Water Use and Cultural Conflict in 19th Century Northwestern New Spain and Mexico PDF Download

Author: Kate A. Berry
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Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This article contributes an historical geographic perspective to water conflicts in U.S.-Mexico borderlands during a period of time when friction between competing values and uses of water significantly influenced the context and nature of cultural interactions. The events and ideas surrounding water use that created cultural conflicts are examined for the vicinity of Mission San Luis Rey and the Santa Margarita River of Alta California, near present-day Oceanside, California. The introduction of new irrigation technologies and increasing demands for irrigation water prompted clashes between the Quechnajuichom, the self-identified name for the native Californians later referred to as Luisenos, and those who came later to Alta California identifying themselves as gente de razon. Initially, missions were the primary institution of gente de razon to promote changes to Quechnajuichom ideas about water and simultaneously to the way water was used. Later, during the quarter century of Mexican rule, both the secularization of missions and dramatic increases in the number and size of land grants made by the Mexican government significantly changed the character of intercultural relations and availability of water. Unearthing earlier conflicts in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands not only reveals historic roots of contemporary controversies involving water use, but also provides insights into struggles over the values and cultural norms that are embedded in water conflicts. While the complexity of water conflicts has increased in recent decades and institutional characteristics have changed markedly, water has always been significant enough to influence the nature of interactions in the borderlands.