Guanajūato may be called either a Mining or an Agricultural State, for the prosperity of the two branches is so closely connected that one can hardly flourish without the other. The importance of the great Haciendas of the Băxīŏ ceased at the same moment with that of the mines, and is reviving at present in proportion as the capitals invested in them create anew a demand for agricultural produce; while the increased produce, on the other hand, facilitates all those complicated operations, by which alone the mines can be brought into full activity.
Manufactures of wool and cotton abounded formerly in the towns of Lĕōn, Ĭrăpŭătŏ, Sĭlāŏ, Săn Migūel, and Sălămāncă, (usually designated as "Las Villas;") but the " Mantas," "Rebozos," "Pañetes," and "Gergetillas,"[1] for which they were famous, have already been replaced by similar articles from Europe and the United States. Their decadence has fortunately been gradual during the last fifteen years, so that it will require no very violent transition to give employment to the hands thus occupied, in some other pursuit, where no competition is to be apprehended.
The State Constitution of Guanajuato was sworn in April 1825. Since the fall of Iturbide, public tranquillity has not been in any way disturbed there, and at the period of my visit nothing but a continuance of it seemed requisite in order to develope
- ↑ By these names the coarse cloths and wrappers most in use amongst the lower orders are distinguished.
