Minas de Sombrerete:
An Inventory of the Collection at the Benson Latin American Collection
Descriptive Summary |
||
| Title | Minas de Sombrerete Collection | |
| Dates: | 1797-1851 | |
| Dates: | 1825-1851 | |
| Abstract | Records documenting the history and operations of mines in Sombrerete (Zacatecas, Mexico). | |
| OCLC Record No. | 30152219 | |
| Quantity: | 3.5 inches | |
| Language | Spanish or Castilian. | |
| Repository | Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin | |
Historical Note
The mines in the district of Sombrerete, Zacatecas, are believed to have been discovered by Captain Juan de Tolosa in 1555. During the 17th century they were owned by the Marqués de Fagoaga. The mines were located in the three departamentos of Pabellón, Betanegra, and Cañada.
The mines were acquired in 1815 by the brothers Pedro and Narciso Anitúa; after the division of their business interests, the mines were operated by Narciso alone. In 1821, he transferred the mines of Cañada to Guadalupe Chavez and Manuel Mena, who operated them until 1825, when they were abandoned. In 1829, José María Bracho, Guadalupe Chavez, and Salvador Morillo formed a company to work the mines of Cañada; it operated until 1832.
Apparently having abandoned operations in the departmentos of Pabellón and Betanegra in 1821, Narciso Anitúa resumed operations there in 1825 in concert with the Compañía Unida de Minas Mexicanas. After litigation over the closing of the San Lucas mine, Narciso Anitúa regained full control of the mines in April 1833. He formed another company, whose operations were suspended in August 1833. Narciso Anitúa died in 1839; in June 1841, the enterprise was abandoned entirely in consequence of a suit over demolition. At that point, the mines were acquired by group of citizens of Sombrerete. Nine months later, however, the mines were again abandoned because of Indian disturbances. In 1851 sporadic work continued in the departmentos of Pabellón and Betanegra, but the departamento of Cañada had been completely abandoned.
| Chronology | ||
| 1555 | mines “discovered” by Captain Juan [de] Tolosa | |
| 1815 | tomaron los Sres. D. Pedro y Narciso Anitua las minas de la Cañada, que antes esplotada la casa de Tagoaga igualmente que las de Pabello y Vetanegra; began drainage... brothers separated their business interests and Narciso continuó por si solo el giro de las minas | |
| 1821 | Narciso dejó las minas de la Cañada traspasándolas á D. Guadalupe Chavez y D. Manuel Mena, quienes las poseyeron hasta 825... | |
| 1821 | Narciso desistido del negocio de las departamentos de Vetanegra y Pabellón | |
| 1825 | Cañada abandoned and inundated by Chavez and Mena | |
| 1825 | minas... quedaron desiertas por las Sres. Anitua, Chavez, y su socio Mena | |
| 1829 | José Ma Bracho, Guadalupe Chavez y Salvador Morillo invitaron al año de 1829 para la formacion de una compañía a fin de emprender los trabajos de las minas de la Cañada... | |
| 1829-1831 | Una compañía emprendió de nuevo el laborio de la Cañada en 1829 a 1831, y en 1832 se abandonó el negocio | |
| 11 Jan. 1829 | riot destroyed businesses and fine houses in town | |
| 1832 | se abandonó el negocio | |
| 1825 | Anitua que, como se ha dicho habia desistido en 1821, del negocio de las departamentos de Vetanegra y Pabellón, lo emprendió de nuevo en 1825 y mediante un contrato con la compañía unida mexicana, comenzó los trabajos llevandose parados los de cada departamento,... | |
| 1833 | ||
| 1833 | formó una compañía | |
| August 1833 | ||
| June 1841 | abandonaron del todo la empresa á consequencia de un pleito sobre derrocar; en seguida se posesionó de las minas una compañía de vacinos de esta ciudad,... y nueve meses mas tarde, á causa tambien de disturbios, se desistió resultando una pérdida... | |
| 1851 | mines deserted; en realidad, desde que la compañía entregó las minas, no han sido esplotadas; Sres. Chavez y Cervantes trabajan algunas minas de Pabellón y Vetanegra; el de Cañada está completamente desierto. |
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, financial documents, literary productions, and legal documents concerning the mines operated in Sombrerete by the Anitúa family. Correspondence includes letters from Lucas Alamán to José María Bracho, a participant in a company formed to operate the Cañada mines, and a letter book (filed as G446 Ms.) containing copies of letters written by Martín Gracia, business manager. Primary recipients of Gracia's letters were Miguel and Angel de Anitúa and José Ynés Alvarez, representative of Miguel de Anitúa.
Financial documents include valuations made in 1825 of the haciendas Nuestra Señora de la Soledad and Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción (on which the mines were located), accounts of operating expenses, statements of production, and miscellaneous accounts. Literary productions include in an 1836 report on the state of mining and the economy in the district of Sombrerete, Zacatecas, and "El Mineral de Sombrerete, " a detailed historical analysis of the mines, written in 1851. Legal documents consist of a notice regarding suspension of operations of the San Lucas mine in 1838, a contract, and a document concerning power of attorney.
Arrangement |
||
| Materials in the Archives subgroup are arranged chronologically within folders. Manuscript number G446 is filed numerically. | ||
Index Terms |
||
| Subjects | ||
| Anitúa, Narciso de, d. 1839. | ||
| Mines and mineral resources--Mexico--Zacatecas (State) --History--19th century--Sources. | ||
| Haciendas--Mexico--Zacatecas (State)--History--19th century--Sources. | ||
| Zacatecas (Mexico : State)--Economic conditions--19th century--Sources. | ||
| Sombrerete (Zacatecas, Mexico)--History--Sources. | ||
| Hacienda de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (Zacatecas, Mexico)--History--Sources. | ||
| Hacienda de Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción (Zacatecas, Mexico)--History--Sources. | ||
| Other Entries | ||
| Alamán, Lucas, 1792-1853 | ||
| Alvarez, José Ynés | ||
| Anitúa, Angel de | ||
| Anitúa, Miguel de | ||
| Gracia, Martíin | ||
Related Material
|
García, Genaro, 1867-1920.Genaro García Collection, 15-- - 1920?, Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin. |
||
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Minas de Sombrerete Collection, 1797-1851, Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin.
Acquisition Information
The Minas de Sombrerete Collection forms part of the Genaro García Collection, which was purchased by the University of Texas in 1921 from the heirs of Genaro García.
Processing Information
The Minas de Sombrerete Collection was arranged into Archives and Manuscripts subgroups by earlier library staff. The Mexican Archives Project staff, which completed the processing of the collection in February 1994, created the series.
Finding aid initially prepared by the Mexican Archives Project, February 10, 1995.
The collection is also available on microfilm in the Benson Collection.
Other Finding Aid
The following guide is available in the Benson Collection Rare Books Reference:
Castañeda, Carlos Eduardo, 1896-1958. Guide to the Latin American Manuscripts in the University of Texas Library.
Cambridge, Mass.,
Harvard University Press,
1939.
Bibliography
|
"El Mineral de Sombrerete "in the Minas de Sombrerete Collection. |
||
|
Heldt, H. L.
Historical sketch of the Sombrerete mines.
|
||
Subgroups and Series