Soconusco

Soconusco is a region of the Mexican state of Chiapas, located in the extreme south of the state and bounded by the Republic of Guatemala on the southeast, the regions Costa, Sierra and Fraylesca of Chiapas on the east and north, and the shore of the Pacific Ocean on the southwest. It is a region of rich lowlands and foothills. The economic center is Tapachula.

The name comes from the Nahuatl word "xoconostle", meaning the fruit of the prickly pear cactus. It was, under the Mexica culture, the furthest region of trade, providing jaguar pelts, cacao, and quetzal feathers for the ruling classes in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.

The Soconusco region is the main coffee-producing region in Chiapas, with many plantations further inland in the foothills of the Sierra Madre del Sur.

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. The region had been relatively isolated before that, protected from the rest of Mesoamerica by the mountains of the continental divide (Sierra Madre del Sur). Inhabitants at the time of the Spanish conquest included the Mames (Maya), with isolated Nahuatl establishments, as at the ruins of Rasario Izapa.

The Spanish under Pedro de Alvarado conquered the region in February 1524, early on Alvarado's expedition to Guatemala. It formed part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, 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 under Agustín de Iturbide. 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 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 and Chiapas.

Other facts

* Capital: Tapachula, known as "The Pearl of Soconusco"
* Municipalities: Tapachula, Cacahoatán, Tuxtla Chico, Unión Juárez, Suchiate, Huehuetán, Huixtla, Escuintla, Acapetagua, Mapastepec, Mazatán and Villa Comaltitlán
* Principal agricultural products: coffee, cacao, plantain, sorghum, rice, maize, mango and papaya; also tamarind, cashews and sugar cane
* Infrastructure: Coastal highway, Pacific Railway, International Airport "Fray Matías de Córdova", the port of "Chiapas", the sugar refinery of Huixtla and customs house at Ciudad Hidalgo
* Principal regional symbols: Tacaná volcano, la Piedra de Huixtla (Huixtla Monolith), coffee flowers and the marimba

References

*This article is a free translation of the article [http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soconusco_%28Chiapas%29 Soconusco (Chiapas)] in the Spanish Wikipedia (accessed February 22, 2007), with some additional information.

ee also

*Paso de la Amada

External links

* [http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/exvoopop.html Postclassic Soconusco Society] by Barbara Voorhies and Janine Gasco
* [http://www.dartmouth.edu/~izapa/CS-MM-Chap.%202.htm Soconusco: A Special Place]
* [http://www.dartmouth.edu/~izapa/CS-MM-Chap.%202.htm Humans and Environment in the Americas]
* [http://www.dartmouth.edu/~izapa/CS-MM-Chap.%203.htm Strange Attraction: The Mystery of Magnetism]
*es icon [http://www.inafed.gob.mx/work/templates/enciclo/chiapas/municipios/07105a.htm A chronology]
* [http://www.bartleby.com/69/64/S13164.html Soconusco]
* [http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1995/06/mm0695_10.html The Other Chiapas]
* [http://www.csudh.edu/univadv/IDH1100/Spirit_of_Learning_1100.html CSUDH becomes a touchstone for student research in Chiapas, Mexico]
* [http://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/english/pueblos_y_otros_rincones/sureste/detalle.cfm?idsec=38&idsub=0&idpag=1927 Izapa in the Soconusco region of Chiapas]
* [http://www.mayalords.org/mayafldr/ladino.html La Piedra de Huixtla]