Boom and Bust: The Historical Cycles of Matamoros and Brownsville

For centuries, the communities surrounding the mouth of the Rio Grande have been shaped by recurring periods of prosperity, conflict, expansion, and decline. Boom and Bust tells the intertwined story of Matamoros, Mexico, and Brownsville, Texas-two border cities whose histories cannot be fully understood apart from one another.

Beginning with the earliest evidence of human occupation in the Rio Grande delta, historians Milo Kearney and Anthony Knopp trace the region's development through colonization, international conflict, population growth, river commerce, agriculture, transportation, industrialization, and the emergence of maquiladoras and free-trade debates.

Drawing upon the authors' original research as well as the work of numerous scholars and regional historians, the book reveals how economic and political changes on both sides of the border repeatedly transformed the fortunes of Matamoros, Brownsville, and the surrounding Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Local dichos, or traditional folk sayings, add the voices and wisdom of the region's people, while Peter Gawenda's illustrations bring its history and character to life. Rich in regional detail, Boom and Bust is an essential resource for readers interested in South Texas, northern Mexico, border culture, and the shared history of the United States and Mexico.