Mexico
Mexico names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Mexico a republic of North Ameri ca
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a republic of North Ameri ca; bounded on the N. by the United States; on the E. by the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea; on the S. and S. E. by Guatemala and British Honduras; and on the W. and S. W. by the Pacific Ocean; area, 767,005 square miles; pop. about 16,000,000. Topography. For the most part Mexico consists of an immense tableland. The prevailing formations are metamorphic, but partly overlaid by igneous rocks of every geologic epoch, rich in metalliferous ores. In the highest ranges granites and other igneous rocks prevail, with deposits of sulphur and pumice, and other recent volcanic discharges. In the N. chalk and sandstones become prevalent. The most important range is the Sierra Madre (over 10,000 feet); parallel wth this run the sierras of the E. coast and of Lower California. The surface of the country is also much broken up by short cross-ridges and detached peaks, the principal being the Cordillera de Anahuac culminating in Nevado de Toluca (19,454 feet), the highest point on the North American continent, and Popocatepetl (17,523). The Pico de Orizaba, E. of Popocatepetl, is 18,205 feet high. On the Atlantic Atlantic side the plateau descends abruptly to the narrow strip (about 60 miles) of gently sloping coast land; toward the Pacific, where the coast lands vary in width from 40 to 70 miles, the descent is more gradual. Of the present lakes the only one of great size is Chapala, which is traversed by the Rio Grande de Santiago; but considerable bodies of water collect in depressions in the uplands during the heavy rains. The rivers of Mexico are of little use for navigation. S. of the Rio Grande del Norte, on the Texan frontier, they are mostly impetuous mountain torrents, or flow through rocky gorges, sometimes 1,000 feet deep. Only in the narrow strips between the plateau and the coast are they available as channels of trade. Climate. In the plateau region the climate is almost that of perpetual spring, and the atmosphere is remarkably free from moisture, but so scarce is rain that plateau agriculture is largely dependent on irrigation. ion. An immense desert tract extends from Chihuahua to Zacatecas. On the coast lands water is abundant, but the climate is so unhealthful that few white men can labor there. Agriculture. The total production of cotton in 1918 was 79,293 tons. Corn produced amounted to 1,128,570,535 kilograms. One of the most valuable products of Mexico is henequen, or sisal fiber. This is produced chiefly in Yucatan and this is the only important product of that province. It furnishes a large part of the material for binder twine throughout the world. The exports of this commodity amount to about 150,000 tons annually, with a value of $50,000,000. Mineralogy. The country is rich in minerals, many of which have been worked from an early date. Silver, especially, has been an important industry ever since the conquest. Gold is also produced. Copper is largely mined in some sections, being found in a pure state in Chiapas and Guanajuato, and elsewhere associated with gold. Other important minerals are iron, including enormous masses of meteoric iron ore. The mountain, Cerro de Mercado, a mile from Durango, is a solid mass of magnetic iron ore. Other mineral products are lead, sulphur, zinc, quicksilver, platinum, cinnabar, asphalt, petroleum, salt, marble, alabaster, gypsum and rock-salt. Mineral Production. - Figures are incomplete for the production of metals in recent years. In 1918 the value of production was approximately as follows: Silver, 65,654,751 pesos; copper, 66,096,- 344 pesos; lead, 23,800,639 pesos; zinc, 9,036,233 pesos; gold, 3,244,781 pesos, and antimony, 2,407,147 pesos. Oil production has been the chief feature of the mineral production of Mexico for several years. The production of petroleum in 1918 amounted to 63,820,836 barrels, with an approximate production in 1919 of 80,000,000. Several rich deposits of petroleum were found during 1919. Manufactures. - Till recent years very little manufacturing was done in Mexico, the number of factories using steam not greatly exceeding 100 prior to 1888. Cotton, woolen underwear, carpets, and cloths are now made in considerable quantities. There are also many cigar and cigarette factories, flour mills, distilleries, powder mills, soap factories, paper mills, tile factories, etc. The uncertainties in the country in the last decade has resulted in disturbance of industrial conditions. There has, however, been a steady increase in the importance of manufacturing. The indications are that Mexico would be an important industrial country when political conditions adjust ust themselves on a steady basis. During 1918-19 an industrial census was taken. The partial results of that census indicate 3,805 industrial establishments, divided as follows: food industry, 693; metals, 614; textiles, 213; elec- GU tríc, 40; miscellaneous, 2,245. The capital involved was about 240,000,000 pesos and about 35,000 wage earners were employed. Commerce. Foreign trade with Mexico in 1918 amounted to $265,887,744, of which imports were valued at $82,235,019 and exports $183,652,725. By comparison with the figures of 1913 imports show a loss of about $15,000,000 and exports a gain of about $30,000,000. The most important imports were vegetable products, mineral products, and textiles. The chief exports were mineral products, including petroleum, which amounted in value to $106,966,171; vegetable products, and animal products. In 1919 the export of oil was estimated at about 80,- 000,000 barrels. Transportation and Communication.- The constant series of revolutions and other disturbances has resulted in more or less demoralization of the railway systems of Mexico. Many of the railway lines will have to be rebuilt entirely and most of them repaired to a large extent before they reach a condition where transportation will be normal again. Heavy storms in the autumn of 1919 did severe damage to the railway lines. Many large bridges were swept away. The railway between the city of Durango and the port of Matazlan was almost completed at the end of the year 1919. The merchant marine for 1919 had a tonnage of 40,257, and the vessels engaged in river trade had a tonnage of 366,726. The total railway mileage is about 16,000. There is a fairly complete system of telegraphs. There are about 50,000 miles of telegraph wires. The wireless system is in operation. In its educational sys- Education. tem, Mexico is far behind many of the other American countries. The great majority of the people are illiterate, and no serious attempt has been made by any of the rulers of the country to establish a complete estimate of schools. While in theory education is compulsory and free in the lower grades, no serious attempt is made to compel the Indian population to attend these schools. There are secondary schools, professional schools, and military and naval schools. The Mexican University, which was founded in 1553 and reorganized in 1910, forms the head of the educational system of the country. There are about 3,000 private and clerical schools. The total number of primer schools supported by the State governments and by municipalities is about 10,000, in which are about 700,000_pupils. Religion. The prevailing faith is Roman Catholic, which was the State religion till 1857. On Sept. 25, 1873, the government declared that it recognized no State religion. Finances. The disturbed condition of the country in recent years has produced demoralization in the financial system. The revenue for 1919 was about 150,000,000 pesos, and for 1920 about 160,000,000 pesos. The foreign debt, exclusive of interest, in 1918 amounted to 296,944,251 pesos and the internal debt to 138,795,550 pesos. The interest due on both debts amounted to 103,832,284 pesos, making the total for the entire debt about 530,000,000 pesos. A vast amount of paper money was put into circulation. President Carranza attempted to reorganize the finances during his rule and met with considerable success, as far as revenue was concerned. The greater part of the amount produced, however, was dispersed for the payment of the army and other large sums were absorbed by individuals, so that the country at large rge received small benefit. Government. The government of Mexico is that of a republic. A new constitution was promulgated on Feb. 5, 1917. The several States have absolute control of their internal affairs. The President, who is chosen every four years, and is now eligible to consecutive re-elections, is assisted by a cabinet of seven secretaries, viz.: Foreign Affairs; Interior; Justice and Public Instruction; Fomento, Colonization and Industry; Communications and Public Works; Finance and Public Credit; and War and Marine. The legislative power is vested in a Congress, composed of a Senate and House of Representatives. Representatives, whose terms are two years, are elected by popular vote on the basis of one representative for every 60,000 population. The Senate consists of 58 members, two from each State, and two from the Federal District, who serve four years, and are elected in the same manner as the representatives. The justices of the Supreme Court, which occupies the same position as that of the United States, are chosen by popular suffrage and serve for six years. There is one annual session of Congress. History. The history of ancient Mexico exhibits two distinct and widely differing periods that of the Toltecs and that of the Aztecs. The 8th century is the traditional date when the Toltecs are related to have come from the N. Their capital was established at Tula, N. of the Mexican valley. Their laws and usages stamp them as a people of mild and peaceful instincts, industrious, active and enterprising. It is related that severe famine and pestilenoo stroyed the Toltec people in the 11th century, and near the end of the next century a fresh migration brought, among other kindred nations, the Aztecs into the land. Within two centuries and a half this last people had become predominant. But their rule was, in a great degree, a reversion to savagery. The Aztecs founded, about 1325, the city of Tenochtitlan, or Mexico; a hundred years later they had extended their sway beyond their pla plateau valley, and on the arrival of the Spaniards, their empire was found to stretch from ocean to ocean. Their government was an elective empire, the deceased prince being usually succeeded by a brother or nephew, who must be a tried warrior; but sometimes the successor was chosen from among the powerful nobles. The monarch wielded despotic power, save in the case of his great feudal vassals; these exercised a very similar authority over the peasant class, below whom, again, were the slaves. The Mexicans apparently believed in one supreme invisible creator of all things, the ruler of the universe; but the popular faith was polytheistic. At the head of the Aztec pantheon was the frightful Huitzilopochtli, the Mexican Mars. In every city of the empire his altars were drenched with the blood of human sacrifice. The victims, usually prisoners of war, were borne to the summit of the great pyramidal temples, where the priests, in sight of assembled crowds, bound them to the sacrificial stone, and, slashing open the breast, tore from it the bleeding heart and held it up before the image of the god. In the years immediately preceding the Spanvicish conquest, not less than 20,000 tims were annually immolated, including infants, for the propitiation of the rain gods. Cortez landed at Vera Cruz in 1519. Before his energy, and the superior civilization of his followers, the power of the native empire crumbled away. In 1540 Mexico was united with other American territories at one time all the country from Panama to Vancouver's Island under the name of New Spain, and governed by viceroys (57 in all), appointed by the mot mother country. The intolerant spirit of the Catholic clergy led to the suppression of almost every trace of the ancient Aztec nationality and civilization, while the commercial system crippled the resources of the colony; for all foreign trade with any country other than Spain was prohibited on pain of death. Mexico ranked first among all the Spanish colonies in regard to population, material riches, and natural products. In 1810 the discontent, which had been gaining ground against the viceregal power during the war of the mother country with Napoleon, broke into open rebellion under the leadership of a country priest named Hidalgo. After his defeat and execution in 1811, Morelos, another priest, continued the struggle till he shared the same fate in 1815; and a guerilla warfare was kept up until, in 1821, the capital was surrendered by O'Donoju (a Spaniard of Irish descent), the last of the viceroys. In the following year General Iturbide, who in 1821 had issued the plan de Iguala, providing for xico under the independence of Mexico a prince of the reigning house, had himself proclaimed emperor; but the guerilla leader Guerrero, his former ally, and Gen. Santa Ana raised the republican standard, and in 1823 he was banished to Italy with a pension. Returning the following year, he was taken and shot, and the federal republic of Mexico was finally established. For more than half a century after this (till 1876), the history of Mexico is a record of nearly chronic disorder and civil war. In 1836 Texas secured its inependence, for which it had struggled for several years, and which Mexico was compelled to recognize in 1845. In that year Texas was incorporated with the United States; but its W. boundary was not settled, and war ensued between Mexico and the United States (see MEXICAN WAR). From the fall of Santa Ana in 1855, down to 1867, great confusion prevailed. In 1853 Benito Juarez became president, but his claims were contested by General Miramon, the head of the reand the actionary or clerical party, country was plunged in civil war. During this period of internal disorder, the Cortes passed an act suspending all payments to foreigners for two years, an act that drew upon the Mexican government the serious remonstrance of those European powers whose subjects had just cause of complaint; and the result was the dispatch of a fleet of English, French, and Spanish ships into the Mexican Gulf for the purpose of enforcing satisfaction. In 1861 the Spaniards disembarked a force at Vera Cruz; and this step was soon followed by the arrival before that city of the allied fleet. Preparations to advance at once upon the capital alarmed the provisional government, and brought about an armistice, with a view of negotiating a treaty for the future regulation of commercial intercourse between Mexico and the European powers. This treaty was drawn up and provisionally ratified by the different commanders, but was not confirmed on the part of France, and consequently the French troops retained occupation of Mexican territory after the Spaniards and English had declined to join in further hostile demonstrations. In April, 1862, Emperor Napoleon for mally declared war against Mexico; but the French never met with the welcome they expected from the people and finally had to withdraw, without permanent success, in 1867, largely because of the attitude of the United States. MAXI-
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a republic of North America . It lies between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific, and comprises about one-fifth the area of the United States . It borders on the north with California, Arizona, New Mexico , and Texas; on the south with Guatemala and Belize. At its southern termination is a range of lofty volcanoes, including Orizaba and Popocatepetl. The extreme length of the country is 1900 miles. Its width at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is about 130 miles. The country is for the most part a plateau, leaving but a narrow strip of low land along each coast. This lofty table-land is a prolongation of the Rocky Mountain plateau. Viewed from either coast, the edges of this table-land have the appearance of mountains, rising either precipitously or by terraces; but, as a matter of fact, the borders are a little higher than the central portion. If we except the Rio Grande on the American border, there is no navigable river. The streams are rocky torrents. Evaporation is so rapid that many of them become smaller as they pass through the lowlands to the ocean. Lakes are numerous. The location of Mexico, the capital, is determined by the presence of lakes. CLIMATE. Mexico lies in the north temperate and in the torrid zone. Three zones of temperature are recognized according to altitude; the torrid climate of the coasts, the temperate climate of the uplands lying from 3,000 to 6,000 feet above the sea, and the cool climate of sections having an altitude of over 8,000 feet. Perpetual snow rests on a few elevated peaks. The temperate region has a climate ranging from 65 deg. to 75 deg. the year through. It has been called a "terrestrial Eden." The tropical coasts are subject to malaria. MINERALS. The geological basis of the country is granite. Rocks and soils of volcanic origin overlie the granite in many localities. The country is rich in minerals. It has long been noted as one of the chief silver - producing regions of the world. Gold and copper abound. A mile from Durango there is a celebrated mountain, a solid mass of magnetic iron ore. Zinc, tin, platinum, and bismuth are found in abundance, as well as sulphur, asphalt, and petroleum. There are mines of rock salt and alum and excellent quarries of marble and gypsum. Mexico is noted for mineral springs. It is one of the chief commercial sources of mercury. The mountains abound in native gems, opals, emeralds, agates, garnets, and topazes. FORESTS. A considerable portion of the country, especially the borders of the plateau and swampy portions of the lowlands, are covered with heavy forests. Those of the lowlands supply mahogany, ebony, and rosewood for cabinet work. The oak and the pine grow in the temperate zone. Mexico yields enormous quantities of India rubber , and is one of the chief sources of dyewoods. The exports of chicle, the basis of chewing gum, amount to nearly 5,000,000 pounds a year. The makers of patent medicines draw a part of their supplies of sarsaparilla from Mexico. Over sixty medicinal plants and dyewoods are native. Vanilla and cacao are exported in large quantities. AGRICULTURE. Although the country has great possibilities, agriculture languishes. It is in the hands of descendants of the ancient Aztecs and other Indians, or else it is carried on by people of mixed blood. The two classes comprise over four-fifths of the entire population. The chief field crop is Indian corn or maize; the yield is about 100,000,000 bushels a year. Barley, wheat, beans, cacao, sugar, tobacco, coffee, and cotton are produced. Sisal, the fiber obtained from the leaf of the agave, is the second crop of importance. The annual yield is valued at $20,000,000 a year. The northern part of the country is well adapted to cattle raising. The herds rival those of Texas in size. MANUFACTURES. The manufactures of Mexico are also behindhand. The most important is that of cotton cloth, woven from cotton native to the country. There were in 1909 750,000 cotton spindles with over 18,000 looms and thirty-seven machines for printing calico; 90,000,000 pounds of cotton were consumed, and over 20,000,000 pieces of cloth were produced. The mills are owned in part by investors of American capital. The woolen goods of the country are produced largely on hand looms. Pottery of a rude description, cigarettes, and straw hats are produced in almost every town. Yucatan is celebrated for the manufacture of hammocks; Leon, for cutlery and leather work. Chocolate and confectionery are manufactured universally. COMMERCE. The exports of Mexico go largely to the United States. Precious metals and sisal make up over a half of the whole. About one-half of the imports come from the United States. The country is traversed by numerous railways, in all about 15,000 miles, centering chiefly in the capital city. POPULATION. The Statesman's Year Book for 1909 gives the area of Mexico at 767,005 square miles, and the population at 13,605,919, an average of 17.7 per square mile. Nineteen per cent are white, the rest are natives descended from Indian tribes, or are of mixed blood. Of whites, the Spaniards and Americans are nearly equal in number. There are a few thousand each of French, British, Germans, and Italians, as well as a few Chinese. There are twenty-one cities having a population of over 20,000 each. Mexico, the capital, is the largest, having a population of 344,721. EDUCATION, ETC. The prevailing language is the Spanish. The prevailing religion is Roman Catholic. The people of Indian and of mixed blood are mostly illiterate. The government is making an effort to build up a system of schools. There are about 10,000 common schools, forty-two preparatory schools, and sixty-two institutions giving professional or collegiate instruction. The expenditure for education is about $8,000,000 a year. The country has a foreign debt of $225,000,000, and an annual income of $65,000,000. HISTORICAL. The early inhabitants of Mexico were the Aztecs and other native races. Cortez invaded the country in 1519 and captured the city of Mexico. The country was made a Spanish colony and remained under Spanish rule until 1821, when it achieved its independence under a leader named Iturbide (e-toor-be'da). The country at that time included what is now the southwestern part of the United States. Texas seceded in 1836. A large slice of territory was lost in the war with the United States, 1846-48. During the American Civil War the Mexican government was subverted by French troops, and Maximilian, an Austrian prince, was placed on the throne. In 1867 the French troops were withdrawn and the present "republic" was reestablished. Diaz, the president, is a strong executive, ruling with ruthless disregard of constitutional restrictions or the dictates of humanity where necessary to gain his point. The condition of a large part of his subjects is little better than slavery, declare some writers, while others assert that Diaz is a wise and enlightened ruler doing all that may be done for a primitive people. STATISTICS. The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources: Land area, square miles ..... 767,005 Population ..... 13,605,919 Roman Catholics ..... 13,533,013 Mexico ..... 345,000 Guadalahara ..... 101,000 Puebla ..... 93,000 Leon ..... 63,000 Monterey ..... 62,000 San Luis Potosi ..... 61,000 Vera Cruz ..... 29,000 Saltillo ..... 24,000 Number states ..... 27 Members of senate ..... 56 Representatives (about) ..... 340 Assessed valuation of property ..... $1,053,000,000 National revenue ..... $103,000,000 Bonded indebtedness ..... $285,000,000 Acres of improved land ..... 25,000,000 Coal mined, tons ..... 700,000 Zinc, tons ..... 97,000 Gold ..... $36,000,000 Silver ..... $97,000,000 Copper, tons of ore ..... 156,000 Agricultural Products-- Corn, bushels ..... 70,000,000 Wheat, bushels ..... 10,000,000 Rice, bushels ..... 62,000,000 Cotton, pounds ..... 35,000,000 Tobacco, pounds ..... 22,750,000 Coffee, pounds ..... 92,000,000 Sugar, pounds ..... 273,000,000 Wine, gallons ..... 500,000 Leading Exports-- Minerals ..... $158,000,000 Coffee ..... $10,000,000 Sisal ..... $27,000,000 Hides ..... $7,000,000 Rubber ..... $9,000,000 Total exports ..... $242,000,000 Output of Manufactured Goods-- Cotton yarn, pounds ..... 5,000,000 Cotton print, pieces ..... 19,000,000 Cigarettes, packages ..... 530,000,000 Cigars ..... 134,000,000 Spirits, gallons ..... 9,680,000 Domestic Animals-- Horses ..... 859,000 Mules ..... 334,000 Asses ..... 287,000 Cattle ..... 5,142,000 Sheep ..... 3,421,000 Goats ..... 4,206,011 Swine ..... 616,000 Miles of railway ..... 14,780 Number postoffices ..... 2,934 Letters and post cards (1907) ..... 195,000,000 Public schools ..... 9,194 Pupils enrolled ..... 620,000 See Aztecs ; Cortez ; Agave ; Chocolate ; Vanilla ; Cochineal ; Silver ; Iturbide ; Juarez ; Maximilian; Diaz
Mexico City of, the capital and chief city of the republic of Mexico
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
City of, the capital and chief city of the republic of Mexico. It is situated amid lakes on a marshy table-land, at an elevation of 7,434 feet above the sea. It is surrounded by mountains. It is 263 miles by rail from Vera Cruz and 1,224 from El Paso. The extreme range of temperature is from 35 deg. to 90 deg. The ordinary temperature ranges from 60 deg. to 80 deg. Frost is unknown. The hottest months are April and May. The air is always cool at night. The rainy season sets in May and lasts till September. Save Buenos Ayres , Mexico is the largest and the most imposing city of Spanish-America. It is a walled city laid out in form of a square, three miles on a side. The streets and alleys cross at right angles. The streets are broad and are well paved with asphalt. The houses are built of stone plastered with stucco, and are two or three stories in height with flat roofs. They are of quaint architecture, and are gayly painted in white, red, yellow, or green. Each surrounds an inside open court called a patio. The houses of the wealthy are faced with colored porcelain tiles arranged in attractive patterns. The windows open on verandas. The patios are adorned with shrubbery and flowers, fountains and statuary. The soil is too marshy for cellars. For fear of earthquakes, the older buildings have no chimneys. At the center of the city is the plaza or public square, covering fourteen acres, around which the public buildings are grouped. On the east, occupying the site of Montezuma's old residence is the National Palace, now housing the president's office and some of the departments. At present Congress meets here. The Hall of Ambassadors is hung with paintings of Mexican rulers. George Washington is given a place also. The Mexican bell of independence was rung by Father Hidalgo over his chapel at Dolores to sound the call to arms, September 15, 1810. It has been brought hither and hung over the main doorway. On the anniversary of independence, it is rung at midnight by no less a hand than that of the president of the republic. On the north side of the plaza stands the cathedral, the greatest church edifice in the New World. In size it is excelled by only ten cathedrals of Europe. It was begun in 1573 and finished in 1657 at a cost of $2,000,000 for masonry alone. It is in the form of a Greek cross 426 feet long and 253 feet wide. The building is of gray stone. There are two great naves, three aisles, twenty side chapels, and a magnificent high altar on marble columns. The interior is Doric; the exterior, Renaissance. The main front is flanked by two bell towers. A tower crowns the center of the edifice. From it a magnificent view of the valley may be had. The air is so clear that the mountains, really thirty or forty miles away, seem but a ten minutes' walk distant. At the foot of one tower is the famous calendar stone, or more probably the sacrificial stone, of the ancient Aztecs. Other buildings grouped about the plaza or in the immediate vicinity are the national pawn shop, the postoffice, the city hall, the jail, the merchants' exchange, and the national museum of antiquities. Important buildings situated elsewhere are the mint, the picture gallery--the finest in America,--the Library of St. Augustine, containing 225,000 volumes and many manuscripts, the Iturbide hotel, the school of mines, and the old inquisition building. There are several parks near the city. The largest is the Alameda, covering forty acres. It surrounds the plot wherein the victims of the inquisition, refused burial on holy ground, were interred. Boulevards, fine views, statuary, a profusion of trees and flowers render Mexico the most attractive scenic city in North America . The city is at the lowest point in the valley. A number of surrounding lakes lie at a greater elevation and are kept back by dikes. Canals communicate with the adjoining districts and are the avenues by which the vegetables and dairy and poultry supplies reach the city. A sewer or canal thirty miles long leads to the mountains and passes through them by a rock-hewn tunnel seven miles long, rendering a future inundation of the city impossible. The city is connected by rail with the Gulf, the Pacific, and west Texas. It is the commercial and financial center of the republic. The population in 1900 was 368,777. The mass of the people are Indian or of mixed blood. Business is in the hands of the Spanish and, of late, Americans. The Spaniards monopolize the offices and create the social atmosphere. The city government is modeled on that of the District of Columbia . There is a mounted policeman at every corner. The streets are clean and are well lighted by electricity. There are 1,900 drinking places dealing in wine, beer, and pulque. They are closed at 6 P. M. and at noon on Sunday, when everybody goes to the park concerts or to the bullfights. The Spanish element takes pride in the history of the city. The first printing press in North America was set up here. A volume printed in Spanish in 1535 is preserved in the public library. A hundred volumes appeared in Mexico before a press was set up in the English-speaking colonies.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote this in 1921 Mexico had "about 16,000,000" people; today it has roughly 130 million, and Mexico City's metropolitan area alone holds more people than the whole republic did then. The revolutionary "uncertainties" the entry keeps referring to ended in a single-party system: the party that became the PRI held the presidency from 1929 until Vicente Fox's win in 2000. The oil boom Collier's records was nationalized by President Lázaro Cárdenas in 1938 and handed to the state company Pemex, and since the 1994 NAFTA agreement (replaced by USMCA in 2020) manufacturing for export, not silver or henequen, has been the backbone of the economy. One plain error can also be corrected: Nevado de Toluca is not "the highest point on the North American continent" and is well under the height given — Denali in Alaska is, and Mexico's own summit is Pico de Orizaba at about 18,490 feet.
Written for this edition, 2026.