Antonio María de Bucareli y el proyecto del canal de Tehuantepec. El proceder diplomático y político ante el expansionismo ruso, 1773-1777: The diplomatic and political proceed in the face enemy presence, 1773-1777

Abstract

This paper will analyze the reasons that gave rise to the idea of building an interoceanic canal in the region of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec during the administration of Viceroy Antonio María de Bucareli, which would serve to shorten the times of goods and supplies transfer between the Iberian Peninsula and Alta California and thus combat the expansionism of the enemy powers (in particular Russia) in the American Northwest. The importance of this project lies in its idea of reconfiguring the geoeconomic and military order of Spanish America at the end of the 18th century, in the understanding that Tehuantepec would be the new key to entering the South Sea (displacing the Strait of Magallanes) and the way that would allow the Spanish Crown to have a better administrative control of american economic resources. This historical reconstruction was made from the series of reserved letters, maps and official documentation that protect the General Archive of the Nation of Mexico, the General Archive of Indies and the National Historical Archive in Madrid.