Travels and Adventures in Mexico: William Carpenter, 1851

The Travels and Adventures in Mexico, written by William Carpenter highlights his perspectives of Mexican culture and society both during and after the Mexican American War. Moreover, his account of Mexico provides the reader with exceptional detail of what Mexico looked like during the 1840’s (Travels and Adventures). His description of fields, cities and even the weather gives readers the ability to feel like they were there with him. However, Carpenter appears to have a skewed view of Mexican society and is somewhat close minded in his understanding of Mexican society. William Carpenter was a soldier for the American army during the Mexican American War. He was captured by the Mexican army and upon his release, he wandered all over Mexico, trying to find his way back The United States. In the preface of the book, Carpenter details how, had no food and was able to learn what Mexican culture entails through the lens of a poor Mexican. Throughout the book, Carpenter is able to explain the destruction that both the Mexican Independence War and the Mexican American War had on Mexican society. Carpenter also explains how surprised he is by the economic inequality in Mexico and how in his opinion, the lack of a strong central government contributes to this.

            Throughout the book, Carpenter is somewhat ignorant of Mexican culture and that he has trouble understanding certain traditions. In Carpenter’s defense, he was a soldier for the American army and would not have been educated on Mexican values or traditions. However, in his writing, he comes off as what today would term a racist by the tenor of some of his remarks. Carpenter writes, “It is a custom of this people to place a wooden cross over a body that has been found dead, wherever it may be, whether in the field or the road; and as murders are of frequent occurrence, these monuments of cruelty and crime are to be seen in every highway and in every city; and frequently as many as four, five, or six, and sometimes more, were to be found within the space of one rod” (Carpenter 1851, 23). In this description of an important Mexican tradition, Carpenter does a good job of explaining parts of the tradition but assumes that they are monuments of cruelty and crime. His use of the words “this people” gives the notion that Mexicans are inferior to Americans and that their culture is more feared and underdeveloped than respected. This quote reflects the author’s point of view because he questions this tradition more than respects it or even tries to understand it. It appears that he views Mexican culture as inferior because it is not the same as his or something he understands. 

            Carpenter’s account comes at a very crucial time in Mexican history. Thirty years before the book was written, Mexico was fighting for their independence from Spain, one of the most powerful colonial powers. While the book was written, Mexico was recovering from the Mexican American war which saw half of Mexico’s territory stripped and thousands of soldiers killed. Furthermore, the book details how the war affected Mexican society. The large sum of the population was living in poverty, while the few wealthy people ran the government. Moreover, there was not a strong central government which regulated Mexican society. Ultimately, this led to lots of identity questions regarding race and a general sense of confusion from the Mexican citizenry. This travelogue reveals that the general perception of foreigners of 19th century Latin America was that it was a poor country and there was no stable government. Moreover, this travelogue reveals that foreigners feared different cultures and traditions.       

Bibliography

Carpenter, William. 1851. Travels and Adventures in Mexico In The Course Of Journeys Of Upward Of 2500 Miles Performed On Foot. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers. https://archive.org/details/travelsadventure00carp/page/22/mode/1up

“Travels and Adventures,William Carpenter (1851).” Modern Latin America. Brown University. https://library.brown.edu/create/modernlatinamerica/chapters/chapter-3-mexico/travels-in-mexico/travels-and-adventures-william-carpenter/