1904 Rand McNally Map of Mexico showing the Sonora Copper Mines

A historically-significant 1904 Rand McNally map of Mexico issued by the Greene Consolidated Gold Company, one of several ventures owned by William Cornell Greene, an American businessman who operated a massive copper mine at Cananea, Sonora. The map was meant to entice American investors to fund Greene's sprawling empire, one destined to rapidly collapse only two years later.

A Closer Look

The entirety of Mexico is depicted with states shaded for distinction. Red text overlays highlight railways and Greene's mines. An inset map of Sonora at bottom-left further emphasize Greene's mines and related ventures. Mountains, rivers, and other geographic features are clearly indicated, along with cities, railroads, and ports. An alphanumeric grid surrounds the map, corresponding to an index of cities and their populations at left.

Mining, Resistance, and Revolution

At this time, Sonora had seen nearly two decades of resistance by Yaqui and other indigenous peoples against intrusion by central authorities and economic interests, especially agriculture and mining. The U.S.-aligned Porfirio Díaz government was eager to exploit the region's natural resources and readily worked with exploitive U.S. business interests. The Greene Consolidated Cooper and Gold Companies referenced here were owned by William Cornell Greene, a surveyor and prospector who in 1899 discovered vast copper reserves at Cananea, Sonora, near the Arizona border. Parlaying his gains in copper, Greene rapidly founded several other ventures, including the gold mining company as well as a railroad and numerous cattle ranches on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. These endeavors made him incredibly wealthy and allowed him to effectively run large portions of Sonora as a personal fiefdom.

To facilitate these efforts, the Mexican government systematically expelled rebellious indigenous populations to Henequen plantations in the distant Yucatán. Outside laborers, including from as far away as China, were brought in to work the mines, though rough conditions and low pay led to labor unrest. In 1906, a large-scale strike at Greene's mine was violently suppressed by a contingent Arizona Rangers and American volunteers. The incident scared off investors and ruined Greene, who was forced to sell his assets to business partners; afterwards, he retreated into obscurity at his home in Cananea. It was also a debacle for the Díaz government and in retrospect has been considered a precursor to the Mexican Revolution.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn and published by Rand McNally and issued by the Greene Consolidated Gold Company in 1904. It is listed among the holdings of roughly twenty institutions in OCLC and is scarce to the market.