Water and Industry in Puebla: The Establishment of the La Covadonga Textile Factory, 1889-1897

Authors

  • Sergio Francisco Rosas Salas El Colegio de Michoacán

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24901/rehs.v34i136.168

Keywords:

industrial exploitation of water, textile industry, Atoyac River, José Díaz Rubín, Puebla

Abstract

In the 19th century, 13 textile factories were established along the banks of the Atoyac River in the Mexican states of Puebla and Tlaxcala, form ing an industrial corridor that exploited the hydraulic energy supplied by that current. This essay analyzes the process developed by José Díaz Rubín in conjunction with the federal government and local users as he sought to found the last of these factories: La Covadonga, in 1897. Based on this case, the study shows how, in the setting of the Atoyac industrial corridor, enforcement of the law of June 5 1888 obliged the factory owners –who had long considered water their private property– to negotiate with other actors. The argument is that while this legislation granting the State the capacity to authorize federal concessions for the use of the waters of the Atoyac was important in the founding of La Covadonga, traditional practices of negotiation among users of the river were not eliminated.

Author Biography

Sergio Francisco Rosas Salas, El Colegio de Michoacán

Licenciado en historia por la Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla y maestro en Ciencias Humanas por El Colegio de Michoacán, donde actualmente cursa sus estudios de doctorado. Sus líneas de investigación giran en torno a la historia social y política de Puebla en los siglos XIX y XX.

Published

2013-12-09