José Yves Limantour Papers

The José Yves Limantour Papers were donated to the University of Texas García Library in 1932 by Emilio Mosonyi, a Mexico City engineer. The papers were described by the Benson's Mexican Archives Project in December 1993.

The physical extent of the papers is two inches. The documents are mostly in Spanish, but approximately one-third are in French; occasional items are in English. The papers are also available on microfilm as part of "García Manuscripts on Microfilm," reel 155.

The following guide is available in Rare Books Reference: Castañeda, Carlos E. and Jack Autrey Dabbs, eds., Guide to the Latin American Manuscripts in the University of Texas Library. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1939.

The suggested citation for the papers is "José Yves Limantour Papers, 1848-1911, Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, University of Texas at Austin."

Finance minister in the second government of Porfirio Díaz, economist and lawyer. Born 1854 in Mexico City; died 1935 in Paris. Educated at the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria and the Escuela Nacional de Jurisprudencia, from which he received his law degree in 1875. Professor of political economics at the Escuela Superior de Comercio (1876) and of international law at the Escuela Nacional de Jurisprudencia (1876-1878). Active in economic development and public works. Elected president of the Congreso de la Unión on April 1, 1892. On May 27, 1892, named Oficial Mayor, or Subsecretario, of Hacienda under Matías Romero. Upon the resignation of Romero in February 1893, Limantour became acting head of the ministry. He was confirmed as Ministro de Hacienda on May 9, 1893. Among his achievements were refinancing of the foreign debt, stabilization of the peso, and monetary reform. On May 25, 1911, Limantour resigned his office and left for Paris, where he lived until his death in 1935.

Correspondence and financial documents comprise the bulk of the collection. Correspondence relates to personal business and mining enterprises. Financial documents concern personal finances. The remainder of the collection consists of a few literary productions and miscellaneous documents (including a memo about the construction of the Ferrocarril de Tehuantepec, papers concerning a division of family property, a report of an investigation into misconduct at a customs office, and several fragmentary documents), and a small number of lists and printed items.

The José Yves Limantour Papers were arranged into series by the staff of the Mexican Archives Project, which completed the processing of the collection in December 1993. Documents are organized into six series by format of material, and arranged chronologically within folders. The series are:

1. Correspondence, 1848-1911.

2. Financial documents, 1865-1910.

3. Literary productions and miscellaneous documents, 1882-1909.

4. Lists, 1907 and 1909.

5. Legal documents, 1879 and 1906.

6. Printed material, 1882 and undated.

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