Well-founded and Not so Well-founded Expectations: The Civilizing Effect of Commerce and Other Economic Topics in Travelogues about Mexico (1811–1909)

Abstract

Though travel literature is not usually consulted to follow the evolution of economic reflection, a certain number of these works about Mexico in the nineteenth century allow a reading from this point of view. Beginning with the famous Alexander von Humboldt, a good number of foreign travelers were intent on elucidating certain economic questions whose relevance sharpened in a social and political scenario as the Mexican one. One concern was the question about the civilizing effect of commerce. Another one was about the so much emphasized principle of self-interest as an unfailing motive for economic dynamism. Finally, some travelers asked themselves to which degree the construction of an administrative apparatus was the decisive factor to put Mexico on the path of economic progress. The survey includes the works of several significant European travelers and covers until the year of 1910.