This volume of essays is one in a series of ten economic histories of Mexico recently published through the collaborative efforts of the Instituto Mora, El Colegio de Michoacán, El Colegio de México, and UNAM’s Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas. Most of the chapters in this collection (as in most of the other volumes) have been previously published—in this case, mostly in the 1980s and mostly in Mexico. Although many (perhaps most) historians might find the study of state finance somewhat tedious, I would urge careful attention to this volume and, indeed, to the series as a whole. What these essays tell us about broader themes in Mexico’s transition from colony to nation is impressive. Some of the broad themes include the desperate efforts of the Bourbon state to increase American revenues during the endemic European wars of 1778–1804; the central role of church wealth and finances in this story; the...

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