His historical sketch of the
Mexican-American War is a sad record of the decay and disintegration which afflicted Mexico at the time. He writes with the greatest frankness, and unsparingly, about the conduct of the war on the Mexican side. His autobiography
Lo que se dice, y lo que se hace, 1833, published in 1833, is also valuable as a fragment of contemporary history. Although constantly concerned in the politics of Mexico and occupying several very responsible positions during the most trying times of the Mexican Republic until the close of the war with the United States, Bustamante became a prominent Mexican historian. He distinguished himself by publishing historical works on colonial times, until then in manuscript and partly forgotten. Above all, his publication of
Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España, by Fray
Bernardino de Sahagún of the second half of the 16th century, was a service to historical research. In addition to the work of Sahagún, Bustamante printed the chronicle of
Gómara, the work of Veytia on
Tezcuco, the dissertations of Gama on two large Mexican sculptures, and others. To the history by Sahagún he added one of the
relaciones of
Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxóchitl, selected by him for the passionate spirit which it displays against the Spaniards. Bustamante found the manuscript of exiled Mexican
Jesuit Andrés Cavo,
Historia civil y política de México (
Civil and Political History of Mexico), in Latin and Spanish. Bustamante published it with a large appendix, under the title
Los tres siglos de México bajo el gobierno español hasta la entrada del Ejécito Trigarante (
Three Centuries of Mexico Under the Spanish Government until the entry of the Army of the Three Guarantees). The first edition was published in
Mexico City in four volumes in 1836-1838. Bustamante also published a portion of Mariano Veytia's
Historia antigua de México, which Veytia based on manuscripts collected by
Lorenzo Boturini Benaduci. Bustamante also published in defective form the eighteenth-century writings of Hipólito Villaroel, who wrote about the Spanish treatment of Indians, the colonial power structure regarding the Indians, and the "Indian problem" in Mexico. In addition to the autobiography mentioned, and the light shed by his other works, the
Diccionario universal de Historia y Geografía (Mexico, 1853), contains an exhaustive account of the man. The historian
Lucas Alamán wrote biographical material on Bustamante, putting in relief especially his private character and the virtues of his domestic life. ==Writings==