Tabasco

Tabasco (täbäs`kō), state (1990 pop. 1,501,744), 9,783 sq mi (25,338 sq km), E Mexico, on the Gulf of Campeche. Villahermosa is the capital. Tabasco is predominantly a tropical plain, once densely forested, that is broken by numerous rivers, swamps, and lagoons. The climate is sultry, and rainfall in some areas exceeds 200 in. (508 cm) annually. Although Tabasco has modern roads and railways, rivers (especially the Grijalva and the Usumacinta) are still used for travel and transport. Tropical agriculture (bananas, cacao, sugarcane, hardwoods, and fruits) and cattle raising were the leading economic activities, but rich oil fields discovered along the coast have become Tabasco's economic mainstay. The area, first explored by the Spanish in 1518, was conquered in 1530 by Francisco de Montejo. During the 17th and early 18th cent., Tabasco was contested between Spain and England. From 1921 to 1935 it was the virtual fiefdom of the caudillo Tomás Garrido Canabal.

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Tabasco

State (pop., 2000: 1,891,829), southeastern Mexico. It covers an area of 9,756 sq mi (25,267 sq km), and its capital is Villahermosa. Pre-Columbian Indian cultures included those of the Quiché, Olmec, Tabasca, and Nahua peoples. The area was first visited by Europeans in 1518; in 1519 Hernán Cortés clashed with the Indians, who were partially subdued in the 1530s and '40s. Tabasco became a state in 1824. Agriculture, forestry, beekeeping, commercial fishing, and cattle-raising provided much of the state's income before petroleum exploitation began in the 1960s. The state is now a major oil producer.

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Tabasco

a state in SE Mexico, on the Gulf of Campeche: mostly flat and marshy with extensive jungles; hot and humid climate. Capital: Villahermosa. Pop.: 1 889 367 (2000). Area: 24 661 sq. km (9520 sq. miles)