Copyright by José Adrián Barragán-Álvarez 2013 The Dissertation Committee for José Adrián Barragán-Álvarez Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: The Feet of Commerce: Mule-trains and Transportation in Eighteenth Century New Spain Committee: Susan Deans-Smith, Supervisor Matthew Butler Virginia Garrard-Burnett William B. Taylor Ann Twinam The Feet of Commerce: Mule-trains and Transportation in Eighteenth Century New Spain by José Adrián Barragán-Álvarez, B.A., M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December 2013 Para mamá y papá, por haber dedicado su vida entera para darme esta oportunidad. Que Dios los bendiga, siempre. Acknowledgements In the course of completing this dissertation, I was blessed with the generosity of various institutions and the friendship of many individuals who believed in me and helped me reach this goal. For this, I am forever indebted to them. I would like to thank first the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Susan Deans-Smith, Dr. William Taylor, Dr. Ann Twinam, Dr. Virginia Garrard-Burnett and Dr. Matthew Butler. Dr. Deans-Smith and Dr. Taylor have helped me more than I can thank them for –they pressed my thinking and believed in my project even when I had all but abandoned it. Without their mentorship, their careful readings of the dissertation, and their invaluable advice throughout the years, I would be lost. Dr. Garrard-Burnett’s unwavering confidence in me helped me believe in myself. My other professors at UT – Dr. James Sidbury, Dr. Martha Newman, Dr. Mariah Wade, Dr. Carolyn Eastman, Dr. Julie Hardwick, Dr. Mauricio Tenorio, Dr. Toyin Falola, Dr. Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra, and Dr. Karl Miller– inspired me to think beyond the world of colonial Mexico. Marilyn Lehman and Courtney Meador were instrumental in making the Department of History feel like a home away from home. I would also like to thank the Department of History, the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, the Program for Cultural Cooperation at the University of Minnesota, and the Escuela de Estudios Hispanoamericanos in Seville for providing the necessary resources to conduct my research and writing. The staff at the Benson Latin American Collection at The University of Texas at Austin, the Archivo General de la Nación and the Universidad Iberoamericana’s Archivo de Comerciantes in México City, the Archivo General de Indias in Seville, and the Archivo Histórico del v Poder Judicial del Estado de Michoacán in Morelia were crucial in helping me identify the sources used in this study. For the last two years I have been fortunate to have the job of Spanish Translator at the Texas General Land Office, a position that has existed since 1837. Most importantly, I have had the opportunity to work alongside great people who have taught me that there is certainly more to Austin than just graduate school. I would especially like to thank Galen Greaser, who in my first month taught me all I needed to know about the archives of the Spanish Collection; the members of the MS-150 bike team who welcomed me and continue to encourage me to keep pedaling; and Mark Conway, who helped me put together the wonderful maps I have used in the dissertation. Ana Cortinas, Bill O’Hara and David Pyle provided the motivation to get it done. The lively conversations with the “lunch crew” –Daniel Alonzo, Buck Cole, James Harkins, Mark Lambert, Patrick Walsh, and Alex Chiba– are the best part of my day. Thank you. The beauty of being in graduate school for so long is the fact that I have enjoyed many conversations about history and, more importantly, about life with people whom I hope to never forget. Pablo Mijangos and Bonar Hernández were (and have been) a constant source of help, inspiration, and camaraderie throughout the whole process. No tengo con qué agradecerles todo lo que han hecho por mí. Christopher Albi, Fernanda Soto Joya, Adrian Howkins, Alison Hicks, Jackie Zahn, Evan Ross, Jen Hoyt, Mathew Gildner, Heather Peterson, Anne and Brandon Marsh, Tyler Fleming, Ann Genova, Matt Heaton, Sam Frazier, Michael Anderson, Lauren Apter, Chris Dietrich, Veronica Jiménez, Ryan Field, Creighton Chandler, Mariajosé Afanador-Llach, Franz Hensel- Riveros, Angeles Estrada, and Benjamín Narváez thank you all for always being there for me. Playing soccer with the F.C. Subalterns gave me an opportunity to get out of my apartment and meet wonderful people whom I now have the pleasure of calling friends: vi Sarah Steinbock-Pratt, Eric Courshane, Kate Vickery, Kyle Shelton, Julia and Dan Ogden, Shannon Nagy, Emily Brownell, Christopher Haney, Hannah Carney, Juandrea Bates, Claudia Rueda, Brent (Brencho) Hughes, Lior Sternfeld, and Ellen McAmis. In the course of researching and writing, I have also enjoyed the company of Luis Pelaez, Katy Adams, Carmen Román, and Ryan Crewe, whose invaluable support I hold dear. Completing this dissertation often felt like an eternity, but I never walked alone. Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my family. My extended Berkeley family –Tori Young, Star Zales, Ping-Ping Ho, David Schmittdiel, Meghann McElroy, Gabriel Risk, and Diana Rothschild– you guys are the best, ever! To all my tías, tíos, and primos in California and in Mexico who provided me with unconditional love and support, gracias. Carlo Augusto Álvarez, gracias primo por abrirme las puertas de tu departamento cuando más lo necesitaba. Finally, I could not have completed this dissertation without the unconditional source of support of my parents, Rosa Margarita and Adán. They sacrificed everything they had in Mexico to give me a better life, a chance at an education; they believed in me, even when they could not understand why I had to move so far away. Son la bendición más grande que Dios me ha dado, son toda mi vida. vii The Feet of Commerce: Mule-trains and Transportation in Eighteenth Century New Spain José Adrián Barragán-Álvarez, Ph. D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2013 Supervisor: Susan Deans-Smith “The Feet of Commerce: Mule-trains and Transportation in Eighteenth Century New Spain” explores the work of the muleteers of colonial Mexico. Muleteers satisfied the material demands of New Spain’s consumers by distributing trans-Atlantic and domestic products throughout the viceroyalty, including fine Chinese and English fabrics; cacao from Guayaquil (Ecuador); olive oil, books, wines and other spirits from Spain. Internally, muleteers supplied urban and mining centers with agricultural goods and raw materials (like wool and tobacco) for their manufacture. In the seventeenth century, mule-based transport coalesced into a professional service that allowed the muleteers to adapt to new demands, establish business relationships, and become the primary mode of transport in the eighteenth century. Moreover, the professionalization of the land-based system of transport (la arriería) generated a level of trust that enabled muleteers to contract their services to all members of New Spain’s commercial networks because the system had proven itself as an efficient method of transportation. As the primary means of transport in the eighteenth century, la arriería was the crucial vehicle by which institutions and individuals negotiated New Spain’s commercial terrain; without it, New viii Spain’s economy could not function. Muleteers transacted with merchants in urban centers and at the ports of Veracruz and Acapulco, negotiated with local and viceregal authorities for transportation contracts and to ensure the safety of their mule trains, and reacted to obstacles on the road that impeded the flow of commerce. Through their daily business transactions, their influence on the building and maintenance of roads, and their trade networks, muleteers who dedicated their lives to la arriería sustained the economic viability of the Spanish colonial system. ix Table of Contents List of Figures ....................................................................................................... xii List of Illustrations ............................................................................................... xiii Introduction ..........................................................................................................14 Chapter One – Porters, Carters and Muleteers: A Blueprint of New Spain’s Transportation Systems..............................................................................25 The Bifurcated Overland Trade Routes ........................................................28 Competing Modes of Land Transport ...........................................................36 Indigenous Porterage...........................................................................37 The Wheels of Commerce .....................................................................41 The Feet of Commerce..................................................................................49 The Organization of the Mule Train ....................................................50 Defining the Tradesmen .......................................................................53 Conclusion ....................................................................................................61 Chapter Two – Como es estilo en el comercio: Distribution, Contracts and Tradition in the Age of Reform .................................................................62