War and Peace on the Rio Grande Frontier, 1830–1880 by Miguel Ángel González-Quiroga (review)

War and Peace on the Rio Grande Frontier is an eye-opening account of inter-ethnic and inter-racial conflict and collaboration among the residents and transients who comprised the borderlands population from the 1830s through the early years of the Porfirio Díaz regime. Mainly focusing on Euro Americans and Mexican-origin individuals during this period, González-Quiroga argues that collaboration as well as violent conflict among and between these people shaped the contours of this frontier region in deep and far-reaching ways. Building on a large body of primary documentation housed in both Mexican and U.S. repositories, González-Quiroga has produced a powerful narrative of a borderlands region shaped by commercial opportunities, competing social and cultural beliefs, and war and violence. It was not always a matter of Anglo vs. Mexican; what emerges from this careful attention to both collaboration and conflict is a borderlands region that often blurred or softened racial, ethnic, and class lines, albeit temporarily.

Composed of the Mexican Northeast and the province that eventually became Texas, this region plays a preponderant role in War and Peace. González-Quiroga does a remarkable job in explaining the eventual emergence of Mexican nationalism intricately tied to the dynamic nature of the region, which was influenced by the ebb and flow of commerce. Commercial opportunities that emerged as a result of external and internal wars, including the U.S. Civil War and the Centralist/Federalist conflict in Mexico, led to the forging of strategic alliances or business partnerships that benefitted all parties. Equally important is the author's examination of the factors that contributed to moments of what he calls "cooperative violence," which was influenced by factors shaping economic cooperation, further informing decisions by one group or individual to participate in violence, often against their own communities.

This timely monograph is an excellent example of what U.S.–Mexican borderlands scholarship should look like. Too often historians on either side rely on sources or explanations that are state- or nation-bound. Further, the book is an example of a historical narrative that converses with historiographies on Mexico and the Mexican north, as well as Texas and U.S. historiography. It pays careful attention to the ways in which economic forces interacted with cultural and social factors. While a nuanced examination of the crucial role of inter-racial and inter-ethnic marriages in solidifying collaboration and its effect on Mexican American land tenure in Texas is missing, the book has the potential to peak scholars' interest in this area. It can also lead to future research on related topics, including women entrepreneurs and the often-neglected role of women in inciting or encouraging violence. Further, it can lead to work on the ways in which violence, whether incited by Anglos, Mexicans, or via cooperative violence, shaped women's lived experiences and, more importantly, how women negotiated and countered such violence.

While War and Peace cautions historians to avoid general assumptions about who inflicted violence upon whom, it is difficult not to think about post-1880 historical developments, specifically concerning the treatment of U.S. citizens of Mexican descent in their very own communities. While there has always been anti-American sentiment in Mexico, depending on the historical period and region, the treatment of these U.S. citizens in Mexico pales in comparison to the treatment of Mexican Americans in places like Texas in the post-1880 period. For the most part, U.S. nationals in Mexico did not seek Mexican citizenship, whereas Mexicans in the United States, despite holding U.S. citizenship, had to struggle continuously to be included and treated as such.

Meticulously researched and beautifully written, War and Peace forces us to reflect on moments of collaboration between cultures long pitted against one another. History offers us useful lessons, and there is no shortage of them in this book. One...