Bubbles and bonanzas : British investors and investments in Mexico, 1821-1860 / Michael P. Costeloe.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Costeloe, Michael P.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Investments, British--Mexico--History--19th century.

Investments, British.

Silver mines and mining--Mexico--History--19th century.

Silver mines and mining.

Mineral industries--Mexico--History--19th century.

Mineral industries.

History.

Mexico--History--1821-1861.

Mexico.

Physical Description:

xviii, 229 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : Lexington Books, [2011]

Summary:

It is a little known fact of British history that between 1824 and 1825 British people invested approximately 10 million pounds in Mexico. This enormous sum of money did not come from the British government, the Bank of England, or, for the most part, rich merchants, landowners, or British aristocrats. It came from the incomes, pensions, and savings of thousands of ordinary British people, including rural vicars, country doctors, merchants, local bankers and solicitors, retired army and navy officers, shopkeepers, and myriad other individuals who risked their money in the future of Mexico. Why did they do it? Why did the four Cazenove brothers of the banking family, or the three Twining brothers of tea fame, or Dr. Peter Roget, author of the famous Thesaurus that most of us still use today, choose Mexico for their investments? What did they know about the country, its history, economy, politics, and prospects? Why was it that the British, even after losing millions of pounds in their Mexican investments, continued to believe that Mexico was a land of unlimited opportunity?

Bubbles and Bonanzas is the first detailed study of British investments and investors in Mexico in the first four decades after independence. Michael P. Costeloe gives economic history a human face that offers fascinating detail and new information about the origins and scope of British interest in independent Mexico. Book jacket.

Contents:

Mexico in Britain, 1824-1825: a positive image

The bubble

The Mexican companies

Mining companies: phase 1 (1824-1829)

Fate of the mining companies: phase 1

Mining companies: phase 2 (1830-1860)

Miscellaneous British enterprises

The shareholders

Miscellany.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780739151198

0739151193

9780739151211

0739151215

OCLC:

701242350