Veracruz, city, Mexico
Veracruz, city (1990 pop. 303,152), Veracruz state, E central Mexico, on the Gulf of Mexico. Rivaling Tampico Tampico , city (1990 pop. 272,690), Tamaulipas state, E Mexico, on the Pánuco River, a few miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico. Rivaling Veracruz as Mexico's most important seaport, Tampico is used primarily for Mexico's petroleum industry...... Click the link for more information. as the country's main port, it is also the commercial and industrial center of an important oil region, as well as a major tourist resort with beautiful scenery, fine beaches, and excellent accommodations. The city stands on a low, sandy plain surrounded by dunes and swamps, some of which have been reclaimed and are very fertile. In 1519 the Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés Cortés, Hernán, or Hernando Cortez , 1485–1547, Spanish conquistador, conqueror of Mexico. Expedition to Mexico
..... Click the link for more information. landed near the site later chosen (1599) for the present city. Veracruz was easy prey for the buccaneers of the 17th and 18th cent. The harbor is guarded by the fortress of San Juan de Ulúa, which was begun in the 17th cent. and was the last stronghold of the Spanish before their expulsion in 1821. Veracruz was blockaded in 1838 by the French. In 1847, U.S. troops under Gen. Winfield Scott landed at Veracruz to begin the major campaign of the Mexican War. The War of the Reform involved foreign intervention in Veracruz; in Dec., 1861, Spanish troops landed there as the first contingent of a joint European force. French and British forces arrived the following month. When it became apparent that France was bent on actual conquest, the Spanish and British withdrew from the joint force. The adventure of the empire of Maximilian Maximilian, 1832–67, emperor of Mexico (1864–67). As the Austrian archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, he was denied a share in the imperial government by his reactionary brother, Emperor Francis Joseph.
..... Click the link for more information. ensued. In 1914 an incident involving U.S. sailors in Tampico led President Woodrow Wilson to land troops in Veracruz, where they remained for six months. Mexico later responded by severing diplomatic relations.
Veracruz, state, Mexico
Veracruz (vāräkr
s`) [Span.,=true cross], officially Veracruz Llave (vāräkrs` yä`bā), state (1990 pop. 6,228,239), 27,759 sq mi (71,896 sq km), E central Mexico. The capital is Xalapa Xalapa or Xalapa Enriquez , city (1990 pop. 279,451), capital of Veracruz state, E central Mexico, on the slopes of the Sierra Madre Oriental. It is located in a rich agricultural region of fertile valleys...... Click the link for more information. . Stretching c.430 mi (690 km) along the Gulf of Mexico and reaching from 30 to 100 mi (48–161 km) inland, Veracruz rises from a tropical coastal plain into the temperate valleys and highlands of the Sierra Madre Oriental. The state shares with neighboring Puebla Puebla , state (1990 pop. 4,126,101), 13,126 sq mi (33,996 sq km), E central Mexico. The city of Puebla is the capital. The state is almost entirely mountainous, with large valleys between its ranges.
..... Click the link for more information. the highest peak in Mexico, Citlaltépetl Citlaltépetl or Orizaba , peak, 18,700 ft (5,700 m) high, in the Cordillera de Anáhuas, E Mexico, on the Veracruz-Puebla border. It is the highest peak in Mexico and the third highest in North America.
..... Click the link for more information. . Most of central Veracruz is mountainous. The few navigable rivers are the Coatzacoalcos, Papáloapan, Pánuco, and Tamesí. Abundant rainfall and extremely fertile soil permit the cultivation of numerous crops. The state is a leading national producer of coffee, sugarcane, corn, and rice, and produces a wide variety of other crops. Cattle raising is practiced in the semitropical and temperate zones. From the tropical forests come dyewoods and hardwoods, chicle, and rubber, and in the colder regions maguey, various cacti, and coniferous forests are found. The state's principal natural resource and dominant industry is oil. The mountains contain relatively unexploited deposits of gold, silver, iron, and coal. Veracruz ranks high in the production of foods and beverages, as well as chemical manufacturing and metalworking. In ancient times the area was a hub of pre-Columbian civilizations, including the Olmecs Olmec , term denoting the culture of ancient Mexican natives inhabiting the tropical coastal plain of the contemporary states of Veracruz and Tabasco, between 1300 and 400 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. , the Huastecs Huastec , indigenous people of the Pánuco River basin, E Mexico. They speak a Mayan language but are isolated from the rest of the Mayan stock, from whom they may have been separated prior to the arrival of the Spanish.
..... Click the link for more information. , and the Remojadas. Some groups were tributary to the Aztecs by the time Juan de Grijalva explored the coast in 1518. Veracruz became a state in 1824. Major cities, besides the capital, include Veracruz Veracruz, city (1990 pop. 303,152), Veracruz state, E central Mexico, on the Gulf of Mexico. Rivaling Tampico as the country's main port, it is also the commercial and industrial center of an important oil region, as well as a major tourist resort with beautiful
..... Click the link for more information. , Córdoba Córdoba , city (1990 pop. 130,695), Veracruz state, E central Mexico. It is the commercial and processing center of a fertile coffee, sugarcane, and tropical fruit region. Sugar milling is the chief industry. The city is also a popular tourist spot.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Coatzacoalcos Coatzacoalcos , city (1990 pop. 198,817), Veracruz state, E central Mexico, at the mouth of the Coatzacoalcos River. It is a port on the Gulf of Campeche, as well as the northern terminus of rail traffic across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
..... Click the link for more information. .
Veracruz
State (pop., 2000: 6,908,975), east-central Mexico. Bordering the Gulf of Mexico, it occupies 27,683 sq mi (71,699 sq km); its capital is Jalapa. The state's low, sandy gulf area rises inland to a central plateau, where the volcano Citlaltépetl, Mexico's highest peak, reaches 18,406 ft (5,610 m) high. The area was inhabited by pre-Columbian cultures, including the Olmec. The first European landing was made by Hernán Cortés in 1519. A state since 1824, Veracruz has more than one-fourth of Mexico's petroleum reserves and several of the country's refineries. Its economy is supplemented by agriculture, forestry products, and manufacturing.
Veracruz
in full Veracruz LlaveCity (pop., 2000: 411,582) and port on the Gulf of Mexico, east-central Veracruz state, east-central Mexico. Hernán Cortés founded La Villa Rica de la Veracruz as the first Mexican municipality in 1519, but the site was twice abandoned because of its unhealthy conditions; the present city dates from c. 1600. As the chief link between colonial Mexico and Spain, Veracruz prospered as a port and became the most “Spanish” of Mexican cities. It was attacked and captured repeatedly, first by privateers, then by French and U.S. forces (see Veracruz incident). It was renamed Veracruz Llave in honour of Gen. Ignacio de la Llave, governor of Veracruz state (1857–60). Both the 1857 and 1917 Mexican constitutions were proclaimed there. A revolt against Pres. Francisco Madero occurred there in 1912. It is one of Mexico's chief seaports and a commercial centre for the Gulf coast.
Veracruz
Veracruz
a city in eastern Mexico, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, in the state of Veracruz. Population, 199,500 (1969). It is the country’s main port for imports and an important junction for rail, highway, and air communications. It has a plant producing seamless pipes. There is shipbuilding, cotton industry, and food and condiment industry (primarily tobacco). There is oil-drilling north and south of Veracruz.
Veracruz was founded on Apr. 21, 1519, by the Spanish conquistador H. Cortés. A French force occupied the city in 1838 in order to force the Mexican government to satisfy France’s financial claims. During the Mexican-American War of 1846-48, after brutal bombardment, Veracruz was seized by the troops of the USA. It was held by French interventionists from 1862 to 1867. The city was occupied by American troops from April to November 1914. The first Marxist circle in Veracruz was established in 1918. There were large strikes by oil workers in 1916 and 1926-27.
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