Many years ago, O’Gorman contributed to the reviewer’s dissertation on Guadalupe Victoria by insisting that it emphasize the importance of geography on Victoria’s activities. O’Gorman asserted that territorial divisions make a valid approach to political history, and his many subsequent works have emphasized that point.
In the third edition of his Historia de las divisiones territoriales de México, he has produced a successful ménage à trois consisting of a historical introduction, a series of maps, and key documents concerning various periods in Mexican history. His historical résumé does not intrude on his major thesis; it is illuminating and to the point. The maps make an invaluable contribution, as they are clearly drawn, topical, and clarifying. The documents are pertinent and include colonial material and political tidbits such as the Bases of Election of New Congresses in 1823, Poinsett’s abortive treaty with Mexico based on the Florida treaty of 1819, Texas’ declaration of independence, the Mesilla treaty legitimatizing the Gadsden Purchase, and many other important ones, including a few that deal with aspects of the Revolution of 1910.
The book also includes a chronological index of significant laws dating back to 1525 and including many of the Juárez reforms. A good geographical index, a bibliography, and a list of important persons complete the book.
Since O’Gorman obviously wanted to emphasize the political and geographical nature of his book, it is rather carping for this reviewer to wish that he had added an additional ethnical dimension. For example, how did the territorial divisions emphasize differences in personality between their respective inhabitants? Did the localismo that plagued the early Republic spring from the territorial divisions that had been artificially created in colonial times? To what extent did the various territorial divisions try to influence the cultural development peculiar to their boundaries? Books dealing with these questions do exist, but they are usually superficial travel accounts, and a scholar of O’Gorman’s reputation could make a significant contribution, if he so desired. Nevertheless, he has produced a fine revision of his valuable reference book. It will aid many of his colleagues to add new geographical breadth to their courses.
