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The purpose of this essay is to highlight the importance of biography as a means to forging a "total history". It defends the merits of biographical studies by emphasizing what it allows us to discover in terms of public, private, social, economic, legal, diplomatic, military and cultural history. Based on the success of a selection of recent biographies that have revolutionized the way the historiography has interpreted 19th century Mexico, together with a personal reflection by the author based on his experience as a biographer, this article aims to show how biography can be a particularly versatile vehicle for reviewing our knowledge of the past. This article concludes with a call to the new generation of academics interested in the history of 19th century history, urging them to make up for the current lack of biographies, and help us better understand –in a way only a biography can– the reasons behind the many forgotten events of the 19th century. ; Publisher PDF ; Peer reviewed

El propósito de este ensayo es resaltar la importancia de la biografía como método para hacer "una historia total". Se defienden los méritos de los estudios biográficos al hacerse hincapié en lo que nos permiten descubrir en términos de historia pública y privada, política, social, económica, jurídi- ca, diplomática, militar y cultural. A partir de los logros de una selección de biografías recientes que ha revolucionado la manera en que la historiografía ha interpretado el siglo xix mexicano, y una reflexión personal del autor ba- sado en su propia experiencia como biógrafo, se busca demostrar aquí cómo la biografía es un vehículo particularmente versátil para revisar nuestro co- nocimiento del pasado. El presente trabajo concluye con un llamado dirigido a la nueva generación de académicos interesados en la historia del México decimonónico, para que se ocupe de corregir la actual carencia de biografías, y nos ayude a entender mejor, y de un modo del que sólo la biografía es capaz, el por qué y cómo de numerosos eventos olvidados del siglo xix.

AbstractHenry George Ward'sMexico in 1827(published in 1828) is one of the most exhaustive accounts of Mexico and its mining activities in the years following its independence from Spain. Written with a meticulous attention to detail, it provided a unique first-hand interpretation both of Mexico's early governments' achievements and of the not insignificant problems they had as yet to overcome. It highlighted the risks and opportunities Mexico presented to potential British investors and emphasised the benefits of free trade, the need for patience, and how important it was to become meaningfully acquainted with the country before investing in one or several ventures there. This study provides for the first time an analysis of Ward's two-volume survey-cum-travelogue. It shows how Ward's cautiously optimistic appraisal faithfully reflected the short-lived hopes of Guadalupe Victoria's 1824–9 government and provides a sympathetic account of the young republic that would prove anything but common in subsequent British representations of Mexico, as the country's inability to service the London debt and its ensuing instability went on to hinder British–Mexican relations for the greater part of the nineteenth century.