Mexican Revolutionary Diplomacy: International Law and Spanish Exile
Project Overview
In 1936, four children, Pilar, Mercedes, Jose Manuel and Maria Luisa were bundled into a small boat in Bilbao, Spain. In the middle of the night, they drifted along the coast to Bayonne, France. After three years in the Pyrenees, they were reunited with their parents. Together, they secured a passage on the transatlantic steamer “Mexique” which sailed for Veracruz, Mexico. Their story is a personal history that is emblematic of the Spanish Republican exiles in the Americas.
In this book-length project, Dr Javier Eskauriatza combines this personal history with a history of international law. In particular, he focuses on the legal and political contributions of three Mexican revolutionaries-turned-diplomats: Isidro Fabela, Luis I. Rodríguez and Gilberto Bosques. Their innovative approach to international law provided the legal and political context for Mexico’s humanitarian efforts that provided relief to tens of thousands of people.
This book-length project builds on Javier's PhD thesis on the jus post bellum. It also draws from new archival research (in Spain, France, Mexico and Switzerland), historiography, and personal testimony to redescribe this episode in the history of post-conflict refugee law as part of the “hidden history” of the lex pacificatoria.
Project Activities
The British Academy has supported the following activities:
January 2022 - 10 days in the Archivo Histórico Diplomático Genaro Estrada researching the personal file of Gilberto Bosques, Consul-General to France (Marseilles, 1939-1942) in Mexico City, Mexico.
September 2023 - 5 days in the Ateneo Español and the Biblioteca Nacional de Antropología e Historia in the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, Mexico and interviewing family members.
January 2024 - 5 days in Geneva, Switzerland hosted by the Geneva Graduate Institute.
Project Outputs
Javier S. Eskauriatza, ‘The Hidden (Latin American) History of the Lex Pacificatoria: Spanish Exiles and Mexican Diplomats’ (forthcoming)
Javier S. Eskauriatza, Mexican Revolutionary Diplomacy – International Law and Spanish Exile (forthcoming).