Ester Pink

• BA (Hons) History
• Examining the role of women and the legacy of the Cornish mining community in Pachuca, Mexico

Since the 1820s the village of Real Del Monte and neighbouring Pachuca in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico, have been home to significant Cornish community. This expedition set out to analyse how Cornish culture evolved, assimilated or was preserved, and how this identity was transmitted to the newer generations born in Mexico. We focused especially on the role of women in key areas of Cornish influence such as food history (the Cornish pasty, now known as “paste”, features heavily in local cuisine in a variety of flavours, and Real del Monte is home to the only Paste Museum in the world) and education history (the oldest schools in Pachuca were founded by/for the Cornish community, and many of the teachers were Cornish women). The study combined historical and anthropological methods, and was mainly based on interviews with descendants of Cornish families.

Funding source: Newcastle University Expeditions Committee