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Soconusco is a region of the Mexican
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism 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 Mexico....
 state of Chiapas
Chiapas

Chiapas is the southernmost States of Mexico of Mexico, located towards the southeast of the country. Chiapas is bordered by the states of Tabasco to the north, Veracruz to the northwest, and Oaxaca to the west....
, 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 and the Caribbean to the northeast, 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 Mexico-Guatemala border between Mexico and Guatemala . From its sources in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas of Guatemala, the river flows in a southwesterly direction to the border with Mexico at Un?on Ju?rez , past the border towns of Ciudad Tec?n Um?n and Ciudad Hidalgo, Chi...
. It is a region of rich lowlands and foothills. The economic center is Tapachula
Tapachula

Tapachula is a municipio and city with a hot, humid climate in the States of Mexico 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 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...
 culture, the furthest region of trade, providing jaguar
Jaguar

The jaguar, Panthera onca, is a New World Felidae and one of four "big cats" in the Panthera genus, along with the tiger, lion, and leopard of the Old World....
 pelts, cacao
Cacao

Cacao , or the cocoa plant, is a small evergreen tree in the family Sterculiaceae , native to the deep tropical region of the Americas. There are two prominent competing hypotheses about the origins of the original wild Theobroma cacao tree....
, and quetzal
Quetzal

Quetzals are strikingly colored birds of the trogon family found in tropical regions of the Americas.The word "quetzal" was originally used for just the Resplendent Quetzal, Pharomachrus mocinno, the famous long-tailed quetzal of Central America, which is the national bird of Guatemala....
 feathers for the ruling classes in the Aztec
Aztec

Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl and who achieved political and military dominance over large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the Late post-Classic period in Mesoamerican chronology....
 capital of Tenochtitlan
Tenochtitlan

Tenochtitlan was a Nahua peoples altepetl located on an island in Lake Texcoco, in the Valley of Mexico. Founded in 1325, it became the seat of Aztec Empire in the 15th century, until being Fall of Tenochtitlan....
.






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Soconusco is a region of the Mexican
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism 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 Mexico....
 state of Chiapas
Chiapas

Chiapas is the southernmost States of Mexico of Mexico, located towards the southeast of the country. Chiapas is bordered by the states of Tabasco to the north, Veracruz to the northwest, and Oaxaca to the west....
, 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 and the Caribbean to the northeast, 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 Mexico-Guatemala border between Mexico and Guatemala . From its sources in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas of Guatemala, the river flows in a southwesterly direction to the border with Mexico at Un?on Ju?rez , past the border towns of Ciudad Tec?n Um?n and Ciudad Hidalgo, Chi...
. It is a region of rich lowlands and foothills. The economic center is Tapachula
Tapachula

Tapachula is a municipio and city with a hot, humid climate in the States of Mexico 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 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...
 culture, the furthest region of trade, providing jaguar
Jaguar

The jaguar, Panthera onca, is a New World Felidae and one of four "big cats" in the Panthera genus, along with the tiger, lion, and leopard of the Old World....
 pelts, cacao
Cacao

Cacao , or the cocoa plant, is a small evergreen tree in the family Sterculiaceae , native to the deep tropical region of the Americas. There are two prominent competing hypotheses about the origins of the original wild Theobroma cacao tree....
, and quetzal
Quetzal

Quetzals are strikingly colored birds of the trogon family found in tropical regions of the Americas.The word "quetzal" was originally used for just the Resplendent Quetzal, Pharomachrus mocinno, the famous long-tailed quetzal of Central America, which is the national bird of Guatemala....
 feathers for the ruling classes in the Aztec
Aztec

Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl and who achieved political and military dominance over large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the Late post-Classic period in Mesoamerican chronology....
 capital of Tenochtitlan
Tenochtitlan

Tenochtitlan was a Nahua peoples altepetl located on an island in Lake Texcoco, in the Valley of Mexico. Founded in 1325, it became the seat of Aztec Empire in the 15th century, until being Fall of Tenochtitlan....
.

The Soconusco region is the main coffee
Coffee

Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the Coffea. Caffeinated coffee has a stimulating effect in humans....
-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 1000 km from southern Michoac?n east through Guerrero, to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in eastern Oaxaca ....
.

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
Mam people

The Mam are a Indigenous Peoples of the Americas people in the Guatemalan_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 establishments, as at the ruins of Rasario Izapa.

The Spanish under Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado

Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras was a Spain conquistador and governor of Guatemala, known for his skill as a soldier, and his cruelty to native populations is well-documented....
 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 Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, 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 1822 to 1823. The territory of the Mexican Empire included the continental intendencies and provinces of Viceroyalty of New Spain proper and those of the former Captaincy General of Guatemala....
 under Agustín de Iturbide
Agustín de Iturbide

Agust?n de Iturbide was born into a noble family in Valladolid, New Spain . He was commissioned into the colonial army when still in his teens....
. 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 Mar?a Severino L?pez de Santa Anna y P?rez de Lebr?n , often known as Santa Anna or L?pez de Santa Anna, was a Mexico political leader who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government, first fighting against the Mexican War of Independence from Spain, and then supporting it, rising to the...
 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.

Other facts

  • Capital: Tapachula
    Tapachula

    Tapachula is a municipio and city with a hot, humid climate in the States of Mexico 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....
    , known as The Pearl of Soconusco
  • Municipalities: Acacoyagua, Acapetahua
    Acapetahua

    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....
    , Cacahoatán
    Cacahoatán

    Cacahoat?n 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 km?....
    , 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 km?....
    , Frontera Hidalgo
    Frontera Hidalgo

    Frontera Hidalgo is a town and one of the 119 municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 10,917....
    , Huehuetán
    Huehuetán

    Huehuet?n 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 km?....
    , 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 km?....
    , Mapastepec
    Mapastepec

    Mapastepec is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,055. It covers an area of 1085 km?....
    , Mazatán
    Mazatán, Chiapas

    Mazat?n 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 km?....
    , 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 km?....
    , Suchiate
    Suchiate

    Suchiate is a municipalities of Mexico in the Mexican state of Chiapas, on Mexico-Guatemala border Guatemala. It is in the Soconusco region, and is the southernmost municipality both in Chiapas and in all of Mexico....
    , Tapachula
    Tapachula

    Tapachula is a municipio and city with a hot, humid climate in the States of Mexico 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 settlement classification in Mexico 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....
    , Tuzantán
    Tuzantán

    Tuzant?n 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 km?....
    , Unión Juárez
    Unión Juárez

    Uni?n Ju?rez is a Settlement classification in Mexico 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 km?....
     and Villa Comaltitlán
    Villa Comaltitlán

    Villa Comaltitl?n 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 km?....
    .
  • Principal agricultural products: coffee
    Coffee

    Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the Coffea. Caffeinated coffee has a stimulating effect in humans....
    , cacao
    Cacao

    Cacao , or the cocoa plant, is a small evergreen tree in the family Sterculiaceae , native to the deep tropical region of the Americas. There are two prominent competing hypotheses about the origins of the original wild Theobroma cacao tree....
    , plantain
    Plantain

    The plantain is a crop in the genus Musa and is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana .The population of North America was first introduced to the banana plantain, and colloquially in the United States and Europe the term "banana" refers to that variety....
    , sorghum
    Sorghum

    Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of Poaceae, some of which are raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture....
    , rice
    Rice

    Rice is a staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in tropical Latin America, and East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, making it the second-most consumed cereal grain, after maize....
    , maize
    Maize

    Maize , known as corn in some countries, is a cereal domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents....
    , mango
    Mango

    Mangoes belong to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous species of tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae....
     and papaya
    Papaya

    The papaya , is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, in the genus Carica. It is native to the tropics of the Americas, and was cultivated in Mexico several centuries before the emergence of the Mesoamerica....
    ; also tamarind
    Tamarind

    The Tamarind is a tree in the rank Fabaceae. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic . It is a tropical tree, native to tropical Africa, including Sudan and parts of the Madagascar dry deciduous forests....
    , cashew
    Cashew

    The cashew is a tree in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The plant is native to northeastern Brazil. Its English language name derives from the Portuguese language name for the fruit of the cashew tree, caju, which in turn derives from the indigenous Tupi language name, acaj?....
    s and sugar cane
  • Infrastructure: Coastal highway, Pacific Railway, International Airport "Fray Matías de Córdova", the port of "Chiapas", the sugar refinery of 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 km?....
     and customs house at Ciudad Hidalgo
    Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas

    Ciudad Hidalgo is a Settlement classification in Mexico in the Mexican state of Chiapas. It serves as the municipal seat of the surrounding municipality of Suchiate....
  • Principal regional symbols: Tacaná
    Tacaná

    Tacan? is a municipality in the San Marcos Department Departments of Guatemala of Guatemala.There stands the second highest peak in Central America-Volcano Tacan? on the Mexican-Guatemalan border.The most of the population in Tacan? are Mam people people,speaking their native language.The high mountines in the region are a major tourist attra...
     volcano, la Piedra de Huixtla (Huixtla Monolith), coffee flowers and the marimba
    Marimba

    The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion instrument family. Keys or 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 to aid the performer both visually and physically....


See also

  • Paso de la Amada
    Paso de la Amada

    Paso de la Amada is an archaeological site in the Mexican state of Chiapas on the Gulf of Tehuantepec, in the Soconusco of Mesoamerica. This site was occupied during the Mesoamerican chronology era, from about 1800 BCE to 1000 BCE, and covered approximately 50 hectares of land....


External links

  • by Barbara Voorhies and Janine Gasco