206 50 82 83 110 162 284 287 329 333 335 337 AGNPPM AMT CACT CRUSE HM! NA/DCT/84 NA/DCV/84 POET RDRIAH RUCRF USCR USRCCM LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Archivo General de la Nacién. Papeles Presidenciales Mexico. Archivo Municipal de Tampico. National Archives. Consular Papers of the Consuls of Tampico, Box No. Department of State. Bureau of Foreign Commerce, Commercial Relatinnsnfthellniiedfitatesiithmreignmmms. Daniel Cosio Villegas,Histnnia,Madenna de_MexicQ. National Archives. Despatches of the US. Consuls in Tampico, 1824-1906. Record Group 84. National Archives. Despatches of the U.S. Consuls in Veracruz, 1823-1906. Record Group 84. EerifidicnflficialdelEsiadndaIamaulinas. U.S. Department of State. Records of the Department of State Relating to the Internal Affairs of Mexico, 1910 - 1929. MC.274. RemuUmniheCDmmELcialRelatinnsnftheUnitedStates thoLeixnCDuntriesfontheXeaz_ Washington. Dc.)- UnitadStateannsnlanRehnria. U.S. Department of State, Reports_Eznm the Consuls of the HniiedatatasnnCDmmencLNanufacimsaetcxaoftheiL Consular. Districts l e . 'e.. I‘;e. _ ... .‘.". - ‘ h h.--‘ e .__9. v... INTRODUCTION Urban history has not been a major concern in recent Mexican historiography. Studies exist about major colonial cities such as Mexico KA--‘\ '- City, Monter‘ey Guadalajara. Puebla and Veracruz. Very few historical studies, however, deal with smaller cities or with cities that developed after independence, thus creating a void of valuable urban and regional information in the rustory of the nation. In Mexico and other Latin American countries, most cities born in the colonial period were founded independently of a “national“ capital, and were based on individual enterprise, and loyal only to God and king. It appears that many cities founded after independence followed that example, thus having a regional importance that could only be suppressed by the imposition of a strong national government. Mexican political history after 1822 shows how the national government was basically concerned with events in the capital and with the integrity of the frontiers, and engulfed in constant and petty revolutions. thus allowing a relative independence of many regions and cities in the “nation.“ One of these cities is Tampico, an important port on Mexico's Gulf Coast founded in 1823, which is the object of this historical inquiry. This study focuses on Tampico's urban development between 1876 and 1924. It traces and explains the reasons which led that port town to 1 "-'e- . . , ' .. __ . ..° ’v. .' a.. a. ". .._ ‘.. I": ' ..‘ A.‘ ' \ ..' v-‘ 1:“: .. e. . “a ’- w“ ‘3‘. '3‘ N.“ 'e‘ 5"‘4‘ v". ' a h' e 15 I n initially grow and subsequently decline during that period. The study is set at three different levels of events and decision-making: local (including city and state), national, and international. Historiographical writing on Tampico has been rather limited. Therefore, this study must also give an overview of the city's earlier history before 1876, both for an understanding of its cwigins and to provide the basis for the central theme developed throughout this work. It is my contention that the growth and development of the city resulted not from the power exerted by external political and economic forces, but from the wallingness of its citizens to collaborate, accept, and guide those forces toward an urban importance that would benefit all the social and economic groups in town. This collaboration allowed the development and strengthening of local capital, and of regionalism. During the foundation period, an urban spirit or collective ideology made its appearance in Tampico that was accepted and nurtured by all its residents. This collective ideology emphasized urban development, growth of commercial enterprises, preventive health and sanitary conditions, capital accumulation, and encouraged enterprise and competition. It was a capitalist ideology. By 1876, a national administration came to power fostering similar principles to those advocated by Tampico's leaders. The Porfiriato (1876-1911) opened Mexico to foreign investors, and encouraged economic development and modernization. Tampico, as many other regional centers, was lured into 'the maze of national political life to jprotect and twomote its urban goals. The city's location on the Mexican Gulf, and the willingness of the local population to collaborate with the plans of both the national government and foreign enterprises, led to the creation of an economic infrastructure that became of utmost importance when in 1901, oil was discovered about fifty miles west of Tampico in the nearby region of the Huasteca. The appearance of oil, and the role played by the city as its major exporter for the next three decades, brought new forces into the local political power structure. Tampico's “urban spirit“ continued undiminished during the difficult years of the Revolution (1910-1920), with new independent labor forces and foreign enterprises joining in the old ideology. However, the aftermath of the Revolution thwarted regionalism and the independence of communities when the national government began. a process of nationalization. and the institutionalization of a strong. socially-oriented and authoritarian political system that has created the contemporary “Mexican Nation.“ This study, then, analyses and interprets In“: the combination of various local, regional and international elements were used to transform Tampico from a relatively small port town into Mexico‘s fifth largest city, and the world's first international 011 port by 1920, and how it moved from a semi-independent regional situation, to one of interference and control by the national government. My research indicates that two major ideological aims permeated Tampico's development. One was the triumph of capitalism, the other was the modernization of Tampico. Capitalism, as explained above, meant capital accumulation, promotion and expansion of trade and business, and control by the city's businesses of a large hinterland (or market). It also implied competition with Veracruz, Mexico's premier port since independence, in order to service the nation's capital, Mexico City. Modernization, on the other hand, implied urban planning, restructuring of facilities, and promotion of an an infrastructure that would attract new investors, tourists. and businessses. The city's local governments and economic groups promoted a Tampico that would look like one of the great European or U.S. cities such as Paris, New York or New Orleans, with facilities as similar as possible to the ones found in those cities. Another area of great concern was the health and sanitation services, especially important because of the geograpical location of Tampico, surrounded by lagoons and jungles. These aims fitted perfectly with those advocated by officials at the national level. Therefore, after 1876, federal officials played a significant role as a group that influenced the city's development. The policies they advocated during the Porfiriato helped Tampico receive investments and allowed the port to increase its contacts with foreign countries. Furthermore, during the Revolution, federal officials and revolutionary leaders continued to support Tampico's “near independence“ because its customs house became the most valuable collector of foreign revenues for the national coffers or for any one who could posess it. Besides the national officials, at any one time, two other groups had significant roles in the city's development. They were the local business community -- with a number of powerful foreign born merchants, including several North Americans -- and a strong labor force that grew rapidly after 1900 as the port gained greater access to world shipping, .m‘ ‘1 F‘ W‘ and oil began to be exploited. Both groups advocated modernization, and better economic conditions. Although strange bedfellows, they collaborated with the foreign enterprises and brought pressures on state and national politics in their own respective spheres of influence for personal gains, that on most occasions, were intimately related to the urban growth of Tampico. One other group that must be considered to understand the city's development is made up by the foreign entrepreneurs and company officials that made Tampico their center of operations. Their influence began in the 1880's with the extension of railroad lines to the port, and continued with oil, airlines. and soft drinks. These foreigners, mostly North Americans, used Tampico as their warehouse, exporting minerals from their mines in Northern Mexico, oil and its refined products, as well as many other articles and products. They also imported manufactured goods from the U.S. and other parts of the world into Mexico, ranging from machinery and rail lines to weapons and food supplies. For those North Americans, Tampico became their port in Menco, a valuable beach head for their expansion into the Mexican market. They also helped the local goals in two ways: promoting the modernization sought through their investments in the city, and supporting the city's competition against Veracruz for their own selfish reasons, that is, to dislodge the power of British businesses that held that port under their control. The combination of the individual interests of the aforementioned groups with the major local and national ideological aims, and the resulting achievements and disillusionments, make Tampico worthy of many studies or at least one good comprehensive one. The city is a case study of Latin America's late nineteenth century and early twentieth century's urban history. It is during this period that cities on the continent, especially in countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, began to assert their independence from, the control of the old colonial -- now national -- capitals, growing in importance as regional centers, thereby influencing both national economy and development. It is also a period characterized by the outward thrust of North American capitalists. Their most logical investment move was into the neighboring countries of Canada and Mexico, eventually moving further south into other nations of the Americas. However, this thrust brought them to a confrontation with European capital, mainly British, that had been hegemonic in the Latin American economy since the independence of these countries in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. The rivalry that ensued between British and North American capitalists was used by many Latin American politicians, whether at the national or local levels, in order to benefit their countries' developmental plans. It is at the conjuncture of these various problems and groups that I have tried to discuss Tampico's development. It is an attempt to understand what the people of Tampico thought during this period, what was their hierarchy of values, how they made sense of the world, and how their perception of reality was manifested in their urban life. People are also presented against the backdrop of their local achievements, that is, their success in developing their city, notwithstanding the economic failures and the political turmoil brought about by foreign and national forces alike. They are also presented against the backdrop of national and international events that had great significance for their city's economy and their daily lives. The study is set within two major periods of the country's history. Mexican periodization is usually divided into pre-hispanic, colonial, national or modern, and contemporary periods. The national period begins after Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821, and it is subdivided by political and military events during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Porfiriato -- falling within the national period -- covers the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth. Contemporary Mexican history begins with the Revolution, which according to many authors and government supporters, extends from 1910 to the present. However, since the late 1950's, historical revisionists limit the Revolution to the 1910-1920 period, when the last major and successful political coup occurred. This study fits within the limdts of the Porfiriato and the revised Revolutionary periods. Nevertheless, Tampico has its own periodization which does not necessarily fall under the dates and events of the national history. The first chapter is a brief history of the town. from its foundation until 1876, describing several relevant events that point to the economic and social features that characterized Tampico. The chapter also discusses how the presence of Porfirio Diaz at the national helm brought new material benefits. Railroad lines, new port facilities, more shipping lines and increased trade were symbolic of the modernizing vision of the federal bureacracy under Diaz, and also of the Tampiquetios' expectations. Collaboration between the local population and both federal officials and foreign investors is also discussed. A second chapter deals with the railroad company's attempt to control Tampico for its economic gain. One of its earliest objectives was to connect Tampico on the Gulf Coast with a port town on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. These ports were then connected by ships to New Orleans and to (Salifornia ports, thus bridging the long ‘ride across the United States by going through Macico. However, Tampico, being a river port, needed constant dredging of the PAnuco River and the construction of jetties that would open the bar at the river's entrance, and allow the large ships to enter the port and reach that end of the railroad line. The Mexican federal government supported the plan until it realized the threat it posed to its national sovereignty, however, the infrastructure was already in place. Chapter three discusses oil, its growing world importance, and the entrepreneurs that made Tampico an international oil city. Petroleum was to change the sources of power and the type of development that the city had been seeking or receiving until 1901. A fourth chapter is devoted to the Revolution and its effect on the city. It presents a brief account of the events occurring at the national level, followed by a discussion of the Tampico “revolution.“ During this period the city was jealously guarded and protected by both the revolutionary leaders as well as by foreign capitalists and their governments. The parallel occurrence of the First Vorld Var, and the concomitant increase in the importance of oil enhanced Tampico's significance as a secure source for petroleum. Again, collaboration emerged between the nationalist forces, the revolutionary forces and the foreign interests, that was aimed toward urban and groups' profits. Chapter five analyzes Tampico after the Constitutionalist forces -- the most successful revolutionary group -- had taken over the major urban centers of the nation, including Tampico. The city is examined under a new political reality based on a nationalist and reformist Constitution. It is also examined as new and more productive oil wells sprung up -- the oil boom -- creating a need for more workers, and increasing growth and the problems associated with it. This period was characterized by the strong control exerted by the oil companies as the Constitutionalist government had to collaborate, against its will, for its lack of national control and funds. A sixth and final chapter closes this period under study when the mmnicipality is divided by the creation of a new town to satisfy the aspirations of workers and the interests of various conflicting elements in a local power struggle. Here again, an unexpected and unacknowledged collaboration between labor, municipal. state and federal officials, and the foreign interests allowed the city 'to be split so that power remained in the hands of those who had held it since the city's foundation: the commercial oligarchy. However, little did they realize that their actions undermined the bases of their control. II. en. en. ~n. w.. 10 The study, therefore, is an analysis of development and growth in terms of the ever present and new forces that shaped Tampico's urban milieu during a period of great relevance for Mexico and the world. This study can be seen also as an example of what was occuring at other major ports in Latin America during this period. The study suggests further inquiries into local and regional collaboration as a means for development rather than the now popular notion of growth as a peripheral consequence of the impact received from imperialist North Atlantic economic forces. It also provides suggestions for further studies on the relationships between urban groups, both among themselves and with external political and economic forces, that can lead to a better understanding of Mexican and Latin American urban life and history. This is just a beginning. PROLOGUE MAN OVERBOARD! The various towns. and. cities near this Port are in revolution, communications to all parts by land out .. it is feared that this City will fall at any moment. We have no security and the American citizens as well as the French and English... have appealed to me for protection. It is my opinion that an American gunboat... should be sent here... for if the Port is blockaded by use of small Mexican gunboats... our vessels now in the river, would be subject to very great loss of time. if not a more serious result. U.S. Consul Edmund Johnson, 1876} Mexican Federal troops at Tampico were on the alert since March 1876 vigilantly watching all ships arriving at this Mexican Gulf port. The city's inhabitants, meanwhile, went about their daily chores with no great concern over the new revolution that had started three months earlier on their own State's northern border along the Rio Grande. They had seen many other revolutions and fighting in the past fifty-three 11 .40. we. 4 "D. ‘--. $4 I I, 12 years, and never expected this one to have any lasting effects on their city or on their country. Porfirio Diaz, a military hero during the Var of the French Intervention (1862-1867) and a twice-defeated candidate for the nation's presidency, was now waging a war against the elected president, Sebastibn Lerdo de Tejada and against the system he had helped institutionalize. Diaz gave the traditional legal legitimacy' to ‘the rebellion with his Plan of Tuxtepec, which he proclaimed on 21 March 1876 at Palo Blanco. a ranch in the northern section of the State of Tamaulipas; By 2 April, his troops had taken the important border town of Matamoros, but urgently dispatched federal troops dislodged him and his rebels from the city on 19 May. Diaz fled across the border into the U.S. Despite this setback, however, his revolution had spread throughout the nation. His followers, still strong in the populous and powerful central Mexican states, demanded Diaz' return lest his armies would lose heart without his presence. Meanwhile, President Lerdo had decreed martial law in several states contiguous to the U.S., and along the Gulf Coast, to prevent Diaz from returning.3 The general's whereabouts in the U.S. were unknown to most of his supporters, still it was rumored that he was to return via Veracruz, Mexico's largest port.4 The commander of the federal garrison in Tampico, Brigadier General Jesus Alonso Flores, found himself in a desperate situation. Although, he still was unwaveringly loyal to the Lerdo government, many of his officers did not share his views.5 One of his most competent and locally popular officers, General Juan de Haro, had declared for Diaz, 13 left the city with his troops, and established a stronghold in the nearby town of Pueblo Viejo. There he gradually prepared for an attack on Tampico. Haro's forces increased rapidly, and the U.S. Consul in the city, Edmund Johnson. reported to the State Department that many of the “lower classes are constantly leaving the city to join him.V5 Furthermore, the city's garrison was reduced to only 300 men by late April. Most of these men were rancherns (farm hands), conscripts seized by force and compelled to serve in the ranks, and their loyalty was highly questionable. General Alonso Flores knew through incoming despatches that Tampico was becoming the last government stronghold in the state, and many other towns in Tamaulipas and the neighboring states had already joined the Diaz movement. Moreover, by the end of May, General Flores became aware that Diaz wanted Tampico, and had agreed to let the State Governor, General Servando Canales, who now supported him, attack the city.7 Flores realized that circumstances were turning against Tampico, yet continued to defend the constitutional government. The general's apprehensions were also shared by the Tampico business community. Their fears of armed attacks, fighting in the streets, rioting and pillaging, and the destruction of their businesses caused them to search for a quick alternative? The principal leaders of the business community met with thepresidente municipaL (mayor) of Tampico and with General Alonso Flores to devise a plan that would preserve order in any future eventuality. These men were not too interested in the defense of the established goverment because many of them had been strong Porfirista advocates during the national elections, and both 14 Presidents Benito JuArez and Lerdo de Tejada had taken economic measures that hurt the city's economy. These men's real concern was for the safety of their businesses and homes. The city' government, run by business leaders since Tampico's founding, decreed on 28 April that all able-bodied males between the ages of 16 and 50 had to report to General Flores for immediate duty. The merchants also created a special fund to pay for a “vigilante“ police force to protect businesses from looting. Moreover, the American Consul, Johnson, and his vice-consul, Luis de la Lastra, scion of one of the wealthiest business families in town, urged Washington, D.C., to send gunboats for the “protection of foreigners resident in Tampico.“ 9 The United States agreed, and on 4 May, the USS_ Shananut, arrived and anchored in the river opposite the city. The measures taken by the businessmen and the presence of the U.S. gunboat brought some relaxation to the tense situation. Yet, the growing rebel encirclement of Tampico posed a real threat to the city. Three more U.S. war vessels anchored offshore from Tampico during the first week of June. This flotilla, under the command of Admiral Villiam E. Leroy, received visits from General Alonso Flores, Consul Johnson, the mayor and other city notables who sought his intervention to prevent the rebels from taking over the city. Leroy ignored their pleas; he stated that his ships were there solely to safeguard the departure of North American merchant vessels from the port, and that international treaties would be violated by any mdlitary action on his part. By 8 June, the flotilla left for Veracruz, leaving behind in Tampico one of its ships.10 15 Meanwhile, General Diaz, fleeing from Matamoros, went to New Orleans together with one companion. There, disguised under a wig, heavy beard, dark glasses, and sporting a large. fake belly, he boarded the City Q1 Haxana_on 18 June. a steamer of the Alexandre and Sons Company of New York, enroute to Tampico and Veracruz.11 Once aboard, the “Cuban“ Dr. Rodriguez De La Boza (Diaz) and his companion, the “American“ Dr. Jones kept to their cabin for the three days until the ship reached Tampico. On 21 June, the steamer anchored three miles off the entrance to the Panuco River as was customary for ships with drafts which did not allow them to cross the sand bar. Two Mexican ships. the gunboat Independengia and the trader Caastante, were anchored nearby. Not long after the City of Hagana_dropped anchor, the Iran. a small steam tugboat, came out down river pulling several boats loaded with federal soldiers being sent to Veracruz from the Tampico garrison. The boats also carried several clerks, customs officers, passengers and visitors for the Diaz' ship.12 One can only suspect the amazement the crew of the C111 Q1 Haxaaa must have felt when Dr. Rodriguez De La Boza came running out of his cabin with no clothes on, and jumped off the ship apparently trying to swim to the shore through the shark-infested water to avoid being seen by the incoming troops. The steamer's captain, Samuel Phillips. immediately ordered a rescue operation as people on board wondered about the incident.13 As the rescue was being conducted, Diaz' companion told the ship's mail clerk, Manuel Gutierrez Zamora, that the swimmer was in reality Diaz and that not unnaturally, he preferred the sharks to the government troops. The clerk sought the assistance of the ship's purser 16 Alexander K. Coney, to help him save the general. Meanwhile, the rescue team had some trouble with Diaz because he refused to come aboard the boat sent to save him. Finally, forced to come aboard the ship, he was immediately taken to his cabin. Coney tried to have him transfered to the USS Anattara, coming out of the river to join the flotilla in Veracruz, but the ship's skipper refused to agree. Luckily for Diaz, however, Coney and Gutierrez Zamora kept Diaz secret until the City Q1 Hagana,reached Veracruz. The reasons that led these two men to help Diaz reach his final destination can only be inferred from the available sources. Gutierrez Zamora seems to have been an admirer and advocate of the General, and was rewarded for his loyalty with certain honors and positions for himself and relatives. The North American Coney could have been led to help for either monetary or ideological reasons. Diaz could have seemed to him as the true candidate of the people, and just by being an officer aboard a steamer that constantly visited Mexico, he might have acquired or believed to have acquired certain insights into what the Mexicans wanted. He was also handsomely rewarded, and maybe that expectation mught have been behind his actions. Considering the commotion aboard the ship, it is not strange that the troops heard what happened. In fact, officers returning to Tampico from the troop tranport told General Alonso Flores about the incident. Yet, no importance was given to it. A lunatic who swam naked to be eaten by sharks was of no real consequence when one is in the midst of a revolution. This perception allowed the Diaz' ship to leave Tampico 17 waters unimpeded, landing safely in Veracruz. Tampico remained in the throes of anguish and economdc collapse as the pro-Diaz forces blockaded land exits and disrupted the city's trade. Porfirio Diaz' success in avoiding identification and arrest by the federal troops at Tampico allowed him to reach his commanders and eventually to seize political power in Mexico. The Tampico incident became part of the Caudillo's myth in Porfirian laudatory historiography.14 Tampico remained close to the General's heart for the next thirty- four years of his regime. Not only did he visit the city on several occassions, but agreed to support federal expenditures to provide a modern port and municipal facilities, which although done to other Mexican port cities, were done in Tampico first and more extensively. Moreover, his second wife. Carmen Romero Castellé, a native of Tula, Tamaulipas, was intimately connected to one of Tampico's leading families, descendants of the Spanish engineer that planned the port in 1823. Her uncles served as mayor, state and federal deputies and senators, and one of them, Juan B. Castellé, served as Tamaulipas' last Porfirian governor}5 Historian Adalberto J. Arguelles argues that Diaz' patronage significantly hastened the economic development of Tampico and of the state.16 It must be stated that Tampico's business and political community, although scared of the revolutionary turmoil, supported Diaz' regime as long as their interests met, and played a significant role 17 during the Porfiriato, not only in their city, but in the state as well. The regime of Porfirio Diaz remains one of Mexico's most fascinating 18 historical periods. The country's economic development complemented the growth and expansion of the financial and industrial sectors of Western Europe and North America.13 “The combination of internal security, government concessions and subsidies, cheap and docile labor, and the natural resources of the country attracted...“ foreign investments which totalled about one billion dollars by 1910.19 The Diaz government and U.S. businessmen confused capitalist priorities with Mexico‘s national aspirations: subordinating the latter to the former. Mining, railroad. and later petroleum received the largest investments. Within this economic atmosphere, Tampico asserted its presence. It was a natural port for Mexico's northeast. Its economic hinterland, or area over which it could reach for exports or imports, included some major mining centers like Zacatecas, Queretaro, Guanajuato, and San Luis Potosi. The port, closer than Veracruz to U.S. Gulf ports, was also connected by railroad to the main cities of Monteneg and San Luis Potosi. This last city officials believed at one time that San Luis could compete hegemonically with the nation's capital because Tampico was being used as its port, thus allowing San Luis to become a major center for storage and distribution of mrchandise for the northern Mexico.20 Most important for Tampico was its proximity, within 150 mules, to some of Mexico's major oil deposits?1 This event played a definite role in the city's development and deeply affected its history. The Porfiriato started a new age for Tampico, and economic growth continued uninterrupted beyond that period through the Revolution because of the newer factors that influenced the local life, and the regional and 19 national history. Tampico's development was partly owed to an interaction between urban and national aspirations, a characteristic, not necessarily shared throughout the country, that gave the city a peculiar format among Mexico's major “national“ cities. 22 These urban aspirations were imbedded in Tampico‘s historical formation and, it is my contention, that they became part of the whole community, even though formed by the earliest residents who were mostly small capitalists. The incident at Tampico in 1876 introduces one of the most important factors that affected not only the city, but also the nation for the next three and almost half decades -- a personalist structure of political power in which the federal government was personified in Porfirio Diaz. A government that could cut bureacratic red tape, impose reforms and advance modernization, within its own definition, without the slow and languishing methods of democracy. Tampico was a local community where businessmen, municipal officials and workers alike approved, with a certain degree of variance yet few reservations, the economic investments and the foreign presence because both meant jobs, money, and modernization, this last one understood in terms of mterial acquisitions and cloning with European and North American parallels. The aspirations and actions of these people can be found in the local press, the expressions of labor and political leaders, and in the minutes (Actas) of the municipal government. All these sources reveal the collective expectation of growth and development. They also reveal a deep interest and desire to know and 20 acquire the newest technology produced in Europe and the United States. Tampiquefios (Tampico natives) knew of these innovations through the commercial contacts which they had with firms in the North Atlantic countries or through the local press. However, no study of Tampico can ignore the importance that the foreign community had for the city's development. Many of these men and women that had come to make a better and wealthier life for themselves and their families, became deeply committed citizens who wanted to make Tampico an important port and city. They were part of the community, and helped by using their contacts with their natives lands. They also kept their clients and associates informed of the events around the world, and invested or helped the local leaders seek investors that would bring revenues to the town. They helped encourage the spirit of capitalism through their modes of reasoning and actions. The study uses a chronological format to tell the story of Tampico's growth and development. It proposes that capitalism was not a foreign idea, but one rooted in the subconscious collective mind of this Mexican community called Tampico, and that it was already there when Porfirio Diaz assumed the presidency of the nation. This collective idea proved helpful when external circumstances gave the local economy advantages unequaled at other urban centers of the nation. NOTES 1 NA/DCT/84, 117, U.S. Consul Johnson to Secretary of State, 28 April 1876. 2 Mexico won its independence in 1821 after the Plan of Iguala was drafted as a pact and declaration of principles. Since then, most Mexican revolutionaries followed the tradition of drafting plans that presented the motives for their rebellious movements, and some even included the steps to be followed if the revolt was successful. The original Plan of Tuxtepec was proclaimed on 10 January 1876 by Colonel Hermenegildo Sarmiento, while Porfirio Diaz was in the United States hiding from the Mexican federal troops. Once the general returned to Mexico. he reached the Palo Alto ranch or farm, where he reformed and reissued the original plan. It accused President SebastiAn Lerdo de Tejada of serious political crimes, and of delivering the country to England and the United States. It refused to recognize his authority, and the plan made Porfirio Diaz general in chief of all rebel forces in the Republic. It recognized all governors that would adhere to the plan. For a complete text see, among others, Alberto M. Carreno, Anghixo del general. Hominid Diaz... lemmas x documentos (Maxim. UK. 1947-1963). 24 volumes, XII,(1951), 96-100. Also see Laurens B. Perry, MEL 1 Diaz; Mam 291111;: 1;; Maxim; (De Kalb, 111., 1978), 203; Mariano Cuevas, S.J. Histnnia d: La Nagian_Mexigana (Mexico, D.F., 1940), 968. 3 NA/DVC/84, 183, Consul Trowbridge to Asst. Sect.of State, 11 April 1876; Carreno. XII, 267. 4 Perry, 261. 5 Perry, 264. 6 Diaz had many supporters in Tampico. A mutiny by his supporters in 1871 was controlled only by using federal troops. On 11 June 1871, General Séstenes Rocha attacked the city. Close to 250 men and rebel officers were killed, and nearly 110 federal soldiers died. There were 21 22 300 wounded and 330 prisoners taken. Rocha threatened civilians against supporting Diaz. Nevertheless, in that year's presidential election, almost half of the votes in Tampico went for General Diaz. NA/DCT/84, 16, Consul Henry A. Badham to Asst. Sect. of State, 24 June 1871; Gabriel Saldivar. Hislnnia. Compendiada d: Iananlipas (Mexico,D.F., 1945), 251; Daniel Cosio Villegas(ed.), Histn21a_ Mgdenaa, de_ MEXiQLh. La Renhhlica Restaurada. La Vida Eolitica Vol 1. (Hence. D.F.. 1955). 163, 185, 270, 588-595,(hereinafter HMM, vol.no., pages). 7 Juan Manuel Torrea e Ignacio Fuentes, Ianpigaa Apnntes para su historia (Tampico, 1942), 231-232. Also Carreho, XI (1951), 320-321 and X11 (1951), 36, 156, 208-209. 8 NA/DCT/84, 116, Consul Johnson to Asst. Sect. of State, 14 April 1876; Carreflo. XII, 252; Perry, 269-270, 281. 9 NA/DCT/84, 117, Consul Johnson to Asst. Sect. of State, 28 April 1876; Perry, 265. Vice consul Luis De La Lastra was named to the post in 1873. NA/DCT/84, 14, Consul Johnson to Dept. of State, 29 August 1873. 10 NA/DCT/84, 118, Consul Johnson to Dept. of State, 11 May 1876. The three other American ships were the USS,Hartfnrd‘_USS_Suattazaa_ and USS Marina. The Suattaza, replaced the Shananat in the PAnuco River. NA/DCT/84, 119, Consul Johnson to Dept. of State, 9 June 1876. 11 The Q11; of, Havana was one of six steamers chartered by the Alexandre and Sons Line of New York, reputedly owned by President Lerdo through. the CArdenas 1Company. Beginning' in. October 1874, this line connected the Mexican ports of Tampico, Tuprm, Veracruz, Campeche and Progreso with New Orleans and New York. The annual subvention paid by the Mexican Government to the company for mail and passengers was 3 100,000 pesos. NA/DCV/84, 6122, Consul Trowbridge to Asst. Sect. of State, 10 December 1874; La Reconstrncnian (Tampico), III, 1, 10 octubre 1874, 1; Ihe Daily Einayang (New Orleans), 44, 228, 10 September 1880, 3:1 and 292, 13 November 1880, 1:6. 12 This account is based on the story told by one of the witnesses, Manuel Gutierrez Zamora, “El salvamento de Don Porfirio Diaz frente a 23 la Barra de Tampico,“ Insignia Mexican, 5, (julio-septiembre 1955), 68- 86. One of the visitors arriving from Tampico to the Diaz' ship was Cendido Rosa, who worked as clerk for one of the important merchandise stores in town, and later served as city councilman (1878, 1879, 1885 and 1888), and mayor (1886, 1891, 1892 and 1894). Not bad for a visitor, who witnessed the incident and who seems to have been a staunch Porfirista! AMT, Actas for each respective year above. Also Carlos GonzAlez Salas, Del Ram ea Vela (Tampico, 1983), 218. 13 For comments on the incident see Jose Lopez Portillo y Rojas, mm x caida de Hominid Diaz. 1co,river boats were used to transport people and products.” On 5 nay - a group of engineers arrived at Tampico to begin the survey for the n e» railroad to be constructed from San Luis Potosi to Tantoyuquita.‘n A 1 1 the materials and equipment -- coming from England and the United 8 tat-es -- would arrive at the port creating jobs at the piers, and other 58 service related chores. Included would be the numerous carts and workers that were needed to take all these materials three hundred miles overland to San Luis Potosi where the construction would start. During 1879 , at least 101 vessels, fifty-six of them from the U.S., entered the Tamp ico harbor, thus increasing its trade to such an extent that the C1 t :r council had to rent a warehouse for the arriving imports. Tampico's Jun-t a de Comercio (Commerce Board), a private business organization fou n fled in the 18305, also began the construction of a new and larger 35 war 4% louse for its members' use. The news that Tampico was to be prosperous again brought in a number 0f 1. migrants. both entreprenurial and poor laborers, to cash in the fut U re riches. Between 1879 and 1881, a series of projects was presented to t he city. state. and federal governments for their approval. These Pan‘s ed from the construction of a channel to connect the federal pier to the city’s shore -- the structure was located on one of the islands in front of Tampico -- proposed by the lorth American Charles S. Gunter to the construction of a tramway system, pulled by mules, and financed by a Ta mp ico Spanish merchant Benito Zorilla. 35 As early as 1870, a concession for a submarine cable between Tampico a nq Galveston had been granted to a lorth Amrican company, but they did u Qt complete the system, although a station had been built at La Barra 1 h 1878. Yet, in 1880, a new company organized in lew York conceived a re ambitious system that was to connect South America to the United 8 tates via relaying stations, and Tampico was to be one of its most 1 I“portaant links together with Veracruz and latamoros. The system was rapidly constructed and completed by 10 March 1881. On its inauguration congratulatory messages were sent from New York to President Diaz and the Tamaulipas governor, and from La Barra another message was sent to the Mayor of New York. Soon after. another cable line was planned bet ween Tampico and La Habana. Cuba. Furthermore, a third cable line conmecting the United States and South America starting from Galveston and passing through Tampico was begun in 1881. The cable system was so suc: cessful that it was reported to Vashington as an important factor in 7 pro noting trade relations with Mexico.3 Another successful American invention also appeared in Tampico. One Of “the city‘s businessmen. Daniel Fernandez, asked the city council for a '2 encession to build a telephone system. It was approved, and although 11 mited in its coverage, it was inaugurated on 17 Hay 1881 serving the C1 t y Hall and several businesses. Two other telephone systems were later aIDPI‘oved for the city, one owned by the wealthy Juan Jose Vifias, who was al so the Spanish Vice-Consul, the other by the lexican Central Railway to connect its various offices throughout the city. When in May 1883, D‘ S- Haines, a lorth American entrepreneur, sought a telephone and telegraph concession, it was rejected on grounds that there were too thy lines already in operation.38 The city also received great news when the newly appointed Minister or Fomento (Secretary of Development) Porfirio Diaz -- he had “allowed“ his yeoman General lanuel Gonza1ez, intimately related to Tampico and in Tamaulipas, to become President for the period 1880-84 -- d ecid'i‘ci to renew the subsidies paid to passenger lines like the 60 Al exandre 3: Sons of flew York. Hinister Diaz also drew new contracts and subsidies with Spanish, French, German and British steamer lines. The su bsidies forced these companies to stop at Tampico as well as at other Cu]. 1‘ ports. These lines would be bringing in more activity to these por— t s. 3'3 Vork on a much needed lighthouse at the entrance to the Panuco in La Barra began on April 1880. The increased maritime traffic expected rec; U ired this facility. Although plans to build the structure had been made in the late 1870's. neither the permission nor the money for the mat e rials had been available. Luckily for Tampico, a ship that was br 5- :21 Sing all the materials to build a lighthouse on the Gulf island of Pue r10 Lobos --off the Veracruz shore -- had an accident near the PallL-lco's entrance. The salvage party sent from the port told the alde rmen, upon their return to the city, about the ship's cargo. They inltlme£::liately gave orders to have the ship towed into the harbor. Once Seen re in Tampico, the mayor called on the federal authorities to allow them to keep the lighthouse, because Tampico needed it more than Port Lobos. The permits and tax-exemption were granted by the federal Sove rnment, and the Tampico businessmen contributed to buy the rest of the necessary materials to set up the lighthouse at La Barra. CQnStruction was rapid, and it was finished by 1 February 1883 with ihmediate congratulations from linister Diaz.40 The increased port activity brought in many newcomers, mostly n ationals, but also foreigners whose numbers rose with the rate of Sta" th of the city. Notwithstanding the yellow fever, smallpox, and (3) ’J other epidemics, by 1879, the city's population had swelled to 6,996 inhabitants. The poorest lived in marshes near the urban core, or in camillas (rows of shacks built on empty lots by their owners). Jobs were now available. As an indication of the renewed labor scene, bakery owners in 1881 called on the city council to allow them to raise the pr— 1 ces on bread for two main reasons: the salaries had gone up with no pl" .1 use increases since 1856. and secondly, they could not find employees to work in their stores because those available worked at the piers or 1 n ‘the various city warehousesq Money began to pour into the city's treasury. Expenses had ‘11 minished because some of the municipal units supported by the city 1 1 he the Municipal or Civil Hospital had enough paying clients, thanks to ‘the presence of the railroad company that supported the Hospital to assure health care for its employees. The customs house also increased 113$; income between 1879 and 1882. The 1879-1880 customs revenues were 0111 y s 432,235.61 pesos, but for 1881-82 they rose to 5 1,009,759.16 pesos, an increase of more than 507.. The increase meant that Tampico's share of 1.31. on customs grew from 5 5,619.55 to S 13, 126.87 pesos in those three years. Already in 1881, the city had been able to pay off most. of its 8 16,000 pesos debt, reducing it to only $3,639.85 pesos with renewed confidence in the prospects for their city. Tampico of f icialdom could now look forward to a modern city. 42 Horeover, in early 1881, it was rumored, and later announced by é3":1Co City newspapers, that plans were being drawn to build in Tampico a 3 e1sz system similar to those already in operation both in Europe and the United States. These jetties or W would be constructed at the entrance to the PAnuco to halt the growth of the sand bar. By providing an enlarged mouth to the river, the silt carried by the current is taken further out, and to a deeper place, into the Gulf. Thu 5, the sandbar is eliminated and ships with deeper drafts can come int c: the river. In March 1881, the [an Orleans Daily £12m announced the departure of Captain Joseph Eads, one of North America's foremost ens;- ineers, who had been responsible for the jetties at the mouth of the H1 Ssissippi River, for Mexico to supervise a crew of engineers surveying Tampico's harbor under commission by the U.S. government. His presence in Tampico encouraged the elite's beliefs that the project was feasible and that Tampico now had a chance to compete with Veracruz, still He): 1 co's major port. 43 Hotwithstanding the port surveyance, Tampico was inc 1 uded in the new railroad activity that began in Mexico. U.S. railroad entrepreneurs were among the first to cash on Mexico's new economic policies implemented by President Manuel Gonzalez and his H1 :11 ster of Development and Public Vorks, Porfirio Diaz, after 1880. “Phi S Mexican opportunity for capital investment, especially in Pni 1 roads, came at a time when U.S. railroad companies were in a bitter Struggle to expand into the nation's Southwest. One of the most a8gl‘vessive companies in this period was the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Its management began to extend their tracks faster than any other r 111 1road in the country, and entering Mexico became part of their e x1"3113ion program. The company's aim was to provide an alternate route 1: Q the American Vest. In the words of S.P. Van 055, an 1890s expert in g! railroad investments, “ we clearly perceive one great purpose -- the 1 ntention to make the Atchison the great connecting link between Mxico, Southern California, the Rockies, and the entire Southwest.“ 44 Yet, the Atchison's plans were marred by the competition it endured from other ran :1. lroad groups such as the Gould-Dillon, the Pierce-Huntington, and the Horgan-McComb, all interested too in moving through the Southwest and rea ching Mexico. By 1880, several railroad lines were closing in on the He no ican border of the U.S. The various companies' agents travelled to He 3-: ice City and to the state's capitals seeking railroad concessions from both the federal, but also state and city govenments in the COL! Iitry. Many concessions were granted. however, the original plans of the investors and grantors were thwarted by lack investors both locally and. abroad, or because they were schemes to lure investors and never went past the planning stage. Also, the domestic plans of the major ra 1 lroads in the U.S. were changed to satisfy or avert new conditions in tha nation. levertheless, some companies did enter Mexico, and constructed important lines and networks. Robert B. Symons, the Atchison's agent in Mexico, won a concession from the Ministry of Public Works on 11 May 1880, to build a line betWeen El Paso, Texas, and Menco City. Immediately a new company was created, incorporated in Massachusetts and affiliated to the Atchison, named Mexican Central Railway. It was to supervise the construction of the line and control it, usually under one of the Atchison's vice presidents. Symons had requested that prior to the completion of the 1111 line, trunk lines to Tampico and the Pacific port of San Blas be 64 constructed. This request fulfilled one of the Atchison's major interests that wanted to shorten the distance between the East and Vest Coasts of the United States by using Mexico as a shorter route. Vith a fleet of steamers leaving New Orleans for Tampico. products could be sent overland by train from Tampico to sun Blas where other company steamers would transport them to U.S. Vest Coast ports. However, before the line to Tampico was finished, changeover of investors and management at the Atchison's headquarters eliminated this plan. The Symons concession was based on a Mexican government subsidy of 3 9,500 pesos per kilometer or about a 15,200 dollars per mile. The subsidy was to be paid out of a 62 receipt from the nation's customs, meaning that importers would have to pay 67. more on their duties to insure the construction of this new Mexican railroad“,3 The presence of the Atchison in Tampico did not come as a surprise. Representatives from the company had visited the governors of the states of Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosi and also the Tampico authorities to enlist their support for the federal government concession as well as to obtain local concessions. There was general surprise when in September 1880, some obscure official at the Public Vorks Ministry granted the mDr'fiibund -- for lack of money -- concession for the San Luis-Tampico line to the Southern Pacific (Huntington group). lewly named Minister Diaz quickly intervened at the request of the Tampico and the interested State governments and promptly reversed the award for the Mexican Central Railway -- the Atchison,Topeka and Santa Fe -- on 5 December 1880- Diaz also announced that he would visit Tampico the a near future. 65 Thus. with the support of the local, state and national ruling groups, the Atchison became a powerful and important catalyst of economic activity in Tampico. and the city began to play a role in its Mexican plans by transforming it into the Mexican Central Railway's port.47 The Diaz visit raised great expectations among the Tampico residents. In his farewell speech, the outgoing President: Municipal of 1880, Julio R. Osorio, stated that the economic situation. remained extremely disturbing, although there had been some improvements. He also said -- expressing the views of the new' regime .and of the Tampico business community -- that Our hope is in the construction of the railroad line that will connect us with the capital of the State of San Luis Potosi. and also in the channeling of the Sand-Bar at the entrance of this Port. Yet, only great entrepreneurs under the shadow of our present government of the Republic can make such grandiose works ..soon, our new Minister of Development and Public Vorks, Citizen General Porfirio Diaz will honor our city...there is much we can expect from this distinguished visitor.(48) The mayor was keenly aware that only foreign capitalists could undertake y SUCh expensive projects, however; he also realized it had to be done with the acquiescence of the Diaz regim. To the Tampico community, D5 112‘ agreement was an absolute requirement for the city's development. (3n 2? April 1881, Porfirio Diaz arrived at Tampico's port amid the great celebrations prepared in his honor. That night, a great ball was held. and he declared his willingness to use his influence “upon the 8” pram Government so that measures to enlarge and enrich this Port will 66 be taken.“ 49 The next day, Diaz ordered a Federal dredger to Tampico that would clear the channels connecting the Chairel and Chijol lagoons with the Panuco, thus opening these transportation routes. Soon after, he ordered the Port Captain (officer in charge of port operations) to provide a full report of the properties and islands that lined the Tamesin and Panuco rivers as a first step for planning the port's development. A problem with the islands in the river had resulted from the presence in Tampico of the Mexican Central Railway surveyors. They had started their task for the branch line between Tampico and San Luis Potosi. They were followed by a large shipment of rails from England. The railroad's superintendent, a Mr. Harrington. asked the city council -- and also the Tampico Federal District court -- for the cession of two large islands on the Panuco right across from the town and known as Zapata or Mueiie(Pier) and Moraiiiio. On 2 May, the W Municipal, Luis F. Llorente, transferred the islands in perpetuity to the railroad company, without consulting with the other members of the council. His action brought an immediate rebuke from both the state and federal governments because these islands were considered part of the ml'ltional domain, and the city had no power over them. Llorente was accused of usurping political authority and of personally benefitting from this action. The state governor ordered his removal from office in late August; however, he held to his post until 15 September when he resi-S‘ned. Although the Federal government opposed Llorente's action, it did not want to interfere with the railroad's projects nor the port's 67 development. The Tampico Federal court allowed the city government to cede the islands to the company on an alternate basis, that is, their use for an indeterminate number of years.50 The islands' issue brought political confrontations between two sectors of the Tampico business elite. Various merchants who owned lands in these islands bitterly complained about the cession because they had been dispossesed without compensation. They argued that the city never had the right to dispense with properties considered national domain. thereby supporting the state's actions. The other group supported Llorente's action. and the Federal government's attitude because Mexico's and Tampico's future development could be hindered if foreign capitalists were not given the resources and facilities to bring modernity to the country. This encounter presents one of the conflicts of late nineteenth century Mexico where the integrity of the nation and preeminence of constitutionalism had to give way to foreign enterprises and to the public interest on modernity:J A Both groups faced each other in that year's rather heated elections; however, the new year soothed the anger as news of more railroads reaching Tampico. Three concessions for railroads to run through Tampico had been Stunted by the Federal and state governments. One was the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway -- also called Count Telfner's road -- that won a concession in 1881 to connect Tampico via Ciudad Victoria and mataduoros with Brownsville and Galveston. Already in December, the 68 company's engineers had started to survey the route, but in January 1882, the concession was sold to Hector de Castro. It seems that investors were lacking, and de Castro never continued with the project. The line, however, brought great interest in the city because it would have connected it to the U.S. border. The second concession was given to a railroad coming from Laredo, a U.S. border city, across the states of luevo Leon and Tamaulipas crossing the Penuco about sixty miles west of Tampico with a branch line to the town. on its way to Mexico City. The concession was granted to the Jay Gould- Degrees groups and was named the Mexican Oriental Interoceanic and International Railroad. The line was never finished for reasons similar to other projects: changes in the original plans or lack of investments. The third concession was the only to be successful, that given to the Atchison. Topeka and Santa Fes.2 These lines were the pmomised transportation outlets that Tampico needed, and local perceptions were supported by the continued economic results that accrued fron: the aforementioned railroad possibilities. Immigration continued in the upswing as the Mexican Central Railway used its own steamers to bring men from Eew Orleans and Galveston. Mexicans also continued streaming into the city, especially from the Huasteca. Tampico's newspaper editorials encouraged immigration, and called upon resddents to give the new arrivals good treatment, and to create jobs for them. Already in 1882, there were over 4,000 men working on r‘811roads that had started to be constructed from Tampico. Moreover, the City began to expand its urban core as the need for more houses 1“CTEased. Downtown. a new modern hotel was inaugurated by U.S. owners. 69 The Continental opened with reasonable rates. and with an excellent restaurant headed by an experienced French chef.5 A town without running water did not fit the image of a modern city. Therefore, Enrique Castillo, one of Tampico's young businessmen who had the support of some U.S. investors, won a concession from the city council to bring water into town from a plant to be built on the Tamesin River and using underground pipes. - Tampico benefitted also fron economic and capital formation activities as Mexican banking institutions that had started to make their appearance urged by federal and regional governments since the late 1870s began to open branches in the town. In June 1882. Salvador Castellé. one of the city‘s largest businessmen and uncle of General Diaz' second wife. became the Tamaulipas representative of the Chihuahua based Banco Mercantil Mexicano. That same year, the federal government ordered the opening in Tampico of a branch of the Monte de Piedad. an official pawnbroker and savings institution, originated in colonial times to help the poor against usury. Other banks would also follow. They constitute proof that Tampico was being seen as an economic center for Northeastern Mexico?5 These events were welcomed by the community. ESPecially by the foreign residents, who believed better times were forthcoming. 70 Two major problems challenge economic renewal. 1880-1890. The foreign investments that entered Mexico after 1880 excited the ruling elites both for the economic possibilities they held for them, and also for the growth that would give their nation its rightful place among the great countries of the world. The lorth American presence in this enterprise was cautiously measured. The Mexican Var had left deep resentments and fears not yet erased. In Tampico. however, although some citizens shared these feelings. the continued presence of U.S. nationals in the city since its foundation had allowed for a less tense attitude toward Forth Americans. a factor that was taken in consideration by U.S. interests much later on. The relationship between the U.S. and Tampico had started very early in the nineteenth century. The harbor was visited constantly by U.S. ships. e.g. fifty-two vessels entered the river between July and December 1822.56 Tampico's first U.S. consul, named the same year as its founding, was directly posted to Tampico by Vashington officials, and not by a member of the local business community as was customary. By the 18305, a substantial group» of U.S. born immigrants had. settled in Tampico, mainly from the newly acquired territories of Florida and Loniisiana. Most had Spanish or French names, but kept their nationality Alr‘eady in 1829, U.S. Consul George A. Robinson told the State Department that “ there is a good deal of American property in this FIACE“ referring to Tampico.57 This consul was succeeded in 1832 by an 71 American trader. Franklin Chase, who had moved recently to Tampico. He held that position until 1870. and became a significant participant -- as member of the business elite -- and witness to the joys and tribulations of Tampico during those years.53 The number and relative importance of North Americans in the port increased throughout the nineteenth century. By 1844, of 338 non- Mexicans in Tampico. 46 were Forth Americans. The number increased to 53 in 1855 and to 69 by 1867. (See Table II) In the words of Tampico's French consul, a good number of them were “ people of color.“ Most of them occupied a middle class position owing to their occupation as mechanics, watchmakers. shoemakers, masons. carpenters and artisans. A few were professional. especially medical doctors. Therefore, these North American were integrated at all levels of the Tampico community. After railroads came to Tampico, many other North American immigrants worked as stevedores, bulk-carriers, messengers or became unemployed drifters. Moreover, many of them married or lived with Mexican women, remaining in Tampico until their death. A few of these North Americans became Mexican citizens. There were also a good number of Earth Americans who had deserted their ships or had been left behind by their ships. 59 By 1882, the growth of investments in the Tampico area seems to have been related to the large number of lorth Americans living there. U'3- Consul Augustus J. Cassard averred that “the Amrican colony in Tampico grew from (sic) not over twenty a year ago, and now there are residing in this consular district, at least 1200 U.S. citizens.“60 This 72 TABLE II MORTH AMERICANS IR TAMPICO - 1867 lame From Age Occupation Eduardo de la Torre Hew Orleans 36 Businessman Ulises Labourdette U.S. 31 Businessman Alejandro Labourdette U.S. 28 Businessman Miguel P. Soto Mobile. Ala. 43 Businessman Jose Antonio Eduardo Baltimore. Md. 49 Carpenter Manuel Maples Jacksonville.lll. 21 Store sales Simon Romero U.S. 29 Businessman Juan R. Menendez Quiles U.S. 23 Businessman Julio Cavelier New Orleans, La. 30 Businessman Eduardo Velder New Orleans 38 Artisan Antonio Sanchez Zamora U.S. 36 Businessman (naturalized Spaniard) Adolfo Alberone New Orleans 39 Businessman Luis de Poche New Orleans 34 Teacher Pedro Hernandez Hew Orleans 50 Mason Julio Alvarez Eew Orleans 48 Mason Bernardo Miguel New Orleans 50 Carpenter Jose Setle Philadelphia,Pa. 49 Artisan Manuel Castilla U.S. 45 Businessman Clemente Funez U.S. 27 Artisan Dionisio Ricahi Pensacola, Fl. 31 Businessman Santiago Sanders U.S. 31 Businessman Mateo Belfort U.S. 49 Artisan Antonio Collins U.S. 46 Businessman Ricardo Gagnet U.S. 40 Tailor Francisco Esteban U.S. 27 Tailor Francisco Dastigue U.S. 54 Painter Tomas Herrien U.S. 29 Sailor Pablo Mandila U.S. 54 Mason Jorge Heill U.S. 54 Carpenter Francisco Martin U.S. 44 Vatchmaker ()telo Cupidon U.S. 32 Vallbuilder Luis Bernard U.S. 51 Vallbuilder Jose Lange U.S. 38 Vallbuilder Hipolito Grandpre U.S. 55 Businessman Ricardo Romain U.S. 48 Artisan lEpifanio Ralio U.S. 32 Artisan Francisco Bono U.S. 22 Businessman Belaito Bono U.S. 45 Shoemaker lame From Age Occupation Leopoldo Lavigne U.S. 47 Mason Emilio Robert U.S. 49 M.D. Julio Abelard U.S. 40 Artisan Julian Vel U.S. 38 Carpenter J.O. Alford U.S. 29 M.D. Jose Lavigne U.S. 25 Artisan Ramon Toussain U.S. 19 Shoemaker Gustavo Lavigne U.S. 20 Artisan Juan Bernardino U.S. 20 Carpenter Pedro Chalback U.S. 24 Shoemaker Pablo Bernardino U.S. 22 Carpenter Teofilo Bagneris U.S. 56 Mason Alberto Souchet U.S. 26 Blacksmith Andres P. Rodriguez U.S. 23 Businessman Alejandro Collins U.S. 30 Barber Agustin M. Dorestan U.S. 42 Artisan Jose Roche U.S. 19 Artisan Jose Chalback U.S. 25 Carpenter Ernesto Levafseur U.S. 35 Vatchmaker Felix Ruiz U.S. 28 Carpenter Teofilo Populus U.S. 23 Carpenter Enrique Populus U.S. 46 Mason J Julian H. Dufart U.S. 34 Businessman P.E. Percy U.S. 43 Mason Robert Panton U.S. 56 Carpenter Bernardo Collins U.S. 47 Businessman Pedro A. Tonaul U.S. 56 Fencing teacher Joseph Hunt U.S. l9 Carpenter Edward Morris U.S. 19 Tobacco worker Clay St. Andra U.S. 19 Tobacco worker Marcos L. Fio U.S. 38 Businessman AMT, Registro de extranjeros domiciliados en Tampico y solicitud al Supremo Gobierno para las cartas de Seguridad. Libro 75, Ano de 1867. The register lists many other foreigners, but this was a selection of all the names whose origin was the United States. It must be noticed that most of the surnames are either of Spanish or French (origin, which is an indication that these men arrived at Tampico from Eéither the Louisiana, Florida or Texas. Also most of them were skilled ‘vcwkers with very few professionals. 74 large number was due to the new arrivals brought in by the Mexican Central Company to either work in the railroad or to several immigrant colonies in the region. Meanwhile in Tampico. the presence of the men brought in to work for the railroad created a negative reaction in the community. The railroad company had problems with the Mexican laborers, and to solve them decided to bring down its own employees. In October 1881, Mexican laborers at the construction site. several miles west of Tampico, rebelled against their North American supervisors. A brisk fight ensued, but some friendly railroad officials were able to soothe the conflict. Nevertheless, they still asked the Tampico federal garrison commander General Jesus Alonso Flores -- still in charge -- who sent a picket of men to protect the company's property and safeguard North American interests. Yet, the fighting between the two groups continued and city authorities had to be on the alert for any acts of violence.5i Even with out this problem the company needed more men to advance the line as fast as its Board of Directors wanted. Thus between January and February 1882, the Mexican Central steamer Ainhnmn brought over 1000 men from lew Orleans into Tampico, about half of them blacks. This action increased Mexican xenophobia and racism, both at the .Port and at the capital. Editorials in Tampico and Mexico City's newspapers denounced the arrival of these laborers and called on the SOVernmnt to insist with the railroad companies to hire only Mexican "Orkers. Mexican pressure worked. In April, about two hundred workers, mStly Afro-Americans, left the Port. Consul Cassard called them tramps, who had failed to carry out their obligation and become beggars and a nuisance to the community. The city council accused the blacks of bad habits, of being armed and disease-ridden, and also of being a nuisance to the town. Moreover, local newspapers reported street gangs persecuting blacks. The negative attitudes of the Tampico community, the political pressures against them. the malaria, heat and lack of favorable living conditions forced the rest of the U.S. workers to return home by mid-summer. 63 The presence of North Americans not directly related to the railroad had longer lasting consequences for the city. In June 1882, one of the town's newspapers reported that “Shakespeare and Byron's language is becoming indispensable among us owing to the coming of the Americans. Already several major commercial houses are setting a pair of hours daily for their employees to learn English.“63 Besides forcing the study of their language. U.S. businesses also began to open. There were the American Hotel and restaurant, the restaurants and bars owned by Lee Schatman and Villiam Lee, and the small shOps of John Tucker, M.C. Johnson and Albert F. Brown. Dr J.V. Bryant joined Drs. Braverman, Varren and Roberts, who were already practicing medicine in Tampico. Moreover, a trilingual weekly newspaper, The In W Doe Bandenae began its publication with articles in Spanish, English, and French. 64 Consul Cassard claimed in February 1883 that the relationship between Americans and Tampiquenos had reached a high point when the C1 ty's elite threw a grand ball and banquet for the American colony. It “"38 the first such ever held in Mexico, and its purpose was to erase the 76 feelings of bitter discontent left by the rough railroad workers.65 It seems that Americans were welcome as long as they acted according to the mores of the town's elite and brought money with them for business enterprises. The resident American colony or any newcomers that fitted that model continued to play a valuable role in Tampico's growth. The sudden impact that U.S. investments and the railroad brought into Tampico was short-lived. By late 1882 the Mexican Central Company, limited by the lack of labor resources, and with a fast-approaching dateline to finish the main line El Paso-Mexico City, began to take workers from Tampico for its main road. This led to a decrease in the size of the services provided by Tampico, and the economy began to crumble again. Yet other problems also began to erode Tampico‘s confidence in the future.66 Economic conditions began to deteriorate in Tampico between 1883 and 1889. Several reasons could be blamed for that situation. One was the competition that northern border towns offered the Gulf ports. By July 1883, Tampico's custom house dropped to the fifth place in earnings after those of Veracruz, MazatlAn, Progreso, and Paso del Horte (Ciudad JuArez). By early January 1885, custom house receipts were mortgaged to 90% of their value. The city's tramway system which had various tracks throughout the city was on the verge of bankruptcy. Its owner, Sra. Zorilla. asked for a tax relief from the city. Tracks were left Unrepaired and traffic on the system was almost nil. A shortage of basic ccJrzlmodities led the municipal council to impose price controls. EmJlgration was rapid, and money was borrowed again to pay for municipal 77 expenses. Vhen the Mexican Central stopped all its Tampico works in December 1883, thousands of workers were left stranded with no other 1 jobs available since the other projected railroads were never anything but paper creations. The city was awash with unemployables. Moreover, Italians from a colony founded at Cerritos, a nearby location, strayed into town begging and asking to be sent to Veracruz because their colony was a total failure and they were in desperate need of help. 57 Many businesses closed their doors. and the continued economic depression led Tampiquenos to blame the situation on the opening of the main line of the Mexican Central, and also on the Free Trade Zone, an economic system created at the U.S. border that was operating rather successfully.65 This Free Trade Zone was born out of the economic plight of the Tamaulipas' border towns right after the 1846-1848 Mexican. Var, and especially by the U.S. Congressional Act of 30 August 1852. The latter provided that export products were to be held on the U.S. side of the border until conditions for their export into Mexico were favorable. The Tamaulipas state Congress retaliated with an Act of 17 March 1858 that created theZonn,Lihne_(Free Trade Zone) along its side of the border. It exempted from all federal, but not state or municipal, duties all foreign goods “intended for the use of the frontier towns of the State, for the ranches in their jurisdiction, or for trade between ‘the towns.“ 69 Yet, the lack of federal control allowed smuggling to be Carried out hurting both national and state treasuries. levertheless, the Zone did not have a direct national impact until after General Diaz Came to power. 78 In 1870, the Federal Congress voted to keep Tamaulipas' Free Zone operational because it was bringing revenues and trade with the U.S. Minister Matias Romero Rubio, an efficient Juarez assistant, advocated measures to prevent abuses and contraband in the Zone as these were endemic in the Tamaulipas' towns. These were put into effect, but very poorly. As the Diaz administration came into power, the Zone became a useful tool to increase U.S.-Mexican trade relations. Other border states caught the messsage and also asked the federal government for Free Zones. The arrival of the trains at border locations on the U.S. side, together with the increased smuggling on the Mexican side, meant that trade left the Gulf ports' and went to the cheapest and fastest border towns. Thus. these towns increased their legal and illegal revenues at the expense of Gulf cities like Tampico and Veracruz. Table III shows how the various Gulf ports' customs houses (+) lost their incomes while the border towns increased theirs. Finally, on 24 January 1885, President Diaz -- elected again the previous year -- signed a new tariff law that also extended the Free Trade Zone along the whole U.S. border between Tamaulipas and Baja California, thus, legalizing what was already an accepted situation.70 The Free Trade Zone became Tampico's worst enemy. Painfully aware of this situation, the city council, and the newly formed Chamber of Commerce, sent a delegation to Mexico City to meet with President Diaz. The General was told how Tampico's natural markets of Ciudad Victoria and Ciudad del Maiz, Tamaulipas, were being supplied with smuggled Eicnods from the border. They also asked for federal help in five major 79 areas: remedies against the contraband in the northern towns, resumption of the Mexican Central railroad construction, canalization of the sand- bar in the Panuco. transfer of 3 2,000 pesos from the Tampico customs to the city for the construction of a Lazareto (sanatorium) that the government had offered since 1884, and had not delivered; and dispatch of a federal dredge to clear again the Chijol canal that communicated with the Tamiahua Lagoon. In addition. they wanted the President to force the Tamaulipas government to finish the road to Tula.7i Diaz gave a warm welcome to the Tampico commissioners, and carefully listened to their supplicaticns; however, he told them that the nation was facing strenous times owing to the international situation, and he could not do much now. He did, however, pledge to do the utmost within his power once the national financial situation improved. He vowed to call on the Mexican Central management to finish the works, finish the federal pier, and give the city the money for the sanatorium. With nothing but promises, the delegation returned to Tampico empty-handed?2 Dire times returned to Tampico. In 1887, the French consulate closed its doors. and unemployed people roamed the streets begging. By 1889, the Tampico custom house had fallen to tenth place among the nation‘s trading incomes. (See maps 7 and 8) In that same year, floods covered the city's low areas leaving more than 600 families homeless. A national fund drive to help the victims was started in Mexico City with President Diaz contributing 3 5,000 pesos?3 Not until the end of the decade did the economic recovery begin. On August 1888, the Mexican Central and the Federal government signed a 80 TABLE III COMPARATIVE MEXICAF EXPORTS BY CUSTOM-HOUSES (1885-86) Port Annual Average Five Years Ending June 30, 1885 Year Ending Year Ending June 30,1885 June 30,1886 Acapulco + 180,166 (16) 190,695 (17) 104,178 (22) Altata 60,105 (23) 71,372 (23) 40,105 (26) Bahia Magdalena 48,117 (26) 55,852 (25) 7,120 (30) Cabo San Lucas 4.006 (34) 4,755 (32) 6,077 (31) Camargo I 56,229 (25) 47,206 (27) 39,208 (27) Coatzacoalcos + 179,600 (17) 193,014 (16) 184,879 (15) Frontera I 366.091 (11) 443,127 ( 9) 245,252 (14) Guaynas 349.682 (12) 400,551 (11) 463,075 (10) Guerrero 25.822 (30) 33,578 (29) 25,524 (28) Isla del Carmen + 468.194 (9) 562,935 ( 8) 568,103 ( 9) La Paz 496,734 (8) 399,651 (12) 392,821 (12) Laredo I 828,459 (6) 1,152,722 (5) 1,070,333 (5) Manzanillo 204,084 (15) 141.178 (18) 163,441 (17) Matamoros I + 520,738 (7) 355,737 (13) 411,725 (11) Mazatlan 3,589,934 (2) 3,214,951 (3) 2,874,586 (3) Mier I 93.737 (20) 102,487 (20) 169,976 (16) Fogales I 291.501 (13) 662,615 (7) 372,658 (13) Palominos 27,147 (29) 78,104 (22) 52,787 (23) Paso del Forte I 2,129,722 (4) 7,871,245 (2) 8,462,340 (2) Piedras Fegras I 175.165 (18) 404,186 (10) 630,628 (7) Presidio del Forte 47,918 (27) ---------- 8,313 (29) Progreso + 2,907,874 (3) 2,650,319 (4) Puerto Angel 16,965 (31) .369 (30) 108,190 (21) Quitoraguita 1,741 (36) 2,880 (33) 977 (32) Reynosa I 3,544 (35) ---------- Salina Cruz + 109.256 (19) 53,212 (26) 111,806 (20) San Blas 253.969 (14) 233,443 (15) 132,821 (19) Sasabe 43,263 (28) 43,325 (28) 44,164 (25) Soconusco 93,637 (21) 84,127 (21) ---------- Tampico + 916,888 (5) 695,585 (6) 703,917 (6) Tijuana I 5.574 (33) 8,632 (31) 45,633 (24) Todos los Santos 9,350 (32) 1,392 (34) 88 (33) Tonala 74,509 (22) 104,412 (19) 137,980 (18) Tuxpam + 397,490 (10) 321,867 (14) 606,293 (8) Veracruz + 15,858,957 (1) 15,720,958 (1) 13,940,662 (1) Zapaluta 59,161 (24) 57,920 (24) ------------ The figures include precious metals as well as other export products of Mexico. The crosses (+) indicate Gulf ports, the asterisks (I) indicate border towns. U.S. Department of State, CRUSFC 1886 and (Vashington,1888),582-583. 1887, I-uu‘ gun." Ddbuhl I"I a Bad 81 contract to build the jetties that would channel the Tampico sand-bar. The contract also gave Mexican Central the right to build piers, walks, dikes, warehouses and any other facilities to help the maritime access and traffic of the port.74 The Federal government had also granted that same year, another concession for a new railroad, already approved by the States of Tamaulipas and Fuevo Leon, to General Jerénimo Trevino and Emeterio de la Garza. It called for a narrow-track road between Monterey and Tampico via Ciudad Victoria. On 29 September 1889, these gentlemen sold the concession to the Sociedad Anénima Belga de Caminos de Fierro en Mexico (Mexican Belgian Railroad,Ltd.) with a clause that lengthened the time for construction beyond the original ten-year clause.75 The rise in tariffs on Mexican minerals in the U.S. created great fear among the producers, mostly Forth Americans. It led certain sectors of that industry to invest in smelting foundries in Mexico from which the minerals could be shipped to the U.S. without having to pay such high tariffs. The most suitable location to establish the smelters were the cities of Aguas Calientes and Monterey, both to be connected to Tampico by railroad.76 Thus, the renewal of the railroad works, and the new Belgian road would now have a profitable product reaching Tampico, and helping alleviate the economic situation. In addition, the federal government announced on 14 August 1889, the granting of still another railroad concession to connect Mexico City, Pachuca (a mining town), and Tampico. The situation was encouraging again for the Tampiquehos in their expectations for a strong communications network to the major urban centers of the nation. 82 Foreign cola-m distribution for 1827 I! Cato. locus . Commerce ‘3 g from 1 to. 10 from 11 t0 20 60 from 21 to from 61 to 70 83 Foreign comm distribution for 1072-7 Costco m, Cam 9 3 . "'“ . from 1 to 10 from 11 to 20 from 21 to 60 from 61 to 70 84 On 1 April 1890, a Mexican Central locomotive from San Luis Potosi arrived at the Tampico railroad station. EL Lnen had finally arrived in Tampico! The most important company officers in Mexico arrived in their own special Pullman car, yet the celebrations did not start until the 18th. when Mexico City officials arrived by boat from Veracruz. Fow San Luis Potosi was only twenty hours away (from a five day journey by road). The train became the symbol of the city's future and the Mexican Central Company would also undertake the construction of the needed jetties. Veracruz and the Free Zone would not be able to compete with Tampi-o. Tampico's citizens had struggled for sixty seven years, since the city's foundation, to establish a strong economic base for the development of their city. Tne national history and the interference of numerous external influences had slowed the promising start of 1823; however, the policies implemented by the fkmfirio Diaz government had begun a process of growth. Fotwithstanding that the city's (economy declined twice after 1876, the Tampiquehos grew on expectations of their future with the help of all the involved governments and foreign entrepreneurs. Until the 1890s, Tampico's urban growth had been slow and somewhat inconsistent, yet its residents had kept pursuing the dream of attaining modernity. Vith the changes introduced, it seemed that a new era was to begin in which they would finally attain their goals. FOTES OH CHAPTER I 1 Altamira was founded by José de Escandon in 1749 as part of the Spanish drive to conquer Forthern Mexico which. had started in the sixteenth century, yet had not advanced further north than the Panuco River. See Manuel Toussaint, Ln cenqnietn dei Penneomexicol, D.F., 1948); David E. Chipmn. limo da Guzman and the Emince of. m i518;i§33 (Glendale, CA, 1967); Joaquin Meade, Ln Huasieon Inmanlipeea_3 vols. (Ciudad Victoria. Tmps.. 1977-78): volume I deals with the establishment of towns in the region. Carlos Gonzalez Salas, Inmnieob Mi Ciudad (Tampico, Tmps.. 1982), 28-32; also his Reioi en Vein. 29-32; Torrea y Fuentes. Inmpieo, 102-103; Ernesto Lemoine Villicana, “Proyecto para la colonizacién de Tamaulipas en 1616,“ Boieiin,dei Azohixo,fienenal de in Fenian, II. 4. 1961, 569-582; Claudia Parodi, “La fundacion de Santisteban del Puerto y el arribo de Garay al Panuco: comentarios historicos y linguisticos.“ Histozin_Mexienna 27: 4, (abril/junio 1978), 616-636. For the formation of the State of Tamaulipas see Edmundo O'Gorman. Historia (1: ins dixiaionea temritnnialea (1a Manon (Mexico D.F., 1966). 15-19. 2 Meade, II, 10; Sir Henry George Vard, Mexico; 2ndn_edition.enlanged xiihanacconniofthammmandofthanomicalmmin that Repuhlio to tha present day 2 vols. (London, 1829), I, 267, 319, 322, 325, 326, 346. For conditions. on the period. see Luis Favarro Garcia, “Las provincias internas en el siglo XIX,“ Annnnio de Eelndioe Ameniennoe 21, 1964, 332-333, 365. 3 The historiography for this period is rather large. A good survey of Mexican history is Michael C. Meyer and William Sherman, Ine,Connee oi_ Mexignn_ flisnnny(lew York. 1979). Other acceptable and enjoyable narratives of the period are Hubert H. Bancroft, Mignon; oi,Mexign(Few York, 1914); Henry B. Parkes, A Hisiony Q1_Mexieo (Boston, 1950), and Robert Ryan Miller. Mexiooi_A,Histozy(lorman, OK., 1985) 4 Meade, II, 24-27. The Spaniards controlled the fort at the entrance to Veracruz. The city was not threatened until 1825, however, the port was closed to all trade; Bancroft, 44. The trade with the U.S. through 85 86 Tampico was not a result of a British policy as suggested by Tulio Halperin Donghi in his excellent Iho mm of. tho Romlojion in hm W (New York, 1973), 57. 5 Meade, II, 29- 31; Archivo Municipal de Tampico, Aotoo do {ohdam delaciudaddelamnicodenmulipasy. asignacihadeeiidosmiudad Victoria, Tmps , 1898). Also Luis Velasco y Mendoza, Ropohlamh do Mo (Mexico, D.F., 1942). The city was also known as Tampico de Tamaulipas, Tampico de Santa Anna, and Tampico. 6 For the use of the grid plan on Spanish American cities see Jorge E. Hardoy, 'La forma de las ciudades coloniales en la America Espafiola,“ in Francisco de Solano (ed.) M mm 11 W W 2nd. ed. revised (Madrid, 1983), 315-344. For a detailed description of the lots see Aotao do ERRQAQLQQ... 7 The city is located at 22°16' north latitude and 97‘49' west longitude. See article on Tampico in Emiglopodio Eoooso moo (Madrid, 1926); also Jesus Galindo y Villa, Googrm do la Ropohligo W W E15121 (Mexico, D.F., 1926), I, 116-119; Gonzalez Salas, mo“, 76. The Tampico municipality covered an area measuring 45 square kilometers; Carlos Collins Rojas, Eotodio do}. puozto do Tampico y_ dosomllo Mono (Engineering thesis, Universidad Autbnoma de Veracruz, 1969), 8. 8 larno Dorbecker, 'Laguna del Carpintero,” Bolou’h do lo Sooiodad Mom do Googmn y, W, 59, (1944), 225-233. The canal opened in 1837 under the name of Iturbide Canal, and made the city a true peninsula. It was formed to force the Panuco waters into it, thereby clearing it and changing its damaging nature; Gonzalez Salas, Del Rem en 221a. 38. 9 Marie France Prevot, Tampico,. googmphio urhoiho (M.A. diss. Centre lationale de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, 1972), 14. For a description of the region see Antonio vazquez de Bspinosa, W do 1; [hon muwm (México, D.F., 1944) and Alexander von Humboldt. Enema politics: sobre el Reina de la Ema Espaiia<181D (Mexico, D.F.,1966), 31, 41, 183, 295, 289, 299. Nineteenth century descriptions can be found in Joel Roberts Poinsett, Hotoo on noxioo mdo intheAuImoilflZZaccompaniedhxanhistmcalshetchoithe Wmmummmmmmm 87 that doom (Philadelphia, 1824), 205-209; G.F. Lyon, louthot ot o ResidenceandlnunintheRenuhliaofHexicointhexearlefluithaome account of the mtnos o1 that countty, 2 vols. (London, 1828). Also see Frances Calderon de la Barca, Ltto to Moxtoo(1843) (Hudson, H.Y., 1970), 531-532; Benjamin M. lorman, Ramhlos,hy,hohd and Hatot_(lew York, 1845), chapters 7 and 8; Luis Berlandier and Rafael Chovel, D1anto_do Vtatoa do to Contotdh_do Ltnttos (Mexico, D.F., 1854), 171, 218-223. 10 The Tampico Municipal Archive has numerous documents describing the effects of nottoo on shipping. Shipwrecks occurred constantly at the bar whether by high tides, unskilled perfomances by ship captains, or by the effects of the winds on the ships' sails. 11 HA/DCT/84, 10, Consul Cassard to Asst. Sect. of State, 15 April 1879. 12 A channel was opened during the U.S. occupation of Tampico along the Tamesin River west of the city. The American commander ordered the works to keep the city's idle population busy - paying them a good salary - rather than to have them as possible local enemies. Moreover, it was also used with military purposes in mind. See Meade, II, 109. However, the Tamesin's silt, as it Joined the Panuco, formed the islands called Pitahaya, Zapote, and Moralillo or Muelle. They were given by lots to individuals during the 18805. Covian Martinez, 13. 13 For details on the Huasteca see: Angel Basssols Batalla et. al., has Huastecaa en el desarrollo regional de HemMMéxico. D.F.. 1977); Anibal Andrade A. Huaxtecanan. o1,ostado hoastooo (Mexico, D.F., 1952; E. Baldizan, La Hoastooa potostna 2 vols. (Mexico, D.F., 1946);Joaquin Meade. La Huasteca.. apnea antisua (Méx1c0. 13.17.. 1942). La Huastesa Venom 2 vols. (Maxico, D.F., 1962), Lo Hmtooo pohlmmexico, D.F., 1951), Lo Hoastooo Quototono (Mexico, D.F., 1951); Guy Stresser Pean, “Ancient Sources on the Huasteca.“ in. Robert Vauchope (ed.), W of 11.111: W Indiana (Austin, Tx.. 1971). 2. 582-602; Hilario Menendez, La Huastooa,x so oxoluoton.soota1(Mexico, D.F., 1944). For attempts to make Tampico center of a Huastecan state see: Meade, Hoootooo,Ihnooltpooa, I, 13-19 and II, 30-36; lorman, 99-100; Gonzalez Salas, De]. mini en 1:11. 34-40. General A. Moctezuma, who rebelled against the federal government in 1832, promised the creation of a Huastecan State with Tampico as its capital in order to get the region's inhabitants support. A few years later, the leaders of another movement proposed a similar plan, see Manuel F. Soto, El.nnexo.estadoz.lecesidad 88 ' I u; 0 ou'. .' “30+" 0' .5 ' 0‘ . H; 0" o 03 :I ‘ o . '7 (Mexico, D.F., 1856), and Meade, ihtd, II, 80, 118. Rafael de Alba, Tamaulipas. Rosana geografia x estad’xatica (Mexico, DR. 1910). 3. 14 Archivo Municipal de Tampico (hereinafter AMT), Expediente 65, 'Receptoria Maritima,‘ (1826); Meade, II, 42, 51; Torrea. y IFuentes, Iamptoo..., 95, 101; Gonzalez Salas, Iomptooo mt_otodad, 60. 15 Tampico's former presidente municipal, Felipe Lagos, was one of the six deputies of the State Congress in 1826. Two other men from Tampico had important positions in the State's administration. AMT, Expediente 61 "Oficios,'I 2 August 1826. However. it was Lagos‘ influence that determined the concession of the title of ”city” to Tampico. AMT, Expediente 58. 15 diciembre 1826 and Expediente 62, Decreto 48, ”Determinacién de ejidos y limites para Tampico,“ 23 septiembre 1826. Already the city had been divided into hotttoo (boroughs) of La Riviera, Espartal and Salud. As population grew other boroughs were formed. 16 AMT, Expediente 51, “Padran general de la municipalidad,“ Octubre 1826. Also see Aotoo do Lo thdaotoo do Iomotoo; HA/DCT/84, n.n , Letter to Secretary of State, 29 May 1824; AMT, Expediente 61, 2 August 1826; Expediente 66, 6 diciembre 1826; Jacques Penot, Entmotos. oohtootoo nominations entne Maxine x mm 1828:1838 (Mexican. DR. 1975). 69. 17 Manuel Maria Escobar y Rivera, 'Campafla de Tampico de Tamaulipas, ano de 1829,“ Htotonta Moxtoana, 9, 1, (Julio/septiembre 1959), 44-96; lA/DCT/84, n.n., 10 August 1829, 4, George Roberts to Secretary of State; Meade, II, 59-78; Gonzalez Salas, Ihmptoo..., 38; Miller, 206; Carlos Pereyra, Bzoto_Htotozta do Amottoo (Mexico, D.F., 1973), 650-651; Herbert I. Priestley, Tho lemon m A Elston; (New York, 1924), 302. 18 By 1842, Tampico became Mexico's largest exporter of silver and its customs house's income reached over 8 1,500,000 pesos anually in the 18605. AMT, Expediente 126, 1835; Meade, II, 89; Cosio Villegas, HEM, 11. 290; Alejandro PrietO. malaria geografia y. eatadistica del Estado do.Iamanlipas (Mexico, D.F., 1873), 280; GonzAlez Salas, Dot notot on vola, 71; Alejandra Moreno Toscano, 'Patrones de urbanizacién en Mexico, 1810-1910,” Htstonta.Mox1oana 22, 2, 86, 164-165; Brantz Meyer, Moxtoot lo_qoo_tno y to_qno es (Trans. l.Y.,1844) (Mexico, D.F., 1983), 396-397. 89 19 AMT, Actas (City Council Minutes), 13 noviembre 1839; Vicente Filisola. Memoria para la historia de la Guerra de Ieias 3 vols... (Mexico, D.F., 1849), II, 217-218; Joseph Milton lance, Attot, San laeintar Ihe Texaszhexican Erantierr may. (Austin.Texas.. 1963). 144-145; E.C. Barker, “Tampico Expedition,“ Quartorix_ot,tho_onas,Stato 3151921911 Association. 6, 1902-1903, 169-186. On the U.S. invasion of Tampico see George L. Rives,Ihe United States and Marian... 1W A Histarx at the Relations Betaeen the Ina Countries Eran the Independence anexiaatatheClaseaftheHarmiththelLSr2vols. (NewYork. 1913), I, 306-7, 11, 280,292-93, 312, 656; Charles L. Dufour, Iho, Moxtoohflox;L A Compoot fitstogy 1818:1818 (Mew York, 1968), 215; Torrea y Fuentes, 217-222; Meade,Hnasteca.II. 98-109,131-155. 20 AMT, Actas, 1 enero 1860. The French Intervention of Mexico is the topic of numerous works. Among them see: Arturo Arnaiz Freig and Claude Bataillon. La interrencinn iraneesa 1 el lmaeriade Maximilianarflien ahoa dosoooah 1882:1982. (Mexico, D.F., 1965); P.H. Sheridan, Borsonal Momotto 2 vols. (New York, 1887), 11, 205-232. Also see Alfred Tischendorf. Great Britain and Mexiea in the Era at Eariiria Diaz (Durham, HC., 1961), 5. 21 Cosio Villegas, 813, III, 46. 22 AMT, Expediente diciembre 1868, 'Estado Corte de Caja General de ingresos y egresos del municipio para el aho de 1868;“ Alejandro Prieto, 280-281. For the national economic policies after the French were defeated see: Richard I. Sinkin, Iho Moxtooh,Rototmst,1855;1818 (Austin, Tx., 1979); Ralph Roeder,1oonoz and His Memo 2 vols., (New York, 1947); Laurens B. Perry, lnaroz and Dtaz...; Brantz Meyer, 396-397. U.S. Consul at Veracruz, M. Trowbridge, mentions that the difficult economic situation of the U.S. during 1873had restricted its trade with Mexico; IA/DCV/84, 6122, M. Trowbridge to Asst. Sect. of State, 30 September 1874. Plans to develop new roads linking Tampico to San Luis Potosi - a mjor inland city that needed a port for its mineral and agricultural products - and to Queretaro, another great mining center, were started in the early 18705. The road to San Luis was finished in 1878, but did not reach Tampico until the end of the century. The road to Queretaro opened in 1873, but was impassable and in disrepair almost since its inauguration. See Covian Martinez, 14, 56; Cosio Villegas, HMM, II, 290- 356; John H. Coatsworth. El impacta ecanamiaa de los ferraaarriles en el Eonttntoto (Mexico, D.F., 1976), 30, 271; RECRE1877, (Vashington,D.C., 1878), 746; RHERE. 1878, (Vashington,D.C., 1879), 468,Lo Rooohstzhootoh(Tampico), III, 9 abril 1878, 1. Transportation and roads 90 were a problem all over the nation. See Margo Glantz, llatoo on Mottooo Czdntooo oxttahtotoo (Mexico, D.F., 1964), 26-27; Juan Felipe Leal y Jose Voldenberg. La clase ahrera en la histaria de Marina. Del estada liberal a los initias de la dictadura nariirista (Hence. DE. 1981). 56-64; Emilio Coello Salazar, 'El comercio interior," Cosio Villegas,HMM, II, 772. In 1877, the city council gave a subsidy to a stage-coach company to make trips between Tantoyuquita - end of the San Luis Potosi road - and Tampico, three times a week. Yet, the upkeep of the roads made these trips an impossibility. AMT, Actas, 26 octubre 1879. 23 AMT, Expediente n.s, 15 Julio 1877, Expediente n.s., 14 septiembre 1877, Expediente n.s., 2H) septiembre 1877, Expediente 1171, nnd., and Expediente 1265, n.d.; 88888 1876 (Vashington,D.C., 1877), 49, 765-766. 24 HA/DCT/84, 135, Luis de la Lastra to Asst. Sect. of Skate, 13 October 1876. 25 HA/DCT/84, 135, Luis de la Lastra to Asst. Sect. of State, 3 November 1876 and 143, Consul Johnson to Asst. Sect. of State, 1 January 1877. 26 AMT, Actas, 12 enero 1877; Actas 14 enero 1877, 15 marzo 1877;Rfl£R£.1877 (Vashington. D.C., 1878), 746. 27 AMT, Actas, 19 enero 1877, 31 agosyo 1877, 22 noviembre 1877; lA/DCT/84, 166, 'Yearly Report on the Trade,etc., of the Port of Tampico for the Year ending in 30 September 1877,“ Consul Johnson to Asst. Sect. of State, 30 September 1877. 28 A federal pier was begun on 3 June, and the canal was opened on 15 June. The construction of a train connecting Tampico and San Luis Potosi was planned with the support of federal, state and municipal governments, but no action was taken about it. AMT, Actas, 21 enero, 7 mayo, 3 Junio, 15 junio, 30 agosto 1878. 91 29 AMT, Actas, 21 septiembre 1877; Lo, Rooohstzhootoh, (Ciudad Victoria), 5, 10, 3 octubre 1880, 1; 7, 42, 1 junio 1882, 3. The problem of the value of silver has been treated extensively in numerous studies. Among them the following are interesting for the impact the problem had on Tampico. Fernando Rosenzweig. “El comercio exterior,“ Cosio Villegas 81M, VII, 425, 647-657; MA/DCT/84, 166, Consul Johnson to Asst. Sect. of State, 30 September 1877; n.a. “Depreciation of Mexican Silver,“ and “The Mercantile Crisis and the Depreciation of Silver in Mexico,“ in flhttod Stotos Coh5o1ot Ropozts 75, March 1877, 667-672, 672-678 (hereinafter HSCR, no. date, pp.); “Vhat's Bimetallism,“ USER, 87, December 1877, 390-405; “The Silver' Question in: Mexico,“ QSCR" 122, lovember 1890, 541-543; David M. Fletcher, “The Fall of Silver in Mexico, 1870-1910, and Its Effects on American Investments,“ loothal ot Economie flifitarx, 18, (Spring 1958), 33-55; AMT, Actas, 20 agosto 1878, 22 enero 1880;88825 1879 (Hashington, D.C., 1880), 449; Secretaria de Fomento, Colonizacion, Indutria y Comercio, Lo ottoto monotartao Estodto sabre la crisis mercantil :1 1a denreeiacien de la alataméxiCO. D-F-. 1886). 30 This quote from the Blanto 011o1o1 of 8 March 1878 is taken from its reproduction in La Rooonstroootoh(Ciudad Victoria), III, 83, 9 abril 1878, 3-4. Historian carlos Gonzalez Salas wrote various articles on Riva Palacio's visit to Tampico based on a long document I found in the municipal archive. See, “Don Vicente Riva palacio en Tampico,“ El Sol do Iomptoo (Tampico), 12. 19, 26 agosto and 2 septiembre 1983. 31 Enrique Florescano y Maria del Rosario Lanzagorta, “Politica econémica: antecedentes y consecuencias (en la epoca de Juarez),“ in Luis Gonzalez et. al., Lo ooohomto who on lo epoch do loatoz(Mexico, D.F., 1972) also reprinted in Francisco Gonzalez Casanova (ed.). Mensa; ecanamia.. saciedad y. palitiaa 2 vols. roved successful. Robinson wanted to utilize the new technique on his Mexican engines. and aware of the oil seepages on the Tampico route that could provide the combustible at less expense, invited Doheny to visit Mexico. Robinson promised Doheny a railroad supply contract, if the oil ‘- A 30 ‘n the Huasteca between San Luis Potosi and Tampico, proved exploitable. A private railroad car was made available to Doheny and his friend and partner Charles A. Canfield. They traveled from El Paso directly to the Hacienda del Tulillo, about thirty five miles west of Tampico, and site of numerous oil seepages. The hacienda had been up for sale by its owner, Mr A. Arginzoniz. Doheny and Canfield investigated the place, and realized the potential wealth in it. Immediately, they decided to invest in the lands, and bought the 283,000 acres hacienda as well as a neighboring one named Chapacao of approximately 165,000 acres. The investment would eventually pay off handsomely. The partners began their oil exploitation soon after. Orders were sent via Tampico to buy equipment for stills and to fence their properties. Also word was spread in neighboring communities as far as Tampico to find workers for their 31 first camp named Ebano. In March 1901, men and equipment began to work in an area of the Hacienda del Tulillo called “La Dicha“ (Happiness). By April, the first well was drilled, and on 14 May, it surged forth breaking all the 165 ichinery, nevertheless, its output was a meager fifty-barrels-a-day. Lneteeen more wells were drilled that year, but with very similar esults.32 Doheny, meanwhile, had hired Pablo Martinez del Rio, a prominent .exican lawyer, to help with the legal aspects of the industry, and also .0 secure an almost total control over the prospecting and drilling in ;he three adjoining states on which his Hacienda del Tulillo was Located. These were San Luis Potosi, Veracruz and Tamaulipas. Martinez del Rio was able to secure that monopoly for a ten-year period, probably owing to the Diaz' government fear of the Standard's presence in the area. By granting the monopoly, the government made sure that Standard would not have access to prospecting in this region where an oil possibility existed. 33 Edward Doheny divested himself of his California holdings in order to devote all his energies to this Mexican enterprise. He also sought and secured several North American investors, and incorporated the first of his many Mexican oil companies, the Mexican Petroleum Company of California, with a capital of ten million dollars. Others would be Huasteca Petroleum, Tamiahua Petroleum and Tuxpam Petroleum. Eventually, all his companies were incorporated into a giant Mexican Petroleum Company of Delaware.34 However, this was not to come about without some difficulty. Despite the sum invested into the first ventures, oil production was minimal. Investors became increasingly apprehensive, and began to pull out of the venture. Furthermore, Doheny's contract with the Mexican 166 Lentral to supply oil for the engines was cancelled by the new company president Henry Clay Pierce as soon as that company was acquired by Standard Oil. 35 His Tampico refinery would now supply the locomotives with U.S. oil. Moreover, Doheny's profits were threatened by the drop in oil prices in the international market after the Beaumont or 0 x f pindletop fields of Texas began a great output after 1901, and the (1‘ barrel price dropped to 3 U.S. cents. Nevertheless, those difficulties did not stop Doheny from developing his oil field. Construction of new facilities continued unabated, sawmills. machine shops, warehouses, water - works and other essentials to the business were established. A short railway line was built. and fifteen tank cars purchased... an asphaltum plant set up to take care for the company's heavy oil.(36) .oreover, Doheny's perseverance was aided from unexpected quarters giving his efforts a trump card in this play of circumstances. Two Mexican geologists, Ezequiel Ordohez and Juan Villarello, arrived at Tampico in December 1901. They were sent by Minister Jose Ives Limantour, who wanted to satisfy his curiosity about the rumors that large quantities of oil existed in that region of the nation. He also wanted to know more of the Vaters Pierce Company and Standard Oil's presence in Tampico and its hinterland. The two geologists set out on their task, but Ordohez was injured in a railroad accident and had to return to Mexico City for recovery. Meanwhile, Villarello finished his investigation, and reported to the Minister that there was very little y... (‘3‘ \J oil in that region of Mexico. Once Ordohez recovered from his injuries, he returned to Tampico and set out to do his own research. He visited Ebano and its surrounding fields, and met Doheny there. Ordohez found evidence that supported great quantities of oil in the region. Upon his return to Mexico City, he visited the Ministry to report on his trip. His assertions were greeted with incredulity and great irony because they contradicted Villarello's findings. After Ordohez's report, he was given a flask with some petroleum in it “where all of Mexico's oil is . 37 collected.“ Thus, the Mexican government gave credence to a false report on its oil capabilities. and lost one of the most capable members of its technical staff. Ordohez, upset and shamed by his superior's attitudes and lack of foresight, resigned from his position in the Ministry. Doheny, who had been impressed by Ordohez during his visit, invited him to work in his He desperately needed to find some oil that would They had oil exploration. satisfy his investors and help the company's growing deficit. lost 2.5 million dollars in their futile search, and no new investors seemed forthcoming. Only his Mexican friend Gerardo Meade, related to cm of the wealthiest families of San Luis and Tamaulipas, had helped hem financially by securing additional credit from the Banco de San 11$ Potosi, S.A. Thus, Ordohez came to Doheny's side when he most eded a good geologist. One December night in 1903, Ordohez convinced Doheny that drilling ould be undertaken at the Cerro de la Pez (Asphalt Hill), another :tion of the hacienda, where he was certain oil could be found in 168 large quantities. Vork began immediately, and on 3 April 1904, the La Pez I 1 well began flowing at a rate of 1,000 barrels a day, not~long after growing to 1,700 barrels a day. This well continued to flow for the next nine years with a total production of three and a half million barrels of oil. This discovery made Menco a successful oil producer and also made E. L. Doheny a major force in the petroleum industry both in the nation and abroad. He was to become “the most important oil entrepreneur after Rockefeller,“ and discoverer of the richest oil strip, La Faja de Oro (Gold Strip), that existed in the world until the 40 19205. Doheny took advantage of the situation as news travelled outside Mexico because money poured into company, which having lost most completely under his control. Tampico investors was now almost benefitted heavily from these events occurring in its hinterland. Now Doheny needed the port and its infrastructure to develop his fields. The rapidly flowing oil had to be stored, and then shipped abroad where demand for the product had increased rapidly. Therefore, oil ducts, storage tanks, and a Doheny refinery were needed immediately. The port's activity increased with all the new equipment that was ordered. Lands [long the Penuco shores increased in value sharply, brought about by a eed for another refinery, reservoir tanks, and more petroleum agent ffices. Just as Doheny was carrying out his search and discoveries near impico, another oil entrepreneur entered the scene. Veetman Pearson, an glish engineer -- much later Viscount Cowdray -- who had worked in various famous projects. also began to search for oil, yet in Southern Veracruz and Tabasco State. 41 Pearson came to Mexico, after his firm had successfully completed New York's Lincoln Tunnel, on an invitation from President Diaz in 1889. He was asked to work on the project of a Grand Canal that would drain the valley of Mexico in order to prevent the floods occurring during the rainy seasons. This stupendous project was the beginning of an intimate friendship between the Mexican President 42 and the English contractor and engineer. In 1894, once the Grand Canal project was finished, President Diaz granted Pearson and his company the contract to improve the harbor and the port facilities of Veracruz. This made Pearson 8: Son, Ltd., an important economic force at that port joining the already powerful British firms and companies that used that city as a beachhead for their Mexican penetration. Not only did the Pearson interests fulfill their :ontract on the harbor works inaugurated by President Diaz on 6 March 902, but also constructed a new railroad station for the Mexican 'ailway Company, and formed the Veracruz Electric Light, Power and raction Company that controlled the city's electric supply as well as ts tramways.43 Vhile Pearson's company worked in Veracruz, he accepted another -oject from the President in 1897. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec was a urce of continuous problem for both Mexican and North American ilroad interests. Over thirty eight million dollars had been spent on astruction of a line, and the result was “so flimily built that it 11d not carry the heavy traffic which alone could have made it 170 profita‘ole.“44 Diaz wanted Pearson to rebuild the railroad line that connected the port cities of Salina Cruz on the Pacific Ocean to Coatzacoalcos on the Gulf of Mexico. He was also to perform harbor works at both locations, and these allowed his company to create and control the electric and tramway companies of these cities. As part of the contract, Pearson was made a government partner in the railroad's administration and profits. Thus, the most important causeway between the Eastern and Vestern coasts of the continent before the Panama Canal was built, was placed indirectly in British hands. It also shows how the Diaz policies favored the British as an alternative to the North Americans, and esp_cially in this route that had been one of their earliest railroad interests.45 It was during this period that Pearson became aware of the n *e s or oil seepages that also existed in this region of southern Veracruz where the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is located. Vhile surveying for the railroad construction. he saw and was told of the seepages, and immediately began to acquire these oil lands in provision for future development. On a stop-over trip at Laredo, Texas, in April 1901, Pearson was surprised with the excitement generated by the appearance of the Lucas gusher at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas. A wild fever ran through the state to find, lease and/or buy 011 lands. He returned to Menco caught up in that excitement. Moreover, he hired the successful Spindletop explorer, Anthony Lucas, to visit, inspect and report on the oil possibilities of the lands in the Tehuantepec region of southern 171 Veracruz. Lucas' report was promising, and Pearson decided to invest in exploration. The railroad locomotives were using oil brought in from Beaumont, and Pearson had constructed a steel storage tank at Coatzacoalcos (Puerto Mexico) with a capacity for one and a half million barrels of oil; therefore, his decision to search and exploit oil not would help decrease his energy costs on the railroad,but he also the space available to accommodate the yield.46 On the only had already other hand, Pearson wanted to control as many as possible of the oil lands. and finding a certain resistance from the districts' landowners sought help from his friends in the federal capital. On 26 December 1901, whether at Pearson's or Doheny's request, President Porfirio Diaz signed a law that authorized oil exploitation on vacant national lands, that is, controlled by the federal government but eligible for sale or lease. and on federal lands, those under the sole and perpetual jurisdiction of the federal government like the river beds 3f Mexico. The law also granted the right of way through private lands, he circular protection zones of three kilometers around each oil well, nd various other smaller item. According to new Q11, a Mexican overnment source, this law “had no other limitation than the Dictator's asire to authorize expropiations.“ 47 Indeed, the law benefitted both theny and Pearson in their tenacious quest for oil lands and nopolistic control over the incipient industry. At this early stage of 1 development, the law helped both men because their efforts were “ried out in different parts of the country. The law was also rdicated on the assumption that Mexico had little oil, and the investments made by these entrepreneurs would amount to more than what they could profit from the enterprise, and at the same time, it closed the door to more North American investments, especially in the south. These two assumptions were ill-fated because the success of the industry created an avalanche of investments, especially from North America. Great effort was placed to find oil, and over one hundred wells were rapidly constructed, but not much petroleum was found (just like it had to happened to Doheny during his initial prospecting). Pearson decided move his exploration to northern Veracruz in a district called Ozuluama, (W. not far from Tampi o. By 1903. he had acquired a majority interest in the Oil Fields of Mexico Company which had been searching for oil in that area. His company now owned “about 200 square miles of lands south known as the Furbero Field in honor of the company's earlier 48 of Tuxpam, President. Percy Furbero.“ These rich oil lands did not start producing until 1907. The Tehuantepec wells began to yield more oil by 1904, and Pearson was able to strengthen his monopoly over the oil lands in that region. The acquisition of more lands continued into the neighboring states of Tabasco and Chiapas. Other properties were also bought or leased in ’uebla, and finally he confronted Doheny by buying or leasing in San uis Potosi and Tamaulipas. Pearson renewed his request for more oncessions for oil explorations and exploitation from federal, state 1d municipal governments. Finally in 1906, two related events gave his :pire a stronger base. One was the construction of a refinery at natitlan, a small town up the Coatzacoalcos River, on the Isthmus. 173 The site selected was higher and cooler than at the shoreline, and less prone to tropical diseases, thereby keeping his work force healthier and more productive. This refinery remains one of the largest ever built in Mexico. The second event was the signing of a new contract with the federal government that gave him numerous concessions, and was granted on 18 January 1906. The contract allowed his company to explore federal lands, that is, the subsoil of lakes, lagoons, vacant national lands, and any a“ other lands under federal jurisdiction in the State of Veracruz. The governments of San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas, Tabasco, Chiapas. Campeche, and Puebla also granted him similar rights over their state lands for a period of seven years. It was also agreed that Pearson was to invest 800,000 pesos, and would build a refinery in Veracruz. In exchange for this obligation, he was to enjoy the franchise of exporting, free of all taxes, all the products derived from the oil exploited. He could import, free of duty, all the materials and machinery necessary for his enterprises. Moreover, and reinforcing the 1901 law already mentioned, :he company was given the right to expropiate lands for industrial >urposes, and to buy national lands -- surveyed lands -- at the price of acant lands, that is, at a much cheaper rate. It was also granted to lay pipelines across private properties whenever it was acessary for the company. 49 ermission The region's landowners complained about these monopolistic ncessions to a foreign company, but little could be done against the mbined forces of political and economic power and influence. In a 174 memorandum dated 1 March 1906, Pearson stated that his company owned about 600,000 acres and had royalty leases for up to 300,000 acres in 0 Veracruz State alone. These holdings spread over some of Mexico's most productive oil lands, furthermore, the Pearson company had gained control over the sewerage, electric and urban transportation system of various municipalities on that whole area of Mexico's eastern seabord. The prospects for increased oil yields from the northern Veracruz fields led Pearson to open an agency in Tampico in 1906 For it, he acquired some urban property, and began to bring more activity to the port through his imports of construction materials and oil exports. In 1907, the Furbero field began to yield increasing quantities of oil, and Pearson then invested one million dollars to create a fleet of tank steamers that would take the oil to his southern refinery or to the Waters Pierce refinery in Tampico. At this time Pearson had not yet created an international organization of its own, and the refined or crude oil was sold to the United States with a small proportion for the Mexican market. The continued growth of the enterprises led him to form an oil company in 1909 named Compahia Mexicana de Retrelec 1E1 Aguila". (Eagle Mexican Oil Company), that was incorporated under Mexican laws -- thus giving it legal status as a national company that protected it versus the “foreign“ companies. President Diaz' son was named to the Board of Directors of the new corporation, thus providing it with .mplicit political protection, and representing the possibility of the .ictator's household involvement in rof i t recipient. L. the nation's oil industry as a 175 Moreover, Pearson acquired another contract. It was for the construction of a canal between his lands in Ozuluama and the port of Tampico. The canal measured ten meters wide and three meters deep, and was navigable by small craft carrying oil. Thus, slowly, Pearson's relation to Tampico increased. Although in 1906, he had a strong competition from both Doheny and Vaters Pierce, who still controlled between 80 to 90 percent of the Mexican oil retail business, and from two newcomers to the field, the International Petroleum Company and the Pennsylvania Petroleum Company, by 1911, his successful enterprises gave He acquired one of his competitors, h m the upper hand in the business. .A the Pennsylvania Petroleum Company. and slowly took away from Vaters Pierce a large part of the retail business, and by 1911 decided to make Tampico his Mexican headquarters. From then on, his company would seek to control the municipal economy as it had done in other Gulf ports. Yet, the presence of Doheny and other powerful North American companies inhibited the monopolistic Pearson's activities at the local level, and allowed Mexicans both at the federal and local governments, to play their rivals for the benefit of the nation and the city;31 Veetman Pearson and Edward L. Doheny were successful were many thers, national and foreign alike, had failed. Their perseverance, luck nd their use of all means available to gain their goals brought both of hem great achievements. They invested heavily in their enterprises, and the productivity of their wells began to fill the needs of a world Until 1908, D rmand their profits soared beyond their wildest dream. arson had invested five million pounds (t) or close to 25 million 176 52 In 1906, his Tehuantepec wells were producing only between dollars. two to three thousand barrels a day; he invested heavily in a refinery and a fleet of tank steamers. Luckily, his 1908 investment buying the Pennsylvania Petroleum Company paid off handsomely. In August of that same year, and on lands that had belonged to that company, the San Diego field was discovered, one of the most productive ever found. A few months later, the world was awed by the news that the Dos Bocas well had broken loose, caught fire, and for the next sixty days gushed out about six million barrels of oil. Over one million tons of petroleum burned in that period with flames reaching over 500 feet high, the spilled liquid formed a lake with a capacity for three million barrels of oil. Despite the loss and destruction, this incident made Pearson extremely confident in his ventures, supported Ordohez and Doheny's searches, and proved to the world and the oil entrepreneurs that Mexico had an enormous oil potential, and international greed and demand would be placed upon the nation. Two years later, the appearance in Doheny's Juan Casiano # 7, and of Pearson's lands of another great gusher. Potrero del Llano # 4, supported earlier conclusions, and encouraged more international attention on Mexico. Both entrepreneurs and their oil discoveries plus the legal benefits they were able to muster in their search had profound effects on subsequent events in Mexican history, and also upon the life of Tampico 5 both men moved their most important administrative and technical ffices to the city. Vithin less than a decade, the wealth generated by [1 and the presence of their companies as well as those of many other ___~_ a 177 competitors took precedence in the economic life of the city and the region affecting all aspects of urban development. Especially influenced were the new social changes taking place by the creation of new labor relations, and new governmental relations between the city and the rest of the nation. Thus, an unique urban environment began to appear that would characterize Tampico for the following three decades. NOTES TO CHAPTER III 1 The word asphalt was later applied to the heaviest form of petroleum that can be found in their natural state or to heavy oil that is almost solid. It can be softened by heat and used, among other things, to pave streets. Diodurus mentions that the asphalt of the Dead Sea was bought by Egyptians to embalm the corpses. It was also used as waterproof coating for concrete floors and roofs. Almost pure a5pha1t can be found only in Trinidad, Cuba, the Dead Sea, and Peru. The word bitumen comes from Latin and included in its meaning all form of petroleum like gases, liquids, and solids like asphalt. Spanish uses the words bitumen, jugo de la tierra, and nafta for what later became petroleo or petroleum. See “Asphalt,“ Meme Wire, 1910- 1911; “Bitumen.“ EncxciopaediLEsnasaiaipe. 1926; 11. Jeep. DerAsphait und seine Anuendung in der Technik. (Vein.1898); Victor Forbin. Le dans le Monde (Paris. 1940), 7-8; HerodotUS.The Histories (London, 1968), 405. 2 Scott Nearing,011 and the farm 01. hr (Ridgewood,N.J. , 1923), 3. Although natural gases and the production of electricity were oil- related, the bulk of the oil profits derived from the sale of kerosene and gasoline. 3 “Petroleum,“ WW, 1968; John M. Blair, The Tantra). 01, 011 (New York, 1978),29. 4 Merrill Rippy, “The Mexican Oil Industry,“ Essaxs ihMexican istoryr The Charles mson Hackett Memriai Volunmdited by Carlos astaheda and Thomas E. Cotner, (Austin, 1958), 249. For an excellent tudy on the development of Houston see Joseph Pratt, The Gram at 1 311111“ 3281011. (Greenwich, Connecticut, 1980); also see Craig lampson.SinceSpind1etonLAHumanStorxoqulfLsEirstHaii m