Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 32 states that comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 212 municipalities, and its capital city is Xalapa-Enríquez.

Veracruz is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north, San Luis Potosí and Hidalgo to the west, Puebla to the southwest, Oaxaca and Chiapas to the south, and Tabasco to the southeast. On its east, Veracruz has a significant share of the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico. The state is noted for its mixed ethnic and indigenous populations. Its cuisine reflects the many cultural influences that have come through the state because of the importance of the port of Veracruz. In addition to the capital city, the state's largest cities include Veracruz, Coatzacoalcos, Córdoba, Minatitlán, Poza Rica, Boca Del Río and Orizaba.

History

Veracruz played an important part in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire by Hernán Cortés and his expedition members. They founded Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz on May 18, 1519, as the first Spanish town in what is now Mexico. By doing so, Cortés threw off the authority of the Governor of Cuba, Diego Velázquez, claiming authority directly from the Spanish crown. A small contingent of the expedition remained at Veracruz, while the main body of conquerors moved inland.

During the early conquest era, Cortés distributed the labor of indigenous settlements to particular conquerors in an institution known as encomienda. The indigenous ruler of the settlement was charged with mobilization labor and tribute that was due to the holder of the encomienda. Veracruz had a number of encomiendas that changed hands a number of times, but early on came under the direct control of the Spanish crown rather than individual encomenderos.

During the colonial era, Veracruz was the main port of entry for immigrants from Spain, African slaves, and all types of luxury goods for import and export. The first group of Franciscans arrived in Veracruz in 1524, walking barefoot to the capital of the Spanish colony of New Spain. The route between Veracruz and the Spanish capital of Mexico City, built on the site of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, was the key trade route during the colonial era. Much of the history of the state is involved with the port city that Cortés founded in 1519. Veracruz became the principal and often only port to export and import goods between the colony of New Spain and Spain itself. To ensure the port's monopoly, it came to have control over almost all of New Spain's Gulf coastline. New Spain's silver and cochineal red dye, were the two most important exports from the port, along with chocolate, vanilla, chili peppers, and much more were exported. Imported were livestock (sheep, cows, goats, horses), wheat and other cultivars. From the Caribbean, slaves, pineapple, and sugar cane were introduced. This made the port a highly prized target for pirates during the colonial period, with attacks and sackings frequent. This led to the building of the fort of San Juan de Ulúa, a site Juan de Grijalva visited in 1518, and the fortification of the city overall.

Slavery

Though the Spaniards had halted the Aztec wars and human sacrifices an unexpected problem arose. European diseases decimated the native population of the province, prompting the importation of African slaves during the colonial period, starting in the 16th century. The Spanish imported between 500,000–1,000,000 West African slaves into Mexico between 1535 and 1767 (miscegenation between indigenous and African populations began almost immediately). New Spain did not have any laws prohibiting interracial marriage, hence the correct term is Afro-Mestizo, which includes all 3 ethnicities: Indigenous, African, and Spanish.

Runaway slaves (cimarrones) became problematic to public order since they frequently formed robber bands that attacked travelers on highways. Crown efforts against these groups began in earnest in the late sixteenth century, but a major rebellion broke out in 1606 in the areas of Villa Rica, Nueva Veracruz, Antón Lizardo, and the Rio Blanco area. However, the gravest of these occurred in the Orizaba area, where there were about 500 fugitive slaves. In 1609, a leader named Gaspar Yanga led an insurrection against the Spanish but was defeated in battle. Unrest continued, eventually forcing the government to sign an amnesty pact and giving the Africans the right to form their own community, exacting as a condition that bandits be suppressed. This was called San Lorenzo de Zerral but today it is known as the municipality of Yanga. This was the first time slavery was abolished in the Americas.

Wars

During the Mexican War of Independence, there was support for the insurgents in many parts of the state, with skirmishes erupting in various parts as early as 1811. A major conspiracy against the colonial government was discovered in the port in 1812, with rebels taking Ayahualulco and Ixhuacán during the same year. This forced royalist troops to withdraw to Xalapa. Eventually, this city along with the port were cut off from Mexico City. Most of the state remained in rebel hands during the rest of the war although the commercial class of the port did not support the effort. In 1821, Juan de O'Donojú, the last viceroy of New Spain, came to the port to leave for Spain. However, until 1823, Spanish troops continued to occupy San Juan de Ulúa Fort. In 1826, the city would receive the first of its four titles of "heroic city" for confronting these remaining Spanish troops.

While the last of the Spanish held on in San Juan de Ulúa, Agustín de Iturbide had been declared the emperor of Mexico in 1822. However, his reign quickly encountered resistance from those favoring a republican form of government, including from Antonio López de Santa Anna from his stronghold in Veracruz state. Months later, Iturbide would go into exile and Santa Anna would eventually hold nine terms as president.

The French intervened in Mexico through Veracruz for the first time in the 1838, in what became the Pastry War. The port was blockaded. Efforts to defend the country were coordinated from Xalapa. The port was bombarded, but eventually a settlement was reached.

During the Mexican–American War, the port was blockaded again, this time by the Americans. Initial American attempts in 1847 to land in Alvarado were checked, but the Americans then made a plan to land a few miles south of Veracruz, which surrendered after a 20-day siege, defeated General Santa Anna's forces at the Battle of Cerro Gordo, and marched inland through Xalapa towards Mexico City, led by General Winfield Scott . Mexico surrendered shortly after.

During the Reform War, the major player was Ignacio de la Llave whose name is part of the state's official designation. In 1858, the port became the site for the liberal government under Benito Juárez after he was forced out of Mexico City during the Reform War. Their control of this port and its customs duties allowed liberal forces to gather resources. Conservative forces attacked the state but were repelled from both the port and Xalapa.

The Reform War wrecked Mexico's economy and it found itself unable to pay debts it owed to Europe. As a result, Juárez cancelled Mexico's foreign debt. Spain, Britain and France, all outraged by this action, decided in October 1861 to force repayment of their loans by the occupation of the Mexican Gulf Coast. Normally, this move would have been blocked by the United States under the Monroe Doctrine, however, that nation was occupied with a Civil War at the time, and the European powers believed that the Americans could not act. In December, Spanish troops commanded by general Manuel Gasset occupied the port of Veracruz, without any local resistance, followed a month later by French and British forces. The Spanish and the British withdrew after making deals with Juárez, but the French pushed on to establish the reign of Maximilian I of Mexico. However, this was short-lived and the French were expelled through Veracruz in 1866/67.

Modern Day

Unrest against the Díaz regime continued until the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution ousted him from power. The major event leading up to this war in Veracruz was the cigar-makers strike of 1905, when more than 5,000 workers of the "El Valle Nacional" company walked off the job. The governor, Teodora A. Dehesa, unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a settlement. The strike went on for months until the strikers won. This victory encouraged more actions, until strikes at the factories in Rio Blanco, Nogales, Santa Rosa and Contón de Orizaba resulted in dramatic violence in January 1907. No major battles of the Mexican Revolution were fought in the state, though there were skirmishes and attacks on the port. By 1914 rebel Cándido Agular occupied a number of municipalities in the state and in 1917, Venustiano Carranza transferred the federal government here temporarily.

On April 21, 1914 an incident involving U.S. sailors in Tampico led President Woodrow Wilson to land American troops in Veracruz, where they remained for six months. Mexico later responded by severing diplomatic relations.

After the Revolution, agrarian reform, including the redistribution of land and the creation of ejidos took place here. The oil companies in the north of the state were nationalized and consolidated into PEMEX in the 1930s by Lázaro Cárdenas. In the 1950s, more road construction, such as the Mexico City- Poza Rica, Veracruz-Alvarado- Coatzacoalco and Tinajas-Ciudad Aleman-Tlacoatalpan highways were constructed. The Universidad Veracruzana was expanded as well. In 1960, the Museum of Anthropology in Xalapa was inaugurated as well as the Coatzacoalco-Salina Cruz highway. The Veracruz city international airport was opened in the 1970s.

In the ten years after 2006, at least 3,600 people have disappeared within the state. Multiple mass graves have been found within the state. This is seen as part of the over 28,000 missing individuals related to the Mexican Drug War. Within the state the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas have battled for control. Additionally, this has led to journalists being targeted and killed within the state.

Communities

• Acayucan
• Alvarado
• Boca del Río
• Camarón de Tejeda
• Catemaco
• Coatepec
• Coatzacoalcos
• Córdoba
• El Jícaro, Veracruz
• Martínez de la Torre
• Minatitlán
• Orizaba
• Papantla (Papantla de Olarte)
• Poza Rica
• Santiago Tuxtla
• San Andrés Tuxtla
• Tuxpan (Túxpam/Túxpam de Rodríguez Cano)
• Veracruz
• Xalapa (Xalapa-Enríquez)