Veracruz (redirected from Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave)

Veracruz, city, Mexico

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 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 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 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.

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Veracruz, state, Mexico

Veracruz (vāräkrs`) [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. 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 the highest peak in Mexico, Citlaltépetl. 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, the Huastecs, 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, Córdoba, and Coatzacoalcos.

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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.

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Veracruz

 in full Veracruz Llave

City (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.

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Veracruz

1. a state of E Mexico, on the Gulf of Mexico: consists of a hot humid coastal strip with lagoons, rising rapidly inland to the central plateau and Sierra Madre Oriental. Capital: Jalapa. Pop.: 630 000 (2005 est.). Area: 72 815 sq. km (28 114 sq. miles)

2. the chief port of Mexico, in Veracruz state on the Gulf of Mexico. Pop.: 410 000 (2000 est.)