Soconusco
Encyclopedia
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
state of Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, located in the extreme south of the state and separated from Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
by the Suchiate River
Suchiate River
The Suchiate River is a river that marks the southwesternmost part of the border between Mexico and Guatemala...
. It is a region of rich lowlands and foothills. The economic center is Tapachula
Tapachula
Tapachula is a town and with a hot, humid climate in the Mexican state of Chiapas. It is located in southern part of the state on the Soconusco coastal plain, near the border with Guatemala, at 14.91° N 92.27° W...
. Soconusco consists of 16 municipalities.
The name comes from the Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
word xoconostle, meaning the fruit of the prickly pear cactus. It was, under the Mexica
Mexica
The Mexica were a pre-Columbian people of central Mexico.Mexica may also refer to:*Mexica , a board game designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling*Mexica , a 2005 novel by Norman Spinrad...
culture, the farthest region of trade, providing jaguar
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
pelts, cacao, and quetzal
Quetzal
Quetzals are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family . They are found in forests and woodlands, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus Pharomachrus being exclusively Neotropical, while the single Euptilotis species is almost entirely restricted to western Mexico...
feathers for the ruling classes in the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
capital of Tenochtitlan.
The Soconusco region is the main coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
-producing region in Chiapas, with many plantations further inland in the foothills of the Sierra Madre del Sur
Sierra Madre del Sur
The Sierra Madre del Sur is a mountain range in southern Mexico, extending from southern Michoacán east through Guerrero, to the Istmo de Tehuantepec in eastern Oaxaca.-Geography:...
.
History
Archaeological evidence shows that somewhere around 1750 B.C. the inhabitants of the region had developed a hierarchical village society, with larger, more elaborate houses presumably reserved for chieftains. A few decades before the Spanish arrived, the Aztecs conquered Soconusco. Inhabitants at the time of the Spanish conquest included the MamesMam people
The Mam are a Native American people in the western highlands of Guatemala and in south-western Mexico.Most Mam live in Guatemala, in the departments of Huehuetenango, San Marcos, and Quetzaltenango...
(Maya), with isolated Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
establishments, as at the ruins of Rosario Izapa.
The Spanish under Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of Yucatan and the Gulf of Mexico, and in the conquest of Mexico led by Hernan Cortes...
conquered the region in February 1524, early on Alvarado's expedition to Guatemala. It formed part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala
Captaincy General of Guatemala
The Captaincy General of Guatemala , also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala , was an administrative division in Spanish America which covered much of Central America, including what are now the nations of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, and the Mexican state of Chiapas...
, a dependency of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico).
When Mexico and Central America obtained independence in 1821, Soconusco, together with the rest of the Captaincy General, joined to the First Mexican Empire
First Mexican Empire
The Mexican Empire was the official name of independent Mexico under a monarchical regime from 1821 to 1823. The territory of the Mexican Empire included the continental intendencies and provinces of New Spain proper...
under Agustín de Iturbide
Agustín de Iturbide
Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Aramburu , also known as Augustine I of Mexico, was a Mexican army general who built a successful political and military coalition that was able to march into Mexico City on 27 September 1821, decisively ending the Mexican War of Independence...
. When the empire was dissolved in 1823 (Plan de Casa Mata), the Central American entities decided on independence from Mexico and the formation of a Central American Federation. Nevertheless, a series of plebiscites were held to determine whether individual regions favored joining the federation, remaining in Mexico, or separately declaring independence. Chiapas, formerly part of Guatemala, was the only province to favor remaining in Mexico.
However, on July 24, 1824 rebels in Soconusco proclaimed its separation from Chiapas and its annexation to Guatemala and the Central American Federation. On the following August 18, the National Assembly of Central America accepted its annexation, and on May 25, 1825 Central American troops occupied it. But on August 15, 1841, Soconuscan authorities solicited its reincorporation into Mexico. On September 11, 1842, Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, known as "the Napoleon of the West," was a Mexican political leader, general, and president who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government...
proclaimed the "irrevocable union" of Soconusco with Chiapas. The issue between Mexico and Guatemala was not resolved until a boundary treaty was signed on September 27, 1882, when Guatemala gave up its claims to Soconusco.
Political geography
Soconusco is divided into the municipalities of Acacoyagua, AcapetahuaAcapetahua
Acapetahua is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality has a population of 14,189.-History:...
, Cacahoatán
Cacahoatán
Cacahoatán is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,033. It covers an area of 173.9 km²....
, Escuintla
Escuintla, Chiapas
Escuintla is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 28,064. It covers an area of 206.2 km²....
, Frontera Hidalgo
Frontera Hidalgo
Frontera Hidalgo is a town and one of the 118 municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.The municipality had a total population of 10,902 . It covers an area of 106.8 km²....
, Huehuetán
Huehuetán
Huehuetán is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 31,464. It covers an area of 313 km²....
, Huixtla
Huixtla
Huixtla is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 48,476. It covers an area of 385 km²....
, Mapastepec
Mapastepec
Mapastepec' Raccoon means in the "Hill of the Raccoon." It is located in the southern state of Chiapas, Mexico, falls within the region VII, known as the region Soconusco. This municipality is part of the biosphere reserve of triumph and the crossroads-History:Mapastepec was founded as a people...
, Mazatán
Mazatán, Chiapas
Mazatán is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 24,079. It covers an area of 382.6 km²....
, Metapa
Metapa, Chiapas
Metapa is a town and one of the 119 municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 4,794. It covers an area of 101.8 km²....
, Suchiate
Suchiate
Suchiate is a municipality in the Mexican state of Chiapas, on the border with Guatemala. It is in the Soconusco region, and is the southernmost municipality both in Chiapas and in all of Mexico. On the eastern edge of the municipality, flowing from north to south, is the Río Suchiate, which forms...
, Tapachula
Tapachula
Tapachula is a town and with a hot, humid climate in the Mexican state of Chiapas. It is located in southern part of the state on the Soconusco coastal plain, near the border with Guatemala, at 14.91° N 92.27° W...
, Tuxtla Chico
Tuxtla Chico
Tuxtla Chico is a town and one of the 119 municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 33,467, with 6,722 in the municipal seat.It covers an area of 857 km²....
, Tuzantán
Tuzantán
Tuzantán is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 23,180. It covers an area of 64.6 km²....
, Unión Juárez
Unión Juárez
Unión Juárez is a town and one of the 119 municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 13,934. It covers an area of 268.3 km²....
and Villa Comaltitlán
Villa Comaltitlán
Villa Comaltitlán is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 26,706. It covers an area of 72 km²....
.
Economy
The principal agricultural products are coffeeCoffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, cacao, plantain
Plantain
Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...
, sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
, rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
and papaya
Papaya
The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
. Tamarind
Tamarind
Tamarind is a tree in the family Fabaceae. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic .-Origin:...
, cashew
Cashew
The cashew is a tree in the family Anacardiaceae. Its English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree, caju, which in turn derives from the indigenous Tupi name, acajú. It is now widely grown in tropical climates for its cashew nuts and cashew apples.-Etymology:The...
s and sugar cane are also grown.
Transport
Coastal highway, Pacific Railway, Tapachula International AirportTapachula International Airport
Tapachula International Airport is an international airport located at Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, is Mexico's southernmost airport. It handles national and international air traffic for the city of Tapachula and the Port of Chiapas.-External links:*...
, Puerto Chiapas.
Regional symbols
The TacanáTacaná
Tacaná is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of San Marcos....
volcano, la Piedra de Huixtla (Huixtla Monolith), coffee flowers and the marimba
Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
are considered symbolic of the region.
External links
- Postclassic Soconusco Society by Barbara Voorhies and Janine Gasco
- Soconusco: A Special Place
- Humans and Environment in the Americas
- Strange Attraction: The Mystery of Magnetism A chronology
- Soconusco
- The Other Chiapas
- CSUDH becomes a touchstone for student research in Chiapas, Mexico
- Izapa in the Soconusco region of Chiapas
- La Piedra de Huixtla
- Soconusco Archaeological Project