Americans in the Treasure House
eBook - ePub

Americans in the Treasure House

Travel to Porfirian Mexico and the Cultural Politics of Empire

  1. 294 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Americans in the Treasure House

Travel to Porfirian Mexico and the Cultural Politics of Empire

About this book

This study of American travel to Mexico from 1884 to 1911 examines how the influx of tourists and speculators altered perceptions of US influence.

When railroads connected the United States and Mexico in 1884, travel between the two countries became easier and cheaper. Americans developed an intense curiosity about Mexico, its people, and its opportunities for business and pleasure. Indeed, so many Americans visited Mexico during the Porfiriato—the long dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz—that observers on both sides of the border called it a "foreign invasion." This, as Jason Ruiz demonstrates, was an especially apt phrase.

In Americans in the Treasure House, Ruiz argues that this influx of travelers helped shape American perceptions of Mexico as a logical place to exert its cultural and economic influence. Analyzing a wealth of evidence ranging from travelogues and literary representations to picture postcards and snapshots, Ruiz shows how American travelers constructed an image of Mexico as a nation requiring foreign intervention to reach its full potential. Most importantly, he relates the rapid rise in travel and travel discourse to complex questions about national identity, state power, and economic relations across the US–Mexico border.

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Yes, you can access Americans in the Treasure House by Jason Ruiz in PDF and/or ePUB format. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher
University of Texas Press
Year
2022
Print ISBN
9780292753839
eBook ISBN
9780292753822
Subtopic
Mexican History

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. List of Illustrations
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Notes on Usage
  9. Introduction: Keep Close to a Kicking Horse
  10. One. Desire among the Ruins: Constructing Mexico in American Travel Discourse
  11. Two. “The Greatest and Wisest Despot of Modern Times”: Porfirio Díaz, American Travelers, and the Politics of Logical Paternalism
  12. Three. American Travel Writing and the Problem of Indian Difference
  13. Four. “The Most Promising Element in Mexican Society”: Idealized Mestizaje and the Eradication of Indian Difference
  14. Five. Reversals of Fortune: Revolutionary Veracruz and Porfirian Nostalgia
  15. Conclusion
  16. Notes
  17. Bibliography
  18. Index