War and Peace on the Rio Grande Frontier, 1830–1880

by Miguel Angel Gonzalez-Quiroga

The historical record of the Rio Grande valley through much of the nineteenth century reveals well-documented violence fueled by racial hatred, national rivalries, lack of governmental authority, competition for resources, and an international border that offered refuge to lawless men. Less noted is the region’s other everyday reality, one based on coexistence and cooperation among Mexicans, Anglo-Americans, and the Native Americans, African Americans, and Europeans who also inhabited the borderlands. War and Peace on the Rio Grande Frontier, 1830–1880 is a history of these parallel worlds focusing on a border that gave rise not only to violent conflict but also cooperation and economic and social advancement.

Meeting here are the Anglo-Americans who came to the border region to trade, spread Christianity, and settle; Mexicans seeking opportunity in el norte; Native Americans who raided American and Mexican settlements alike for plunder and captives; and Europeans who crisscrossed the borderlands seeking new futures in a fluid frontier space. Historian Miguel Ángel González-Quiroga draws on national archives, letters, consular records, periodicals, and a host of other sources to give voice to borderlanders’ perspectives as he weaves their many, varied stories into one sweeping narrative. The tale he tells is one of economic connections and territorial disputes, of refugees and bounty hunters, speculation and stakeholding, smuggling and theft and other activities in which economic considerations often carried more weight than racial prejudice.

Spanning the Anglo settlement of Texas in the 1830s, the Texas Revolution, the Republic of Texas , the US-Mexican War, various Indian wars, the US Civil War, the French intervention into Mexico, and the final subjugation of borderlands Indians by the combined forces of the US and Mexican armies, this is a magisterial work that forever alters, complicates, and enriches borderlands history.
 

508 pages, Hardcover

First published March 5, 2020

Reviews

[Scott Wise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Provides a lot of context to the more well-known events of the region during such an overly romanticized era. I feel like I needed more anchors to the bigger events to better connect the events discussed in the book with more commonly known events. The timeline is a little jumpy in favor of a more topical approach, which can make the events and how they affect each other harder to follow. The summaries at the end of the chapters were really helpful to follow the larger picture. I really appreciated the inclusion of cooperation and shared culture/events alongside the more well-known history of division.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

The narration was good!