Map
of Mexico
Mexico is a North and Central
American country bordered by the
USA in the north, Guatemala and
Belize in the south, and the Atlantic
Ocean on the east and the Pacific
Ocean on the west.
With an area of 1,958,201 km2 (756,066
sq. mi.).
Mexico can be divided into the main
areas of the Tehuantepec Isthmus,
Yucatan Peninsula, the splinter-like
peninsula of Lower California, the
Sierra Nevada, the mountainous western
Sierra Madre, an extension of the
Rocky Mountains and the narrow coastal
plain by the Pacific Ocean in the
west.
Large southern areas are covered
by forests, with abundant mahogany
and sisal and sugar can be grow
in the clearings.
On the mountain slopes and high
plateaux cotton, coffee, tobacco
and cacti grow. There are several
large lakes, some saline in the
north but fresh in the south, with
streams running through deep canyons.
Most of the country is subjected
to the humid trade winds from the
east between May and August and
tropical hurricanes from August
to October.
Mexico's major foreign earnings
come from crude oil, silver, and
zinc, as well as uranium and copper,
not all of which has been fully
exploited.
The oil revenues have been used
to develop an industrial base, but
it still suffers large foreign debt
and high unemployment.
Other exports include fluorspar,
chemicals, non-ferrous ores, motor
vehicles, and petroleum products.
Export crops include maize, fruit,
vegetables, and coffee, much of
the agriculture relying on irrigation.
In 1993, Mexico joined the USA and
Canada in the North American Free
trade Agreement.
Many North American companies have
assembly plants set up in Mexico.
Mexico was the greater part of ancient
Mesoamerica, in which a succession
of civilisation existed that shared
many cultural characteristics based
on cities, ceremonial plazas, pyramids,
platforms, temples, similar deities,
calendrical systems, long-distance
trading, and a ritual ball game.
Some of these cultures were the
Olmec, Maya, Teotihuacan, Zapotec,
Mixtec, Toltec, and Aztecs.
In 1521, the Spanish conquistador,
Cortés finally conquered the Aztec
empire and New Spain became the
first Spanish-American viceroyalty,
including all of ancient Mesoamerica,
northern Mexico, the Caribbean,
and most of the south-western USA.
The Spanish colonial rule lasted
for the next 300 years.
In the early 19th century, an independence
movement developed, and led by Miguel
Hidalgo y Costilla and Jose Maria
Morelos y Pavon, both of whom were
priests, and were captured and shot
by the Spanish.
In 1821 Augustin de Iturbide declared
an independent Mexican empire, including
Guatemala.
In 1824, the first Mexican constitution
was proclaimed based on the US constitution
with Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
as President.
In 1836 Texas declared its own independence.
Mexico lost huge territories after
the Mexican-American War from 1846
to 1848. Later lost Arizona by the
Gadsden Purchase in 1853.
In 1864 the French troops of Napoleon
III installed the Habsburg prince
Maximilian as emperor of Mexico.
In 1867, French troops were withdrawn,
Maximilian was defeated, captured,
and shot.
From 1876 the Porfirio Diaz's dictatorship
followed until the 1910 Mexican
Revolution that lasted until 1940.
In 1940 President Avilo Camacho
begun the process of national reconciliation
begun and have continued to followed
by moderate democratic governments,
seeking to modernise the economy,
by oil revenues.
Since the 1988 elections, President
Carlos Salinas de Gortari played
a central role in the pacification
programme for Central America.
He ratified the North American Free
trade Agreement with Canada and
the USA in 1993.
In 1995 there was an armed rebellion
in the Chiapas state, by the Zapatista
National Liberation Army, an Indian
guerrilla group, demanding social
and economic reforms.
A peace agreement was reached after
negotiations.
Mexico's population is more than
92 million, mainly Roman Catholic
(Over 92%), with 55% Mestizo, 30%
Indian and 15% European.
The official language is Spanish.
The currency is the peso with 100
centavos.
Mexico City is the Capital and the
world's largest urban centre, with
severe problems of pollution, infrastructure,
and overcrowding.
Site
Index
Back to Top
Photos Index
Thanks for coming, I hope you
have enjoyed it, will recommend
it to your friends, and will come
back later to see my site developing
and expanding.
I'm trying to make my pages
enjoyable and trouble free for everyone,
please let me know of any mistakes
or trouble with links, so I can
fix any problem as soon as possible.
These pages are best viewed with monitor
resolution set at 640x480 and kept simple
on purpose so everyone can enjoy them
across all media and platforms.
Thank you.
Webmaster
|
