Article
Review of Life in Laredo: A Documentary History of the Laredo Archives
New Mexico Historical Review
(2005)
Abstract
In Life in Laredo, Robert Wood presents a topical overview oflife in this
Texas town during Laredo's early years. He concentrates particular attention
on the Spanish period from 1746-1821 and the Mexican period from
1821-1848. Rather than offering a definitive history of Laredo, Wood takes us
through the Laredo archives, a fantastic set of documents with their own
unique history. Indeed, the Spanish carefully maintained the city's municipal
records, but the records were lost in the late 18oos after the Americans
assumed control. A court reporter and a janitor rediscovered the archives in
1934, but archivists have only recently catalogued them. What emerges from
Wood's discussion, then, is a preliminary examination of these records and
this Spanish, American, and Borderlands town.
Laredo began as both a mission and a fort in 1747
Disciplines
Publication Date
Fall 2005
Publisher Statement
Review originally published in the New Mexico Historical Review 80, no. 4 (Fall 2005): 461–62. Copyright 2005 by the University of New Mexico Board of Regents. All rights reserved.
Citation Information
Brian D. Behnken. "Review of Life in Laredo: A Documentary History of the Laredo Archives" New Mexico Historical Review Vol. 80 Iss. 4 (2005) p. 461 - 462 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/brian_behnken/7/