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When pawnshops talk: Popular credit and material culture in Mexico City, 1775-1916 Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Francois, Marie Eileen, 1963- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 04/10/2021 03:25:41 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/282621 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly fi-om the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be fi-om any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. 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Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313^761-4700 800/521-0600 WHEN PAWNSHOPS TALK: POPULAR CREDIT AND MATERIAL CULTURE IN MEXICO CITY. 1775-1916 by Marie Eileen Francois Copyright © Marie Eileen Francois 1998 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1 998 UMI Niamber: 9829358 Copyright 1998 by Freincois, Marie Eileen All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9829358 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ® GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared fay Man'e Eileen Francois entitled When Pawnshops Talk: Popular Credit and Material Culture in Mexico City, 1775-1916 and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy C. — Y/ I'i! Michael C. Meyer Date i! f f Kevin y^sner /, Date Dolina J. Guy^ / Date Date Date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. Dissertation Director I Michael C. Meyer Date 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: ^ 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS [ owe so much to so many for direction, inspiration, and support in the research and writing of this project. I benefitted from the professionalism and experience of my dissertation director, Michael C. Meyer, who showed unending patience when draft deadlines slipped by. I hope his retirement is both restful and fruitful. Kevin Gosner and Donna Guy have been wonderful mentors and teachers, orienting me in the literature and the profession, and pushing me to expand my conceptual frameworks and theoretical understandings. Others in Arizona whose influence is surely reflected in my work include Bert Barickman, Karen Anderson, Nancy Hunt and Doug Weiner. My cohort of graduate students, especially Bianca Premo and Michael Brescia, challenged my intellect and pushed me in new directions. I especially want to thank Michael, my examination partner and friend, for being so supportive through the dissertation process, and Alejandra Brescia for dedicating herself so fully to the well-being of my daughter Eileen. Juan Rodnguez provided research assistance at a crucial juncture, one of the many things for which I am in his debt. Thanks also goes to Sharon Bailey-Glasco, Joseph Cotter, Sonya Lipsett-Rivera, and Rodney Anderson for their comments on early drafts of chapters, as well as to those in the audience of my conference presentations for their insights and suggestions. The chair of the History Department at Arizona, Helen Nader, and the office st^f, especially Pat Alger and Donna Watson, greatly facilitated my work, and their assistance and support is much appreciated. The staffs of the Archivo General de la Nacidn, the Archivo General de las Notarfas de la Ciudad de Mexico, the Archivo Historico de la Ciudad de Mexico, and the Hemeroteca Nacional in Mexico City were always helpful. I thank Gabriel Rico of the Nacional Monte de Piedad for his assistance in gaining access to Monte de Piedad records and his gift to me of a published history of the institution. Many thanks to Senor Luis Romero de Terreros for granting me access to the Archivo Historico de la Nacional Monte de Piedad in Mexico City. Rnancial support for the research phase of this project came from the American Historical Association through the Albert J. Beveridge Grant for Research in the History of the Western Hemisphere, from the University of Arizona Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Institute's Graduate Research Grant, and from the History Department at the University of Arizona with two timely scholarships, the Sybil E. J. Pierce Scholarship and the Edwin S. Turville Scholarship. A dissertation fellowship from the Western Association of Women Historians supported the writing phase of the dissertation. I thank all of these grantors for their generosity. David Sweet and Sonia Alvarez have my gratitude for the training they gave me in Santa Cruz, and for their continued support and friendship over the years. And finally, I thank my family and my many friends for all they have done to enrich my life. 5 DEDICATION To my husband, Juan Rodnguez Buendia, for his patience, love and support, and for the sacrifices he has endured. To our daughter, Eileen Rodnguez Francois, bom in the midst of this project, for keeping me focused on what matters most and for putting up with a preoccupied mother. To my parents, Eileen and Frank Francois, for their unfailing support and encouragement, without whom this endeavor would have been impossible. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. LIST OF TABLES 8 2. ABSTRACT 11 3. INTRODUCTION 12 4. CHAPTER 1. Necessity and Luxury: Material Life, Popular Credit and the State in the Urban Milieu 30 5. CHAPTER 2. Prendas and Pulperfas: The Neighborhood Credit Business, 1784-1842 79 6. CHAPTER 3. State Institution and Community Resource: The Different Sides of the Monte de Piedad, 1775 to 1866 124 7. CHAPTER 4. The Growth of the Pawning Industry:Cav£/-v de empeno and Monte de Piedad 5«6-£/r5(a/e.v, l^Os-1880s 168 8. CHAPTER 5. Winds of Change: Porfirian Boom, Popular Outrage, and Revolutionary Bust 213 9. CHAPTER 6. On the Pawnshop Shelves: The Material World of Customers, 1770s-1910s 258 10. CONCLUSIONS 311 11. APPENDIX A. OcxTi PATIONAI. Nic"KNA.\IN.s or- PAWNING CrsroMiiRs i-"RO.\l 39 RhTAii, INVI^.TORlI•lS, 1787-1825 319 12. APPENDIX B. CONVERSO FAMIIA" NAMILS CROSS-RI:RIKR^:C:I;D WITH RITAII. 0\\>.1RS 320 13. APPENDIX C. STORILS WITH CONTINTOL SOWNIIRSHIP IN TIIH FAMII.I" 321 14. APPENDIX D. Disposn ioN oi- PRENDAS CUMPUDAS AT THH MONTH DH; PIIID.UD, 1802 322 15. APPENDIX E. SAMPLROI PAWNSIIOI'S, 1836-1880 323 16. APPENDIX F. SA.MPLK OH PAWNING TR.\NSACN"IO.NS BY ESTABIJSI L\LI^.T ANT) DATI; 324 17. APPENDIX G. COMPAR-VRIVI; VAI.H; OH THFIPNSO 325 18. APPENDIX H. GOODS STOIJLNFROM MONTH DH PIIIDAD BR.\NC:II NO. 3, 1873 326 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued 19. APPENDIX I. GOODS STOIILV FROM MONTH DE Pieivo BR-AXOI NO. 2, 1902 327 20. APPENDIX J. GOODS IN PAWN AT VERONICA £\/P/IJVO, 1903 328 21. APPENDIX J. GOOAS IN PAWN, ESCANIX^N/I\/PGVO, 1914 329 22. GLOSSARY 330 23. WORKS CITED 332 8 LIST OF TABLES TABLE L Miixico Crn 's PoRi.vTioN, 1772-1910 31 TABLE2, PA\VNI-:DG(XIDI> IN RIRR.MI. EST.-VBI-ISHMENTS, 1787- 1825 89 TABLE 3, PAWNING CI STOMFIRS IN RETAIL EST.VBUSILVFONTS, 1787-1825 92 TABLE 4, NICKNAMFLS OF- PAWNING CRSTOMF-3?S [-"ROM RF-TAII. IM IXRORIRIS, 1787-1825 94 TABLE5, TITLFLS OF- PAWNING CI STOMFKS F-T?OM RIRRAII. INA F-XRORFFIS, 1787-1825 . 95 TABLE 6, ROPFLVT CL STOMERS IN TFIE AGIIUTA CORNER STORE, 1788-1792 96 TABLE 7, SISNT-J<OS' PAWNING RIIC:ORD AT TI N- AGI ILITA COR.NI-;R S TORI;, 1787-1792 97 TABLE8,''L\ROHAGO" X\"N\I\PUII'T-:RFA CORNSN, 1795-96 99 TABLE 9, ETHNICITY AND MARITAF.