The dissertation uses evidence from the notarial records between 1850 and 1905 to analyze the economic and social relations in a transitional economy. During the period covered by the project, the Sates of Yucatan changed from an economic backland to an export-oriented producer of benequen (sisal) used for binding twine and ropes in the United States and Europe. With the postcolonial power struggles in government as a backdrop, I use the notarial records to study the development of the credit market, as well as the social, institutional, and economic relations between the local players in an increasingly integrated export-oriented economy.