Transpacific Mexico: Encounters with China and Japan in the Age of Steam (1867-1914)
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TRANSPACIFIC MEXICO: ENCOUNTERS WITH CHINA AND JAPAN IN THE AGE OF STEAM (1867-1914) by Ruth Mandujano López M.A., Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2005 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in The Faculty of Graduate Studies (History) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2012 © Ruth Mandujano López, 2012 Abstract During the nineteenth century, the transpacific world underwent profound transformation, part of the transition from sail to steam navigation that was accompanied by a concomitant reconfiguration of power. This dissertation explores the ways in which Mexican elite interests participated in this transformation, particularly during the Porfiriato (the period between 1876 and 1911), when general Porfirio Díaz was president. It argues that the travels, discussions, and exchanges across the ocean promoted by Porfirian elites—and generated in the context of these new geographies of power—contributed to the formation not only of a transpacific region but also to refashioning the Mexican national imaginary. These transformations took place between the 1860s, when regular transpacific steam passenger services started, and the 1910s, the moment when the transpacific steam system—at least when it comes to Mexico’s participation in it—begins to be dismantled in the context of a series of revolutionary changes which include the World War and the Mexican Revolution, the opening of the Panama Canal, and the introduction of a new maritime technology: vessels run by oil. With transnationalism, global and migration studies as its main framework, this dissertation utilizes varied and multiple primary sources found in over twenty personal, municipal, provincial and federal archives and libraries from San Francisco, Mazatlan, Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico City, and Oaxaca, in the Americas, to London and Hong Kong, other administrative poles of these transpacific circuits. ii Preface Parts of Chapters One and Three have been published in the following academic publications: Ruth Mandujano López, “From Sail to Steam: Coastal Mexico and the Reconfiguration of the Pacific in the 19th Century,” International Journal of Maritime History 22 (Dec., 2010): 247- 276 and Ruth Mandujano López, “Una revolución al vapor: la navegación transpacífica entre México y Asia a finales del siglo XIX,” Retos Internacionales 3 (Sept., 2010): 9-21. iii Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... ii Preface ....................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. v Acknowledgements.................................................................................................................... vi Dedication ................................................................................................................................ viii Introduction................................................................................................................................. 1 1 Colorado, 1867: San Francisco, Full Steam Ahead .............................................................. 16 1.1 Transpacific Contacts Prior to Steam: Spanish Imperialism and the Manila Galleon 18 1.2 The Steam Revolution and the Pacific Imperial Projects of Great Britain and the United States ................................................................................................................ 25 1.3 Mexican Ports and the San Francisco-Panama Axis ................................................... 33 1.4 Colorado, 1867 ............................................................................................................ 38 2 Vasco de Gama, 1874: A Space Odyssey ............................................................................. 41 2.1 A Transpacific Odyssey ............................................................................................... 43 2.2 Contextualizing the Journey: Mexico and the Transpacific World in the 1870s ........ 61 3 Mount Lebanon, 1884: Navigating in Britain’s Diplomatic Waters .................................... 70 3.1 Porfirian Modernization in Mexico: Economic Development, Race, and the Need for Immigration .......................................................................................................... 72 3.2 Mexican Elite Views on Chinese Immigration ............................................................ 85 3.3 The Controversial Ship ................................................................................................ 91 3.4 Porfirian Elites and the Transpacific World in the 1880s.......................................... 102 4 Gaelic, 1897: The Japanese Colonization Project in Mexico ............................................. 105 4.1 The Beginnings of Transpacific Relations between Mexico and Japan .................... 107 4.2 Mexico and the Japanese Pacific Imperial Project .................................................... 115 4.3 The Enomoto Colony in Chiapas ............................................................................... 129 4.4 Mexico and Japan in the 1890s .................................................................................. 135 5 Suisang, 1908: Double Vision—Chinese Migrants and the Body of the Nation ............... 138 5.1 The Establishment of Sino-Mexican Relations and the Beginnings of the Chinese Commercial Steamship Company (CCSC) .................................................... 140 5.2 The “Chinese Problem” in Mexico ............................................................................ 148 5.3 The Tehuantepec Railroad and the Porfirian National Project .................................. 155 5.4 Suisang, 1908 ............................................................................................................. 161 5.5 Mexico and the Transpacific World at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century ..... 180 6 Ancon, 1914: Revolutions and the End of the Porfirian Transpacific System ................... 185 6.1 Mexico’s Pacific Connections at the End of the Porfiriato ....................................... 186 6.2 Revolutions and the Transformation of Mexican Transpacific Links ....................... 213 6.3 Mexico and Transpacific World in the 1910s............................................................ 231 7 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 235 Works Cited ............................................................................................................................ 245 iv List of Figures Figure 1.1 New Spain’s Transoceanic Links ............................................................................ 21 Figure 1.2 Main Mexican Pacific Ports in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century........... 35 v Acknowledgements Every piece of work involves collective effort. This dissertation, while bearing my name, would not have been possible without the invaluable support of many acquaintances, friends, and family members. I would first like to thank the many professors who have inspired me. In particular, my immense gratitude goes to Bill French, who far beyond his responsibility as supervisor of this work became both mentor and friend. Whether it was to clarify a concept, or to discuss the latest film, Mexican politics or my most pressing personal and academic doubts, Bill was constantly there supporting my initiatives. Despite overstuffed agendas, Alejandra Bronfman and Henry Yu, the internal members of my committee, always found the time for me when I needed them, offering encouragement and solid advice. My M.A. supervisor and friend, Monica Toussaint, also played an important role throughout my research in Mexico. Last but not least, Paul Garner, who I had the fortune and privilege to meet during an academic exchange, kindly shared sections of his latest book prior to publication enabling me to finish this project on time. Three institutions contributed financially to make this dissertation possible. In Mexico, the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), and, in Canada, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and the University of British Columbia, particularly through the Faculty of Graduate Studies and the History department, provided grants that allowed me to pursue my studies full time during the first four years of my programme. This funding also facilitated necessary archival research and conference presentations in three continents. The list of friends and acquaintances with whom I have shared the past six years of my life and who have, whether explicitly or inadvertently, played a part in this project is long. My vi inner gang of friends supported me since arriving in Vancouver, while my classmates joined me on the frontline united in the joys and knocks of grad life. My Douglas College colleagues, and especially Margarita Sewerin, offered a web of respect and support that encouraged me to grow and develop. I also must thank all the students who have shared their laughs and thoughts with me over