Conflict and cooperation: Water, floods, and social response in colonial Guanajuato, Mexico

To provide a deeper historical perspective on the social construction of droughts and floods, this article explores the response to those events in Guanajuato, Mexico, from the sixteenth century to the eighteenth century. Because Guanajuato was a scene of agrarian unrest, our work provides new insights into the history of agrarian insurgency in colonial Mexico. The historical literature makes clear the importance of considering cultural and structural factors and of incorporating analyses of the actions, powers, and adaptations of elites, states, and the agrarian masses. The significance of environmental change and climatic parameters as "triggers" of social unrest and change also has been highlighted. Less explored is the degree to which divergent "environmental knowledges" between social groups might have helped fuel and frame class struggles and agrarian unrest. Moreover, the literature regarding interactions between social strata in colonial Mexico, specifically Indian and Hispanic groups, has concentrated almost exclusively on conflicts over distribution and use of natural resources and labor demands, although shared environmental concerns actually may have transcended differential power relationships. This article suggests that intensification of class conflict was not the only result of drought and flood. In some cases, these events stimulated cooperation among different social groups.