For the past 150 years, the history of the Central American Independence Period has been written, like that of the greater Spanish American movements, within the context of the 'struggle for independence.' By emphasizing the emergence of modern Central America from the crucible of social, political, and economic unrest which characterized the late colonial period, such an approach provided a viable sense of national identity for the new states of the former Kingdom of Guatemala. This interpretation, however, is problematic in Central America, a region which in fact displayed only limited interest in independence before achieving it in 1821. As a result, lacking a true national liberator or emancipation movement, historians have tended to stereotype the person and administration of Captain General Jose de Bustamante (1811--1818), casting him in the role of arch-villain, at once the inhibitor and the precipitator of independence. Remembered only as a tyrant, the personification of 300 years of Spanish oppression, Bustamante has faded into myth This dissertation is the first modern, comprehensive account of the Bustamante years in Central America. In contrast to previous studies, this work examines Bustamante within the context of the 'preservation of empire,' the fundamental effort by colonial officials and partisans to maintain the integrity of the Spanish Empire. As an analysis of colonial administration in the midst of revolution, it addresses the creation of a counterinsurgency state in Guatemala as part of a viceregal response to rebellion which was developed in Mexico and applied by Bustamante among a mostly loyal populace. While Central America experienced some localized unrest during this period, most of the population either actively supported the traditional order or did nothing to oppose it, with independence sentiment existing only among a radical minority. Instead of an isolated and perverse case of Spanish repression, the Bustamante administration should be seen both as an example of a relatively successful, if short-lived campaign by a colonial official to preserve the old order and an illustration of the strength of loyalism during the Latin American independence wars / acase@tulane.edu

In the eighteenth century, social conflicts over water rights surged in a dramatic crescendo in Puebla. This strife was manifest both in increase of litigation and in rising rural violence. The root cause of this phenomenon can be traced to the demographic surge of the late seventeenth century and the consequent expansion of the market for agrarian products. With a heightened demand for their goods, agriculturalists extended their fields and therefore needed more irrigation This dissertation examines the mechanisms of the battle for water rights in order to gain an understanding of the transformations within Puebla. The effects of this crisis were multiple. Indigenous communities suffered a gradual loss of their traditional rights to irrigation, often turning on each other either internally or between villages. The loss of village solidarity was exploited by Iberian landholders to further deprive the groups of their irrigation. Under these conditions it became imperative for haciendas to ensure access to a large amount of irrigation to be able to compete on the marketplace. Sabotage of water supplies at planting time became a most favored weapon and could ruin a year's harvest. The result of these battles was the culling of weaker and smaller estates from the scene, but also the massive indebtedness of the surviving estates after years of litigation and strife. Within the city of Puebla, the expansion of the urb made it progressively more difficult to supply the entire population with drinking water. The priorities of the Ayuntamiento belied any serious attempt at a solution and many of the popular barrios suffered dry fountains The problem of access to water touched all elements of society in Puebla, large landowners as well as Indian farmers, urban and rural dwellers. Usurpation of water was not a phenomenon new to Mexico but the aggravation of this problem in the eighteenth century and the lack of any real attempt to resolve the situation aggravated inequalities and imbalances of society which already existed. The trends begun in Puebla in the eighteenth century as a result of the crisis in allocation of water can be seen as precursors of the battles fought in later years / acase@tulane.edu

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The Bracero Program of August 4, 1942 allowed Mexican workers to enter the United States to remedy labor shortages caused by World War II. The reasons for American involvement in the program were evident, but Mexico's reasons were not as clearly defined The Mexican Revolution of 1910 produced major changes in land and labor laws. By 1940, industrial workers had received extensive rights; expropriation of large estates and land distribution had soared. If twenty years of social revolution (1920-1940) were designed to improve conditions for the population, why did Mexico permit its workers to migrate to the United States where they had encountered historical social and economic problems? The dissertation studies the Mexican operation of the program for the first time using archival sources from the National Archive in Mexico City and includes information from the presidential files of Manuel Avila Camacho and government agencies. Documents from the Historical Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Relations were also essential Mexico used the program to extend agrarian and nationalist policies emanating from the Revolution. The government expected workers to acquire new talents which they could use to improve agricultural production in Mexico. It was concerned about domestic production and tried to regulate the number of participants. Mexico was able to extract specific protections for its workers from the United States in light of historical discrimination against Mexicans. Mexico showed the workers that it had their interests in mind when it joined the program Workers returned with changes in the lifestyles; some had improved their skills. The program did not fully protect them from discrimination in the United States, and there were abuses of fraud and smuggling in Mexico. Neither government could offer complete protection. The program also exacerbated the problem of undocumented migration The war forced both nations to seek mutual solutions to problems, and the program created harmonious diplomatic relations. Throughout the preceding twenty years of social revolution Mexico had devised policies to give the people a greater stake in society. The Bracero Program became part of that process and an integral part of the Mexican Revolution / acase@tulane.edu

Agrarian society in Guatemala, since its contact with Spanish civilization, has been moving along a continuum within a broad spectrum of cultural development from the original Mayas to the modern ladinos. Each region, however, has changed at a different rate and must be examined by means of historical perspective. This study analyzes the roots of the transition of the eastern Guatemalan highlands, commonly known as the Montana, from a stable and peaceful peasant society with substantial landholding Indian towns in 1700 to a violent and more politically active ladino society in 1840. New and acute grievances after 1750 brought changes in demography, economy, and land tenure. Natural disasters, administrative reforms, epidemics, and the moving of the capital caused hunger, financial ruin and, consequently, the dispersal of Indians and greater ladinoization. Disease, particularly, affected both the rate of population growth as well as the ethnic composition of the region. Ladinos gained in political and economic power, and further ladinoization brought greater political awareness to all peasant groups. Liberal government after independence from Spain and the effects of the cochineal boom accelerated these trends. Although during the colonial period the Spanish crown had a vested interest in preserving Indian communities, that interest came into conflict with the economic and political goals of creoles. When Liberal political reforms threatened the last hope for the survival of cohesive Indian communities, peasants who had been peaceful for nearly three centuries took advantage of a weak and divided elite and took up arms. The changes that had occurred since 1700 made the Montana uniquely ripe to be the central stage for a peasant revolt in 1837 that ended the first installment of Liberal rule and shattered forever the United Provinces of Central America / acase@tulane.edu

The late eighteenth century brought profound social and demographic changes to all of Latin America and Yucatan in particular. Voluminous records of the trials that followed the 1792 assassination of the province's first intendant-governor, don Lucas de Galvez, highlight the effects of geographic, economic, and social mobility on Yucatan's inhabitants. The increasing permeability of racial categories, movement to and from cities, upward social mobility for some Mayas and many Afro-Yucatecans, and downward mobility for some Spaniards left many subjects outside of the legal framework formulated by Spanish jurists during the early colonial period. The ambiguous status that resulted from greater mobility and independence brought more exposure to punishment and prosecution from law enforcement agents and court magistrates. Individuals in vulnerable positions sought protection through official means, such as the immunities granted to soldiers and militiamen, or through extralegal methods such as the patronage of influential figures from the quarreling factions of the upper class The 1792 assassination led to a protracted trial involving hundreds of witnesses and suspects from every conceivable background, giving a comprehensive view of how Yucatecans dealt with the law. Records from separate trials unconnected with the assassination, which were overseen by military tribunals, local Maya justices, and Indian Court magistrates, add to our understanding of the operation and reach of Yucatan's judicial system and the jurisdictional controversies that resulted from competing claims to authority. Militia rosters, guild rolls, and prisoner lists also provide important background material / acase@tulane.edu

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The Audiencia of Santo Domingo, a superior appellate court for the district of the Caribbean with significant extrajudicial responsibilities, was one of the primary institutions for the administration of Spain's overseas colonies. However, encroachment by other European powers, relative isolation from the metropolis, and general poverty made the island of Hispaniola an undesirable destination for colonial bureaucrats in the seventeenth century, and the Dominican tribunal was considerably weaker and far less important than its counterparts in the Iberian Peninsula or in major cities like Mexico and Lima. Just the same, the audiencia in Santo Domingo remained an integral part of the colonial judicial system during this time, and provided an entry point to the Indies for many officials who would later move on to positions elsewhere in the Indies By examining the career trajectories of audiencia ministers, as well as the frequent internal and external conflicts they participated in during their time on Hispaniola, the present study illuminates the often chaotic but durable nature of royal administration in seventeenth-century Spanish America. Additionally, the tribunal's responses to difficulties in exercising oversight of provincial officials within the Caribbean region demonstrates the way in which the institution of the audiencia adapted to challenges and competed over jurisdictional boundaries with other administrative entities. Finally, the audiencia's relationship to local society provides the background for a discussion of how the tribunal kept the island tied to an external colonial framework and helped transfer the authority of the later Hapsburg monarchs to the Dominican population / acase@tulane.edu