Nuevo León

Mexican State

Area: 65,103sq.km/25,136sq.mi

Population: 3,550,100

The state of Nuevo León shares a short border in the north with the USA, and is surrounded on the west by Coahuila, on the south by San Luis Potosí, and on the east and north-east by Tamaulipas. While the north of Nuevo León is barren and dry, the east has sub-tropical vegetation, and the mountain chains of the south and west are forested. The state has won a leading role for itself as a centre of industry and trade within Mexico. Nuevo León is mainly inhabited by mestizos and Criollos (descendants of Spaniards). The state has no pre-Columbian archaelogical sites of any consequence.

History

In the pre-Columbian period no Indian culture developed here; the region's barren territory being inhabited only by nomads. The Spanish, led by Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva, began to colonise the area in 1582/83. Towards the end of the 16th c. the Reino de Nuevo León incorporated the present-day states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Durango and parts of San Luis Potosí, Texas and New Mexico. The present state evolved after independence. In the War of Independence (1810-21), the US-Mexican War (1846-48) and during the French Intervention (1862-66) there were frequent military conflicts in the region. Towards the end of the Mexican Revolution (1917-19) violent battles took place between supporters of Venustiano Carranza and Francisco "Pancho" Villa. The state's economic upswing during this century is directly linked to that of its capital Monterrey.

Economy

A well-developed system of communications and the generation of hydro-electric power and gas form the basis of the state's strong industrialisation which is mainly concentrated around Monterrey. The most important branches of industry are steel production and metal processing, as well as the production of synthetic materials, glass, textiles, ceramics, cement, and food. The cultivation of cotton, sugar-cane, oranges and agaves plays a role in agriculture. Cattle breeding, tourism, and silver and lead mining are also of importance.

Besides the economic metropolis of Monterrey, the principal towns are Linares (population 130,000), Montemorelos (populaton 54,000), Sabinas Hidalgo (population 49,000) and Cerralvo (28,000).