Coercion, Culture and Debt Contracts: The Henequen Industry in Yucatan, Mexico, 1870-1915

40 Pages Posted: 19 Mar 2008 Last revised: 7 Nov 2022

See all articles by Lee J. Alston

Lee J. Alston

Indiana University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Shannan Mattiace

Allegheny College - Department of Political Science

Tomas Nonnenmacher

Allegheny College - Department of Economics

Date Written: March 2008

Abstract

While most contemporary historians agree that the use of debt peonage as a coercive labor contract in Mexico was not widespread, scholars still concur that it was important and pervasive in Yucatan state during the henequen boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The henequen boom concurred with the long rule of Porfirio Díaz (1876-1910), under whose watch property rights were reallocated through land laws, and Mexico's economy became much more closely tied to the United States. In the Yucatan, the accumulation of debts by peons rose as hacendados sought to attract and bond workers to match the rising U.S. demand for twine. We examine the institutional setting in which debt operated and analyze the specific functions of debt: who got it, what form it took, and why it varied across workers. We stress the formal and informal institutional contexts within which hacendados and workers negotiated contracts.

Suggested Citation

Alston, Lee J. and Mattiace, Shannan and Nonnenmacher, Tomas W., Coercion, Culture and Debt Contracts: The Henequen Industry in Yucatan, Mexico, 1870-1915 (March 2008). NBER Working Paper No. w13852, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1106578

Lee J. Alston (Contact Author)

Indiana University ( email )

Wylie Hall
100 South Woodlawn
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United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://economics.indiana.edu/about/faculty/alston-lee.html

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Cambridge, MA 02138
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Shannan Mattiace

Allegheny College - Department of Political Science ( email )

Meadville, PA 16335
United States

Tomas W. Nonnenmacher

Allegheny College - Department of Economics ( email )

520 N. Main Street
Meadville, PA 16335
United States
(814) 332-3820 (Phone)

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