Degradation, Drought, and Dissent: An Environmental History of Colonial Michoacán, West Central Mexico

• Published in: Annals of the Association of American Geographers 1999-09, Vol.89 (3), p.402-419
• Main Authors: Enfield, Georgina H., O'Hara, Sarah L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Bgi / Prodig; Changes; Colonial archives; Colonial history; Colonialism; Drought; Environment; Environmental degradation; Environmental impact; Geography; Haciendas; Historical geography; Historical section; Land degradation; Land resources; Land use; Landscapes; litigation; Livestock; Mexico; Pastures; Sustainable agriculture
• ISSN: 0004-5608; 2469-4452; 1467-8306; 2469-4460
• DOI: 10.1111/0004-5608.00155

Environmental degradation of the central Mexican highlands has traditionally been attributed to colonial land-use change, specifically the introduction of livestock and the use of the plow. Some investigations, however, suggest that the Spanish encountered an already modified or degraded landscape in many locations, and as such, the environmental impacts of Spanish colonization have been overstated. In this paper, we present evidence as to the post-Conquest environmental impacts in Michoacán, west central Mexico, drawn from a range of historical sources, including colonial archives. The findings indicate that there was a period of landscape recovery in the immediate post-Conquest period as a result of indigenous depopulation and a consequent reduction in the intensity of land use. Contrary to conventional belief that the introduction of livestock precipitated an immediate and deleterious impact on the landscape, it is clear that the Spanish introduced conservative livestock-raising practices. A case can be made, however, for a phase of landscape instability in the eighteenth century, precipitated by the combined forces of resource monopolization, progressive climatic drying, and population expansion. This is thought to have contributed to an acceleration or an initiation of landscape degradation and, in some areas, the renewed exploitation of already-degraded territory. The implications are that land-tenure changes associated with the imposition of the Spanish colonial administration, and the intensity of land use in this area, were more significant triggers of landscape instability than the nature of land use per se.