Mexico

Mexico is a country in the Central America region. México (Ciudad de México) is its capital city, It has a surface area of 1,958,201 sq km. The name of the currency of this country is mexican peso. It is comprised of 31 states and one federal district, Mexico City, making a total of 32 federative entities. It borders the United States to the north; Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; the Pacific Ocean to the west; the Caribbean Sea to the southeast; and the Gulf of Mexico to the east.

Mexico city, the capital of the republic, 7000 ft. above the level of the sea, in the centre of the country, is a handsome city with many fine buildings, a cathedral, a picture-gallery, schools of law, mining, and engineering, a conservatory of music, and an academy of art. There are few manufactures; the trade is chiefly transit.

It consists of an immense plateau 3000 to 8000 ft. high, from which rises the Sierra Nevada, 10,000 ft., running North and South, and other parallel ranges, as also single peaks Toluca (19,340 ft.), Orizaba (18,000 ft), and Popocatapetl (17,000 ft). The largest lake is Chapala, in the centre. The rivers are mostly rapid and unnavigable. The chief seaports are Vera Cruz and Tampico on the East and Acapulco on the West, but the coast-line is little indented and affords no good harbours. Along the eastern seaboard runs a strip of low-lying unhealthy country, 60 miles broad. On the Pacific side the coast land is sometimes broader. These coast-lines are well watered, with tropical vegetation, tropical and sub-tropical fruits. The higher ground has a varied climate. In the North are great cattle ranches.

All over the country the mineral wealth is enormous. Gold, silver, copper, iron, sulphur, zinc, quicksilver, and platinum are wrought. Coal also exists. There are free schools in every town. The religion is Roman Catholic, the language Spanish.

It was conquered by Cortez in 1519, the country was ruled by Spain and spoiled for 300 years. A rebellion established its independence in 1821, but the first 50 years saw perpetual civil strife, and wars with the United States in 1848 and France in 1862. Since 1867, however, when the constitution was modelled on that of the United States, there has been peace and progress. Ponfirio Diaz became president in 1876, who proved a masterly ruler until 1911, thereafter the decade long Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) followed. The next eight decades followed political consolidation and one-party rule (1920–2000). During the twenty-first century, Mexico has contended with high crime rates, bureaucratic corruption, narcotrafficking, and a stagnant economy.

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