A Life Together: Lucas Alaman and Mexico, 1792-1853

by Eric Van Young

Overview

An eminent historian’s biography of one of Mexico’s most prominent statesmen, thinkers, and writers

Lucas Alamán (1792–1853) was the most prominent statesman, political economist, and historian in nineteenth‑century Mexico. Alamán served as the central ministerial figure in the national government on three occasions, founded the Conservative Party in the wake of the Mexican‑American War, and authored the greatest historical work on Mexico’s struggle for independence. Though Mexican historiography has painted Alamán as a reactionary, Van Young’s balanced portrait draws upon fifteen years of research to argue that Alamán was a conservative modernizer, whose north star was always economic development and political stability as the means of drawing Mexico into the North Atlantic world of advanced nation‑states. Van Young illuminates Alamán’s contribution to the course of industrialization, advocacy for scientific development, and unerring faith in private property and institutions such as church and army as anchors for social stability, as well as his less commendable views, such as his disdain for popular democracy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300233919
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	05/25/2021
Pages:	848
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 2.44(d)

About the Author

Eric Van Young is Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of several books, including The Other Rebellion, which was awarded the Bolton-Johnson Prize by the Conference on Latin American History.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

Part I Youth

1 An Old and Distinguished Family 13

2 A Silver-Plated Youth (1792-1815) 30

3 Years of Pilgrimage, First Steps in Politics, and a Betrothal (1816-1823) 65

Part II The Statesman Emerges

4 The Spanish Cortes and a Final Sojourn in Paris (1821-1822) 85

5 Brothers 123

Part III Into the Maelstrom (1823-1825)

6 The Meanings of Anarchy 139

7 Domestic Tranquility 188

8 Diplomacy 215

9 The Poinsett Saga 232

Part IV Making Money

10 Shafted: The United Mexican Mining Association (1824-1830) 255

11 Managing the Feudal Remnant: Alamán and the Duque (1824-1853) 307

Part V High Tide of Power, Fall, and Internal Exile (1830-1834)

12 An Ordered and Prosperous Republic 355

13 Texas 410

14 The Banco de Avío 442

15 The War of the South and the Death of Guerrero 465

16 The Reckoning 483

17 Weaving Disaster: Cocolapan (1836-1843) 521

Part VI Alamán at Midlife, Brief Return to Power, Last Days (1835 -1853)

18 Politics and Family 551

19 Texas, Santa Anna, and War 569

20 The Monarchist Plot and the US Invasion 592

21 City, Congress, Wealth, Health 611

22 Santa Anna Returns, Alamán Exits 632

Part VII Lucas Alamán the Historian

23 Getting the Historia Written 651

24 What Is in the Historia de Méjico? 680

Epilogue: On Decolonization and Modernization 707

Notes 717

Bibliography 787

Index 819

Editorial Reviews

A massive and meticulous biography, which, perceptively recounting the multifaceted life of Lucas Alamán – politician, intellectual, businessman, historian, and founding father of Mexican conservatism – sheds striking fresh light on the turbulent times which he witnessed and helped shape.”—Alan Knight, University of Oxford

“An alluring and lyrical biography of one of Mexico’s towering statesmen and at the same time a lucid and absorbing history of early independent and republican Mexico. Van Young reconstructs, vividly, the world of Lucas Alamán and his compatriots, all the while probing the methodological challenges of writing a life. This is a masterpiece of historical research, writing, and interpretation.”—Raymond Craib, Cornell University

“Eric Van Young's magnum opus on Mexico's most consequential and controversial conservative politician, historian, political economist, and journalist—who frequently elicits comparisons with Alexander Hamilton and Prince Metternich—is much more than an engrossing biography. Based on fifteen years of archival research, and masterfully integrating Van Young's refined practice of cultural and psychological history with his deep engagement with economic history, it represents a daunting scholarly achievement.”—Gilbert M. Joseph, co-author of Mexico's Once and Future Revolution: Social Upheaval and the Challenge of Rule since the Late Nineteenth Century

“Eric van Young unveils Luca Alaman’s family life, businesses, accomplishments and frustrations. This biography surmounts the stereotypes of the man that lived Mexico´s independent history.”—Andrés Lira, El Colegio de Mexico
 

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