Veracruz

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as Totonacs, Huastecs and Nahuas.

Archaelological Sites

The main archaelological sites belonging to the Olmecs are Cerro de las Mesas, Tres Zapotes and San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán. The Huastecs, Totonacs and other tribes have left traces in El Zapotal Zempoala, El Pital, Quiahuitzián, Castillo de Teayo and El Tajín.

History

The earliest civilisation was probably that of the Huastecs and, most importantly, the Olmecs (around 1200-1400 bc), whose influence extended over a sizable area of Mexico. Until the arrival of the Totonacs foreign tribes mixed with the indigenous people (e.g. Remojadas culture). In the 15th c. the Aztecs subdued a large part of the country.

In 1519 the conquest of Mexico began with the landing of the Spanish under Hernán Cortés near the present-day town of Veracruz. The first Spanish settlement was founded not far from Quiahuiztlán but then moved to La Antigua in 1524. In both the Spanish and Mexican periods the history of the state was closely bound up with that of its most important city, the port of Veracruz.

Economy

As well as the many kinds of tropical and subtropical products associated with the plantation economy, Veracruz's industrial goods include spirits, tobacco, soap, cement, chemicals, glass and leather. Freight traffic, cattle rearing, fishing, and, to an increasing extent, tourism also play an important part in the state's economy. The oil refinement industry is concentrated in the south of the country around Minatitlán and Coatzocoalcos. Veracruz is therefore without question a prosperous state, although there exists a significant gap between the industrialised south and the impoverished, largely agricultural, north.