John Hart’s most recent book is a case study of the silver mining region of Batopilas, Chihuahua, from the mid-nineteenth century until the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in 1910. The study is based largely on letter books from the mining company housed in the Hart Collection. These sources reveal previously unknown details about the history of the town, the mining operation, and its principal owners, the Americans John Robinson and Alexander R. Shepherd. The book also presents an evocative description of the region’s flora, fauna, and native inhabitants (the Tarahumara or Raramuri), based on a variety of sources.
Hart’s previous books have analyzed the importance of American investors and businesses in sowing economic dependency, social unrest, and political conflict in Mexico. The book under review forms part of this larger picture by discussing methods used by American entrepreneurs to modernize the mining and refining of silver ore at Batopilas,...
