Manning and MacKintosh Papers

The Manning and MacKintosh Papers form part of the Genaro García Collection, which was purchased by the University of Texas in 1921 from the heirs of Genaro García. The papers were described by the Benson's Mexican Archives Project in January 1994.

The collection's physical extent comprises 11 inches. Its materials are primarily in Spanish and English, but a few items are in French. Bulk dates for the papers are 1824-1883. The papers are also available on microfilm.

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 "Manning and MacKintosh Papers, 1714-1894, Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, University of Texas at Austin."

British citizens Robert Manning and William Marshall were sent to Mexico as agents of Barclay and Company in 1824. The Manning and Marshall partnership was formed in that year. Ewen C. MacKintosh joined Manning and Marshall as an agent in 1834, becoming their partner in 1835. Around 1843 Manning and Marshall became Manning and MacKintosh.

MacKintosh was financial manager of the Hospicio de Pobres in Mexico City; he served as British Consul from 1839-1853. Manning and MacKintosh acted as representatives in Mexico of bondholder committees in Britain. They negotiated loans to the Mexican government and provided a variety of financial, commercial and management services to private companies such as Baring Brothers, Lionel Brough, Randell, and Anglo-Mexican Mint. While Consul, MacKintosh profited from involvement in collecting a percentage of customs revenues to pay British holders of Mexican bonds, in renegotiation of the Mexican government's British debt (1846), in negotiation of a peace settlement between the U.S. and Mexico (1847), and in a host of other business enterprises such as currency exchange, management of import-export trade for British firms, investments in mines and tobacco minting, and moneylending.

In alliance with other moneylenders and with the elite in Mexico, Manning and MacKintosh exerted considerable influence on the Mexican economy and prospered greatly from it. In 1850, however, Manning and MacKintosh declared bankruptcy due to failing business conditions. Although MacKintosh continued to live and conduct business in Mexico, his influence was reduced. He died in 1861.

Correspondence, financial documents, legal documents, literary productions, minutes, and printed materials concerning the business transactions, investments, and charitable concerns of the Manning and MacKintosh firm. Correspondence reflects the problems of conducting business during the war between the United States and Mexico and the views held by businessmen of Mexican politics. Other documents include two relating to Mexican Indian land holdings (one written in Nahuatl); a list of tariffs charged by British consuls in Mexico; instructions respecting the consular administration of the property of British subjects who died intestate; documents concerning the priest Juan Germán; and letters pertaining to the British interest in construction of an interoceanic canal, railroad, or road across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

The Manning and MacKintosh Papers were arranged into series by the staff of the Mexican Archives Project, which completed the processing of the collection in January 1994. Documents are organized into series by type of material, then further divided into subseries. They are arranged chronologically within folders. The series are:

1. Series, Correspondence, 1825-1883.

2. Series, Financial documents.

   a.	Financial documents, 1834-1861.
   b.	Invoices and receipts, 1825-1858.
   c.	Bearer notes, sight drafts, etc., 1843-1851.
   d.	Records of import values and duties, 1825-1843.
   e.	Financial documents related to the Hospicio de Pobres, 1834-1837.
   f.	Budget proposals, 1856.
   g.	Financial documents related to the Mexican branch of the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1882.

3. Literary productions

   a.	Reports, 1825-1857.
   b.	Instructions, 1834.
   c.	Documents related to churches and religious matters, 1851.

4. Legal documents

   a.	Contracts, agreements, etc., 1850-1869.
   b.	Documents related to Mexican Indian land holdings, 1714-1861.

5. Minutes, 1894.

6. Printed materials, 1826?-1881.

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