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By María Gabriela Torres and Jesús Izaguirre) Nature and Culture in Nineteenth-Century Mexico: The Sociedad Mexicana de Historia Natural (1868–1914) By María Gabriela Torres Montero Submitted to the graduate degree program in History and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ________________________________ Chairperson Dr. Gregory T. Cushman ________________________________ Dr. Sara Gregg ________________________________ Dr. Luis Corteguera ________________________________ Dr. Robert Schwaller ________________________________ Dr. Santa Arias Date Defended: October 20, 2014 ii The Dissertation Committee for María Gabriela Torres Montero certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Nature and Culture in Nineteenth-Century Mexico: The Sociedad Mexicana de Historia Natural (1868–1914) ________________________________ Chairperson Gregory T. Cushman Date approved: October 20, 2014 iii Abstract This dissertation centers on the place natural history occupied in Mexican science and the ideas of the members of the Sociedad Mexicana de Historia Natural (SMHN). I propose that between 1865 and 1914, Mexican intellectuals who joined the Sociedad Mexicana de Historia Natural or participated on its margins, maintained a traditional, teleological understanding about the close links between the natural and social world. However, in this period they also embraced the use of scientific inquiry to enhance their understanding of the natural world in order to guide the country toward order and progress, similar to that enjoyed by other Western societies, especially France and the US. Influenced by Humboldt, Comte, Lamarck, and Spencer, Mexican scientists encouraged the study of natural history, believing that there was a strong and reciprocal relationship between the natural and social world. Mexican scientists had clear goals for this research: First, to learn how nature worked in order to maintain an equilibrium in the use of natural resources. Second, natural history could provide knowledge of how to use natural resources (flora, fauna, minerals), as well as improve the environment (climate, soil, air, water, geography) and the Mexican people (race, public health), which scientists believed would help to construct a modern and progressive country. Indeed, according to SMHN scientists, nature played a key role in the economic and social development of the country. For them, knowledge of the natural world would allow them to construct a progressive, civilized, and modern country similar to other powerful Western nations. In this vein, this dissertation examines what SMHN scientists thought about natural history and the management of resources to improve the country’s economy and public good during the period from 1865 to 1914. This period is relevant because it constituted a turning point in the study of natural history in Mexico, linked to a long period of iv stable, authoritarian government known as the Porfiriato, the most important formative period of industrial expansionism in Mexico, increasing international investment in mining and railroads, a rise in agricultural exports, and other endeavors with a massive impact on the natural world. v Acknowledgements Many people and institutions significantly aided in the completion of this dissertation— far more than I can address in these brief pages. I feel a profound gratitude toward all of my mentors at the University of Kansas, but especially toward the five who honored me by guiding me through this process: Gregory T. Cushman, Santa Arias, Sara Gregg, Luis Corteguera, and Robert Schwaller. Each of you shared your experiences, comprehension, and encouragement, which ultimately allowed me to finish this project. My heartfelt thanks for helping me to understand Latin America from a different perspective. I would also like to thank other faculty members for their comments, especially Marisol Cortez and Andrew Townsend Peterson. Significant to my success were also a number of fellowships and grants. My graduate courses were supported by the Programa de Mejoramiento al Profesorado (PROMEP) from the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Mexico. In 2012, I received the Robert and Andrea Oppenheimer Award from Department of History of The University of Kansas—it facilitated summer research at the Nettie Lee Benson Library of the University of Texas at Austin. The Stansifer Fellowship Fund for 2013–2014 supported my archival research in several Mexican cities. Thank you Olivia Islas, and Liliana and José de Jesús Izaguirre for your valuable time contributing to archival research and designing the graphics in my dissertation. I also must give thanks to Cielo Orozco and the staff of the Enrique Beltrán Collection of the Biblioteca Pública “Juan José Arreola” del Estado de Jalisco, Mexico, and Carmen Serna for the warm hospitality I received while conducting archival research in Zapopan, Jalisco. I must also extend my gratitude to Miguel Aguilar Robledo; thank you for trusting me and guiding me in my professional career. vi During my four years in Lawrence, Kansas, I came to know excellent human beings, whose solidarity and camaraderie eased any anxiety I may have felt as a visitor from another country: Irene Olivares, Ximena Sevilla, Miwa Itto, Mu Ciao, Claire Marie Wolnisty, Jacki Smith, Allison Schmidt, Mónica Torrices, George Klaeren, Ricardo de la Torre, Sergio Baños, and the entire Environmental History team. I hope that I may someday reciprocate the hospitality of Gregory Cushman and Santa Arias who opened their home to me and, more importantly, included me in their family activities—thank you for adding a personal touch to my time in Lawrence. In this vein, I particularly wish to mention Marta Vicente and Luis Corteguera whose hospitality and goodness got me through some stressful moments—without your friendship, these four years in Lawrence would have been difficult. Back home in Mexico my friends Socorro Carrizales, Anuschka von’t Hooft, and Julio Serrano were and are my spiritual crutch; thank you for all the times you called, emailed, and texted me—doing so narrowed the distance between us. I owe much to my family for their unending supply of emotional support, which was essential in helping me to achieve my goals. Thank you to my sisters Isabel and Angelica, my brother Arturo, my nephew Humberto, my sister-in-law María Luisa, and my brothers-in-law Javier and Juan Antonio for your continuous encouragement and care. Lastly, I dedicate this dissertation to my parents. It is a tribute to my mother who taught me that a woman can achieve her dreams, even while living in a patriarchal society, and to my father who taught me to seek my own answers to questions in History. vii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. v Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 Natural History in an International Context ..................................................... 24 Chapter 2 The Societal Roots of Natural History in Nineteenth-Century Mexico ........... 76 Chapter 3 Natural History’s Influences on Mexican Thought ........................................ 128 Chapter 4 Natural History and the Economic Development of Porfirian Mexico .......... 164 Conclusion: Rethinking Latin America Natural History ................................................ 218 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 226 viii Illustrations Figure 1. Map of the Mexican Republic and the Valley of Mexico. .................................. 2 Figure 2. Mining zones Central Mexico analyzed by SMHN in the nineteenth century. 12 Figure 3. Valley of Mexico 1873 by José María Velasco................................................. 17 Figure 4 Some founders and honorary members of the Sociedad Mexicana de Historia Natural............................................................................................................................... 81 Figure 5. The Geographical Origin of Society Contributors. .......................................... 89 Figure 6. Number of Society contributors' deaths, by decade. ...................................... 125 Figure 7. Axolotl by Velasco .......................................................................................... 149 Figure 8. Dypodomis Phillipsi Gray (Phillips Kangaroo Rat) by Alfredo Dugés. ......... 150 Figure 9. Environmental problems identified by Society contributors in the nineteenth century............................................................................................................................. 169 Tables Table 1. Major Contributors to the Sociedad Mexicana de Historia Natural……………84 Table 2. Other Outstanding Members of the Sociedad Mexicana de Historia Natural….85 1 Introduction Studies on animals’ habits are very important because they show us the wonderful resources that nature displays in order to hold organized beings in equilibrium [that is] essential to their existence ….[Those studies] teach us not to oppose nature’s laws [and] not to overlap individual interests to nature´s laws, [because individual interests could] lead us to remove
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