Mills and sumps for sugar production in the southeastern region of Michoacán, Mexico.

Abstract

Sugar production was one of the main economic activities established in the territory of New Spain, beginning with its introduction as an agro-industry by Hernán Cortés in the 16th century, and since then it has occupied a prominent place in the viceregal and Mexican economy. This paper addresses the study of mills and hydraulic sumps scattered in the rural environment of the southeastern region of Michoacán, which were part of a more extensive hydraulic network for the impulse of sugar mills and haciendas; it is of special interest to reconstruct its operation, so it was proposed as a research question to know, How was the process of conduction and water fall that drove the mills of different spaces for sugar production in the region? The work began with a prospection to locate the material remains of mills and sumps, followed by a review of primary and secondary documentary sources, which served to clarify information about the beginning of the hydraulic network, the owners, the volume of water and the material and technological characteristics of the infrastructure. It is reflected that in the productive territories where haciendas and sugar mills were established, it is the industrial vestiges that have remained the most overtime, due in large part to the general lack of awareness among the population of the value of these elements as a heritage resource.