Clements Center Brown Bag Lecture: Conflict and Commonality in the Texas-Mexico Border Region

The region of the lower Rio Grande and south central Texas became the principal zone of contact between Anglo and Mexicans in the 19th century. Miguel Ángel González Quiroga will discuss how the common perception is that much of this contact was characterized by racism, hatred and violence. This perception has been reinforced by writers and historians who have focused on military and political leaders, as well as rebels and bandits. When the focus is shifted to a different set of historical actors, like merchants, laborers and missionaries, a different kind of history begins to emerge, a history in which Anglos and Mexicans shared common needs and common problems. Amidst the conflict of the period, people of the two races came together to from a commonality of interest in the border region which contrasts with the perception of a permanently hostile and violent border. Miguel Ángel González Quiroga will be spending the spring '09 semesterat the Clements Center for Southwest Studies as a Research Fellow completing his manuscript, "Conflict and Commonality in the Texas-Mexico Border Region, 1830-1880," for publication.