Editing Veracruz (section)

==History==
===Pre-Columbian===
[[File:Olmec Head from San Lorenzo, Veracruz.jpg|thumb|[[Olmec colossal heads|Colossal stone head]], [[Olmec]] culture, around 900 BC]]
During the pre-Columbian era, Veracruz was mainly populated by four indigenous groups: the Huastecs and Otomis in the north, the Totonacs in the north-center, and the Olmecs in the south.<ref name="schmal"/> Remains of these past civilizations can be found in archeological sites such as Pánuco, [[Castillo de Teayo (Mesoamerican site)|Castillo de Teayo]], El Zapotal, Las Higueras, Quiahuiztlán, [[El Tajín]], [[Cempoala]], [[Tres Zapotes]] and [[San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán]].<ref name="enchistoria">{{cite web |url=http://www.e-local.gob.mx/work/templates/enciclo/veracruz/ |title=Historia |year=2005 |work=Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave |publisher=Instituto Nacional para el Federalismo y el Desarrollo Municipal |location=Mexico |language=es |trans-title=History |access-date=August 3, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616191401/http://www.e-local.gob.mx/work/templates/enciclo/veracruz/ |archive-date=June 16, 2011 }}</ref>

The first major civilization in the territory of the current state was that of the Olmecs. The Olmecs lived in the [[Coatzacoalcos River]] region and it became the center of Olmec culture. The main ceremonial center here was San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán. Other major centers in the state include Tres Zapotes in the city of Veracruz and [[La Venta]] in Tabasco. The culture reached its height about 2600 years ago, with its best-known artistic expression being the [[Olmec colossal heads|colossal stone heads]].<ref name="enchistoria"/> These ceremonial sites were the most complex of that early time period. Consequently, many anthropologists regard the Olmecs as the "mother culture" of numerous other Mesoamerican cultures. However, according to historian John Schmal, the Olmecs were "eclipsed" by other emerging Mesoamerican civilizations by 300 BCE.<ref name="schmal"/>

Another major group was the Totonacs, who have survived to the present day. Their region, called [[Totonacapan]], is centered between the Cazones River and the Papaloapan River in the north of the state. Pre-Columbian Totonacs lived from hunting, fishing and agriculture, mostly of corn, beans, chili peppers and squash. This is also the native region of the [[vanilla bean]]. Clay sculptures with smiling faces are indicative of this culture. The major site is [[El Tajín]], located near [[Papantla]], but the culture reached its apogee in Cempoala (about {{convert|5|mi|km|spell=in}} inland from the current port of Veracruz), when it was conquered by the Aztecs.<ref name="enchistoria"/> When the Spaniards arrived in 1519, the territory was still home to a population of about 250,000 people living in fifty population centers and speaking four Totonac dialects. 25,000 were living in Cempoala alone.<ref name="schmal"/>

The [[Huastec people|Huastecs]] are in the far north of the Veracruz and extend into parts of Tamaulipas, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, [[Querétaro]] and Puebla. The language and agricultural techniques of these people and the [[Mayan peoples|Maya]] are similar; however, only a few buildings and ceramics remain from the early Huastec culture. This culture also reached its peak between 1200 and 1519, when it was conquered by the Spanish.<ref name="enchistoria"/>

During the 15th and very early 16th century, the [[Aztec]]s came to dominate much of the state and dividing it into tributary provinces, of Tochtepec, Cuetlaxtlan, Cempoallan, Quauhtochco, Jalapa, Misantla, and Tlatlauhquitepec. The Aztecs were interested in the area's vegetation and crops such as cedars, fruit, cotton, cacao, corn, beans and vanilla. However, the Totonacs chafed under Aztec rule, with Aztec rulers from [[Axayacatl]] to [[Moctezuma II]] having to send soldiers to quell rebellions. The Huastecs were subjugated more successfully by the Aztecs and relegated to the provinces of Atlan and Tochpan.<ref name="schmal"/>

===Colonial period, 1519–1821===
[[File:Playa Villa Rica desde Quiahuiztlan01.jpeg|thumb|Playa Villa Rica, where the Spanish built the first city of Veracruz]]
[[File:EstatuaYanga.jpg|thumb|left|Statue of rebel leader Yanga]]

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 de Cuéllar|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.<ref>Ida Altman, Sarah Cline, and Javier Pescador, ''The Early History of Greater Mexico''. Prentice Hall 2003, p. 57.</ref>

Among the first groups encountered by the Spanish in the Americas were the [[Totonac people|Totonacs]].<ref name="schmal"/> [[Juan de Grijalva]] was the first Spaniard to make contact with the Totonacs near present-day Veracruz.<ref name="enchistoria"/> Seeking to free his people from Aztec rule, Totonac ruler [[Tlacochcalcatl]] offered conquistador Hernán Cortés 50,000 warriors to take Tenochtitlan. With Spanish assistance, the Totonacs expelled Aztec tax collectors and took over some Aztec outposts.<ref name="schmal"/> The city of Veracruz was established as the first Spanish-controlled municipality on the coast. Cortés then advanced towards Tenochtitlan, initiating the Spanish conquest.<ref name="enchistoria"/> As Cortés's campaign progressed, certain Totonac factions sided with the Spanish, while the Huastecs, also under Aztec rule, resisted Cortés's forces. After the Aztecs were defeated at Tenochtitlan, Cortés sent a unit to conquer the Huastecs as well.<ref name="schmal"/>

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''.<ref>Peter Gerhard, ''A Guide to the Historical Geography of New Spain, Revised Edition''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1993.</ref>

During the colonial era, Veracruz was the main port of entry for immigrants from Spain, [[Atlantic slave trade|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]].<ref>Altman, et al. ''The Early History of Greater Mexico'', p. 119.</ref> 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.<ref name="schmal"/> To ensure the port's monopoly, it came to have control over almost all of New Spain's Gulf coastline.<ref name="enchistoria"/> 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.<ref name="khursh"/><ref name="schmal"/> This led to the building of the fort of [[San Juan de Ulúa]], a site Juan de Grijalva visited in 1518,<ref>Thomas, Hugh. Conquest: Montezuma, Cortes, and the Fall of Old Mexico. p. 173</ref> and the fortification of the city overall.<ref name="enchistoria"/>

Much of Totonac and Huastec culture have survived the colonial period into the present day. Much of the reason for this is that the north of Veracruz is rugged with thick vegetation and relatively little of the resources the Spanish were looking for.<ref name="schmal"/> Veracruz is considered to be where the "[[mestizo]]" or mixed European/indigenous ethnicities began, which is a large part of Mexican cultural identity.<ref name="enchistoria"/>

Arriving with the Spanish conquerors, new diseases made their first appearance in the continent. [[Influenza|European diseases]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Magner |first1=Lois N. |title=The Impact of European Disease on Native Americans |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/impact-european-diseases-native-americans |website=Encyclopedia.com |publisher=Cengage |access-date=January 21, 2021 |archive-date=December 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216171230/https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/impact-european-diseases-native-americans |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 and 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 [[Yanga, Veracruz|municipality of Yanga]]. This was the first time slavery was abolished in the Americas.<ref name="enchistoria" />

In the first half of the seventeenth century, cities such as [[Córdoba, Veracruz|Córdoba]], [[Orizaba]], and [[Xalapa]] were formed or expanded to protect the trade route between Mexico City and the port of Veracruz. During this time, the Spanish and mixed-ethnicities population increased as the purely indigenous population continued to fall to a fraction of pre-Conquest levels (due now to mixing, rather than disease). Almost all trade in and out of New Spain had to be with Spain except for some limited trade authorized with England and other Spanish colonies. This would stay in place until 1778, when ''the Decreto de Libre Comercio'', allowing a limited free trade within Spanish-held realms, lifted many of these restrictions on trade with Europe. This would make the port more important than it had been, and led to increased prosperity for the inhabitants.

Outside of the port, in other areas of the province, the economy was based on agriculture, livestock, and commerce. In 1720, Xalapa organized the first trade fair, making it the center for trade between inland Mexican goods and those from abroad. This would lead to its eventual status as the capital of the state.<ref name="enchistoria" />

In 1746, the state was divided into the civil jurisdictions of Pánuco, Tampico, Huayacocotla, Huauchinango, Papantla, Misantla, Xalapa, Jalacingo, Veracruz, Córdoba, Orizaba, Cosamaloapan, Tuxtla, and Cotaxtla.<ref name="enchistoria" />

The port city of Veracruz, and the fort of San Juan de Ulúa, where Cortés landed three hundred years earlier, was where the loyalist soldiers of the Spanish Crown made their last stand against the independence movement in 1824.<ref name="schmal" />

===Independence===
[[File:Battle of Veracruz.jpg|thumb|Depiction of the Battle of Veracruz during the Mexican–American War]]

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.<ref name="enchistoria" />

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.<ref name="schmal" /><ref name="enchistoria" />

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.<ref name="enchistoria" />

During the [[Mexican–American War]], the port was blockaded again, this time by the Americans. Initial American attempts in 1847 to land in [[Alvarado (Veracruz)|Alvarado]] were checked, but the Americans then made a plan to land a few miles south of Veracruz, which surrendered after [[Siege of Veracruz|a 20-day siege]], defeated General [[Antonio López de Santa Anna|Santa Anna]]'s forces at the [[Battle of Cerro Gordo]], and marched inland through [[Xalapa]] towards Mexico City, led by General [[Winfield Scott]].<ref name="schmal" /><ref name="enchistoria" /> Mexico surrendered shortly after.

The municipalities of [[Tuxpan]] and [[:es:Chicontepec de Tejada|Chicontepec]] belonged to Puebla until 1853, when they were annexed to Veracruz to give the state its final form. In 1855, the State Government Palace was constructed. 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.<ref name="enchistoria" />

The Reform War devastated Mexico's economy, leaving it unable to repay its European debts. As a result, Juárez annulled the country's foreign debt, prompting Britain, Spain, and France to occupy the Mexican Gulf Coast in October 1861 to force repayment. Under normal conditions, 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. Spanish troops under General Manuel Gasset occupied the port of Veracruz without local resistance.<ref>''The New York Times'', "The Expedition to Mexico," January 3, 1861</ref> Then, in November, the power was also occupied by British and French forces. The Spanish and the British withdrew after making deals with Juárez, but [[Second French intervention in Mexico|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.<ref name="schmal" />

In 1863, the state was officially named Veracruz-Llave. After the French were expelled, the state government was in the port of Veracruz. In 1878, the capital was transferred to Orizaba. It was later moved to Xalapa in 1885.<ref name="enchistoria" />

By the end of the century, many infrastructure improvements, such as roads and railways (especially the [[Interoceanic Railway of Mexico|Ferrocarril Interoceánico]]) had been completed with the major cities being Veracruz, Orizaba, Xalapa, Córdoba, [[Jalacingo]], Chicontepec and [[Tantoyuca]]. The discovery of oil in the north of the state attracted foreign firms, which brought machinery needed for its extraction. These companies included Huasteca Company Petroleum and El Aguila along with American and English firms. During the same time period, uprisings against the government under [[Porfirio Díaz]] in the agricultural south of the state were brutally repressed.<ref name="enchistoria" />

===20th century to the present===
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 [[Río Blanco strike|dramatic violence in January 1907]].<ref name="enchistoria"/>
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.<ref name="enchistoria"/>

In April 1914, the [[Tampico Affair]], which concerned U.S. sailors in the city of Tampico, caused President Woodrow Wilson to send American troops to Veracruz for six months, after which Mexico severed diplomatic relations with the United States.<ref name="schmal"/>

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 [[Xalapa Museum of Anthropology]] was inaugurated as well as the Coatzacoalco-[[Salina Cruz]] highway. The [[Veracruz International Airport|Veracruz city international airport]] was opened in the 1970s.<ref name="enchistoria"/>

In the ten years after 2006, at least 3,600 people have disappeared within the state.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Mexico finds 166 bodies in mass grave |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20180907-mexico-finds-166-bodies-mass-grave-veracruz-drug-cartels |work=France24 |date=September 7, 2018 |access-date=September 6, 2018 |archive-date=October 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001003240/https://www.france24.com/en/20180907-mexico-finds-166-bodies-mass-grave-veracruz-drug-cartels |url-status=live}}<br/>{{cite news |last=Woody |first=Christopher |title=A former Mexican governor has been accused of involvement in forced disappearances, and it points to a sinister problem with Mexico's police |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/javier-duarte-former-veracruz-mexico-governor-accused-disappearances-2018-6 |work=Business Insider |date=June 11, 2018 |access-date=September 6, 2018 |archive-date=September 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906212653/https://www.businessinsider.com/javier-duarte-former-veracruz-mexico-governor-accused-disappearances-2018-6 |url-status=live }}</ref> Multiple mass graves have been found within the state.<ref>{{cite news |author=José de Córdoba |date=March 15, 2017 |title=Grieving Mothers Lead Authorities to Mass Grave in Mexico |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/grieving-mothers-lead-authorities-to-mass-grave-in-mexico-1489612745 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |access-date=September 6, 2018 |archive-date=September 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907071056/https://www.wsj.com/articles/grieving-mothers-lead-authorities-to-mass-grave-in-mexico-1489612745 |url-status=live}}<br/>{{cite news |last=Garrido |first=Edgar |editor1-last=Cameron-Moore |editor1-first=Simon |date=March 19, 2017 |title=Mexico drug war investigators unearth 47 more skulls in mass graves |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-violence/mexico-drug-war-investigators-unearth-47-more-skulls-in-mass-graves-idUSKBN16R07X |access-date=September 6, 2018 |archive-date=September 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907110310/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-violence/mexico-drug-war-investigators-unearth-47-more-skulls-in-mass-graves-idUSKBN16R07X |url-status=live }}</ref> This is seen as part of the over 28,000 missing individuals related to the [[Mexican Drug War]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Wade |first=Lizzie |date=December 14, 2016 |title=How forensic anthropologists are helping the families of Mexico's disappeared seek justice |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/how-forensic-anthropologists-are-helping-families-mexicos-disappeared-seek-justice |magazine=Science |access-date=September 6, 2018 |archive-date=December 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205221557/https://www.science.org/content/article/how-forensic-anthropologists-are-helping-families-mexicos-disappeared-seek-justice |url-status=live }}</ref> Within the state the [[Gulf Cartel]] and [[Los Zetas]] have battled for control.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Mexico drugs war: Mass grave found in Veracruz |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-27915986 |work=BBC News |date=June 19, 2014 |access-date=September 6, 2018 |archive-date=September 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907110215/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-27915986 |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, this has led to journalists being [[List of journalists and media workers killed in Mexico|targeted and killed]] within the state.<ref>{{cite news |last=Imison |first=Paul |date=August 17, 2015 |title=How Veracruz Became the Most Dangerous State in Mexico for Journalists |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-veracruz-became-the-most-dangerous-state-in-mexico-for-journalists/ |work=Vice |access-date=September 6, 2018 |archive-date=October 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018194046/https://www.vice.com/en/article/zm74b5/how-veracruz-became-the-most-dangerous-state-in-mexico-for-journalists |url-status=live }}</ref>