Enrique Clay Creel Cuilty, sometimes known as Henry Clay Creel (30 August 1854 – 18 August 1931) was a
Mexican businessman, politician and diplomat, member of the powerful
Creel-Terrazas family
The Creel-Terrazas Family is a powerful and wealthy Mexican political family based in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
History
During the rule of President Porfirio DÃaz and the Mexican Revolution, this family was part of the ''cient ...
of
Chihuahua. He was a member of the
CientÃfico
The ''CientÃficos'' (Spanish: "scientists" or "those scientifically oriented") were a circle of technocratic advisors to President of Mexico Porfirio DÃaz.
Steeped in the positivist "scientific politics", they functioned as part of his progra ...
s, as well as founder and president of the
Banco Central Mexicano, vice-president of
Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway, as well as
governor of Chihuahua
According to the Political Constitution of the Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua, Executive Power in that Mexican state resides with a single individual, the Constitutional Governor of the Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua, who is chosen ...
on two occasions,
ambassador of Mexico to the United States
The Ambassador of Mexico to the United States is the highest ranking diplomatic representative of the United Mexican States to the United States of America.
Brief history
Mexico and the United States have maintained diplomatic relations since 1 ...
, and
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
of President
Porfirio DÃaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio DÃaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio DÃaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...
in the last years of his regime.
The foremost banker during the
Porfirato (1876-1910) he is considered a symbol of the
Porfirian regime.
Biography
Creel was the son of Reuben Creel, a veteran of the
Mexican American War
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
from
Greensburg, Kentucky
Greensburg is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Green County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,163 at the 2010 census, down from 2,396 at the 2000 census.
The Downtown Greensburg Historic District is on the Nationa ...
, and
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
's US Consul in
Chihuahua. He was born in
Ciudad Chihuahua and became son-in-law of Don
Luis Terrazas
Luis Terrazas (20 July 1829 in Chihuahua, Mexico – 18 June 1923 in Chihuahua) was a Mexican politician, businessman, rancher, and soldier.
Career
Terrazas was a pivotal figure in the history of the state of Chihuahua from the middle o ...
by virtue of marriage to his daughter Angela (Reuben Creel and Luis Terrazas were married to sisters of the wealthy Cuilty family, whose ancestry was English and was related to Sir
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...
).
After Porfirio DÃaz became president of Mexico in 1876, he appointed Creel as a director of the National Board of Dynamite and Explosives. Mexico's demand for explosives was high because of its mining and railroad industries and the army's need for munitions. The board imposed an 80% import duty on dynamite, allowing its members to manufacture explosives without competition and reportedly enabling Creel to amass an even larger fortune in kickbacks.
In 1898, he founded the
Banco Central Mexicano (of which he became president) alongside other members of the
CientÃfico
The ''CientÃficos'' (Spanish: "scientists" or "those scientifically oriented") were a circle of technocratic advisors to President of Mexico Porfirio DÃaz.
Steeped in the positivist "scientific politics", they functioned as part of his progra ...
s.
![Mexican centennial celebrations](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Mexican_centennial_celebrations.jpg)
Enrique Creel served as Mexico's
Minister of Foreign Relations and as its Ambassador to the United States. The bilingual Creel served as interpreter when Presidents
Porfirio DÃaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio DÃaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio DÃaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...
and
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
met in 1909 on the international bridge between
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez ( ; ''Juarez City''. ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is commonly referred to as Juárez and was known as El Paso del Norte (''The Pass of the North'') until 1888. Juárez is the seat of the Juà ...
and
El Paso
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...
. He became vice-president of the
Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway, where he was responsible for the construction of part of the railroad west of Chihuahua, now the Chihuahua Pacific Railroad (
Ferrocarril Chihuahua al PacÃfico
The Ferrocarril Chihuahua al PacÃfico (Chihuahua-Pacific Railway), also known as El Chepe from its reporting mark CHP, is a major rail line in northwest Mexico, linking Chihuahua City, to Los Mochis and its port, Topolobampo. It crosses the Si ...
) which runs through the town of
Creel, Chihuahua
Creel () is a town in the Sierra Tarahumara (part of the Sierra Madre Occidental) of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is the second-largest town (after San Juanito) in the municipality of Bocoyna. It is located some to the southwest of the ...
. He was a key intermediary between the Mexican government and foreign companies, serving on their boards, as well as helping arrange "government subsidies and tax abatements and financial support for foreign firms." His haciendas once totaled more than 1.7 million acres (6,900 km²). Creel was one of DÃaz's advisers who had urged the president to be interviewed by
James Creelman
James Creelman (November 12, 1859 – February 12, 1915) was a Canadian-American writer famous for securing a 1908 interview for ''Pearson's Magazine'' with Mexican president Porfirio DÃaz, in which the strongman said that he would not run ...
of ''Pearson's Magazine'', in which DÃaz declared he would not be a candidate for president in 1910.
[Wasserman, "Enrique Clay Creel", p. 370.]
The
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
forced him to abandon Mexico for the United States and he had major financial losses due to the Revolution, with revolutionaries expropriating his landed estates.
[Wasserman, "Enrique Clay Creel", p. 370] He returned after the end of the revolution, and served for a period in the administration of northern revolutionary general
Alvaro Obregón (1920–24).
He died in Mexico City on August 18, 1931 .
Publications
* ( en, The Banks of Mexico)
* (''Imports and Exports'')
* (''Agriculture and Agrarianism'')
See also
*
Creel-Terrazas Family
The Creel-Terrazas Family is a powerful and wealthy Mexican political family based in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
History
During the rule of President Porfirio DÃaz and the Mexican Revolution, this family was part of the ''cient ...
, a powerful and wealthy family from
Chihuahua founded by
Luis Terrazas
Luis Terrazas (20 July 1829 in Chihuahua, Mexico – 18 June 1923 in Chihuahua) was a Mexican politician, businessman, rancher, and soldier.
Career
Terrazas was a pivotal figure in the history of the state of Chihuahua from the middle o ...
, his father-in-law.
References
Further reading
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Creel, Enrique
People from Chihuahua City
1854 births
1931 deaths
Mexican Secretaries of Foreign Affairs
Governors of Chihuahua (state)
Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico)
Ambassadors of Mexico to the United States
Mexican people of German descent
Mexican people of English descent
Mexican people of American descent
Politicians from Chihuahua (state)
Liberalism in Mexico
Porfiriato
Mexican people of Irish descent
20th-century Mexican politicians