The states of Veracruz, Tamaulipas and Tabasco are located on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Three of the most important pre-Hispanic cultures were developed there: The Olmecs, considered by the experts like the mother of all the Mesoamerican cultures; The Totonacans, who lived on the central zone of the coast; and The Huastecos who lived on the north of Veracruz.
Testimony of their greatness and maganificence are some archeological sites such as Cempoala, The Tajín, Sn Lorenzo, Tres Zapotes and the Teayo Castle.
Added to the millennial past, Veracruz has witnessed important historic facts that drew up Mexico’s destiny.
In the XVI century, when Hernán Cortes arrived to the Mexican coast, Veracruz became the main new world entrance to the ideas and expressions of the old continent, and the place were the races started to mix.
During Colony, Veracruz was a key point for communications and commerce between the "New Spain" and Spain. During viceroyalty, Veracruz stood out with its agriculture and cattle farming riches, as so with its textile industry.
The Independence fight of 1810 finished when, in Cordoba, in August 24th of 1821, viceroy Juan O'Donojú from Spain and the Mexican insurgent Agustín of Iturbide, recognized the Independence from Spain by signing the Treaty of Córdoba.
In 1858, during Reform War, the president Benito Juarez, aware of the attack from conservative forces, had to establish his government in the city of Veracruz. At that time, he developed laws about the nationalization of ecclesiastical properties, civil marriage and the freedom of religion.
On May the 24th of 1864 the archduke Maximiliano of Hamburgo and the empress Carlota arrived to Veracruz, to establish the Second Empire supported by Napoleon III and Mexican conservators, who later on would be defeated by president Juarez, restoring the Republic in 1867.
At the beginning of 1900, In Rio Blanco City, a strike of textile workers who defended their labor rights begins. Many people died and this movement became one of the starts of the Mexican Revolution.
The armed fight started at the end of 1910, and the dictator Porfirio Diaz was overthrown and on May the 31st of 1911 left the country by the port of Veracruz, in a trip without return on board of the Ypiranga boat.
Through history, Veracruz has been taken many times by foreign military forces. American invasions on 1847 and 1914, and French invasion on 1862, gave Veracruz the title of “Four times Heroic” due to the bravery and patriotism of the people of Veracruz who fought against invasive forces. |
