The area and population of Yucatán include those of the territory of Quintana Roo, which formed part of that state at the time of the census.
Baja, or Lower California; is divided into two districts for administrative convenience. The Distrito del Norte is credited with a population of 7583 and has its capital at Ensenada (pop. 1026); the Distrito del Sur has a population of 40,041 and has its capital at La Paz.
Tepic was detached from the north-west part of Jalisco and organized as a territory in 1889.
Quintana Roo was detached from the state of Yucatán in 1902 and received a territorial government.
The principal cities of Mexico, other than the capitals above mentioned, are as follows, the populations being those of 1900 except when otherwise stated: Acapulco (pop. 4932), a famous port on the Pacific coast in Guerrero, which was wrecked by the earthquake of 1909; Carmen, or Laguna de Términos (about 6000), a thriving commercial town and port on the Gulf coast in Campeche; Celaya (25,565), a railway centre and manufacturing town of Guanajuato; Ciudad Guzman, or Zapotlán (about 17,500), an interesting old town of Jalisco; Cholula (about 9000), an ancient native town of Puebla, widely known for its great pyramid; Comitán (9316), the commercial centre of Chiapas; Cordoba (7974 in 1895), a picturesque Spanish town in the sierras of Vera Cruz; Cuautla (6269), the centre of a rich sugar-producing district of Morelos; Guaymas (8648), a flourishing port of Sonora on the Gulf of California; Léon (62,623), the largest city in Guanajuato and distinguished for its commercial activity, manufactures and wealth; Linares (20,690), the second city of Nuevo Léon in size and importance; Matamoros (8347), a prominent commercial centre and river port of Tamaulipas; Mazatlán (17,852), the foremost Mexican port on the Pacific coast; Orizaba (32,894), a city of Vera Cruz famous for its delightful climate and picturesque surroundings; Parral (14,748), a well-known mining centre of southern Chihuahua; San Cristobal (about 16,000), once capital of Chiapas and rich in historical associations; Tampico (16,313), a Gulf port and railway terminus of Tamaulipas; Tehuantepec (10,386), the largest town on the Tehuantepec railway in Oaxaca; Vera Cruz (29,164), the oldest and best known Gulf port of Mexico.
Communications.—Railways began in Mexico with a line of four kilometres between the capital and Guadalupe, which was finished in 1854 and afterwards became a part of the Ferrocarril Mexicano. The latter dates from 1857, when a concession was granted for the construction of a railway from the city of Mexico to Vera Cruz. The French invasion of 1862 found only 10 m. in operation outside of Vera Cruz and military needs led to its immediate extension to Paso del Macho, at the foot of the sierras, about 35 m. At the same time the English company holding the concession extended the Guadalupe line to Puebla. Nothing more was accomplished until after the downfall of Maximilian, and with a liberal subsidy from the Mexican government the Ferrocarril Mexicano was pushed to its completion in 1873. It is celebrated because of the difficulties overcome on the precipitous eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre, the beauties of the mountain scenery through which it passes, and the rapid transition from the hot, humid coastal plain to the cool, arid plateau, 7924 ft. above the sea at Boca del Monte. The railway extends 263 m. between Vera Cruz and Mexico City, to which 58 m. were added in branches from Apizaco to Puebla, and from Ometusco to Pachuca. The line was capitalized at $46,000,000 and has paid a good profit on the investment. The period of active railway construction, however, did not begin until 1878, during the first term of President Porfirio Diaz. In 1874 a concession was granted for a line from the port of Progreso to Mérida (2212 m.), and in 1878 four concessions were added under which 806 m. were constructed. The principal of these four concessions was the Ferrocarril Interoceánico running from Vera Cruz to Mexico City and across the republic toward Acapulco. In 1880 concessions were granted to the F.C. Occidental, F.C. Central Mexicano, F.C. Nacional Mexicano and three others of less importance, aggregating nearly 3500 m. The first three of these have become important factors in the development of Mexico. The first runs southward from the capital to Oaxaca through the rich sub-tropical states of Puebla and Oaxaca, and the other two run northward from the same point to the American frontier. These two lines, popularly called the Mexican Central and Mexican National, have their northern termini at Ciudad Juárez and Laredo on the Rio Grande and connect with American trunk lines at El Paso and Laredo. These two great lines were merged in 1908, with an aggregate capital of $460,000,000 Mexican money, of which the Mexican government holds $230,004,580, or a controlling interest. Important branches of these lines extend to Tampico on the Gulf coast, to Manzanillo on the Pacific coast, and westward and southward into Michoacan and Guerrero, with a coast terminus at or near Acapulco. The next important line is the F.C. Internacional Mexicano, running from Ciudad Porfirio Diaz, on the Rio Grande, south-westward across the plateau to Durango, and is to be extended to Mazatlán, on the Pacific coast. This line was built with American capital and without a subsidy. Another line built with American capital and in connexion with American railway interests extends southward from Nogales, on the northern frontier, to Hermosillo, Guaymas and Mazatlán; it is to be extended to Guadalajara and possibly to other points in southern Mexico. Monterrey is connected with Tampico by a Belgian line known as the F.C. de Monterrey al Golfo Mexicano, and the capital is to have direct connexion with the Pacific, other than the F.C. Interoceánico, by a line through Cuernavaca and Iguala to the coast. Indirectly the capital has a Pacific coast connexion by way of Cordoba and the F.C. Vera Cruz al Pacifico to a junction with the Tehuantepec line. One of the most important railways in Mexico is the F.C. Nacional Interoceánico de Tehuantepec, also called the Tehuantepec National, and the Mexican Isthmus railway, which is 192 m. long and was formally opened in 1907. This line crosses the Isthmus of Tehuantepec from Coatzacoalcos (officially Puerto Mexico) on the Gulf coast to Salina Cruz on the Pacific coast, and has been under construction many years. The railway was first completed in 1894, but light and defective construction, together with lack of shipping facilities at its terminal points, rendered it useless. To correct these defects the line was completely rebuilt and terminal ports constructed. In 1909 the ports were ready to receive large ocean steamships, and regular traffic was begun, including cargoes of Hawaiian sugar for New York. The highest point on the line (Chivela Pass) is 735 ft. above sea-level. The railway has been built by the Mexican government as a transcontinental route for international commerce. Its final construction together with that of its two ports were executed by S. Pearson & Sons, Ltd., of London, who also undertook the working of the line when open. It was estimated in 1907 that the total cost of the railway and ports when completed would be about £13,000,000. The line is connected at the station of Santa Lucrecia (109 m. from Salina Cruz) with the Vera Cruz and Pacific railway which gives an all-rail connexion with Vera Cruz and Mexico City, the distance between the latter and Salina Cruz being 520 m. According to the President’s Message of April 1909, there were 14,857 m. of railway in operation, of which 11,851 m. belonged to or were controlled by the government. It is the evident policy of the Mexican government to prevent the absorption of its railways by private monopolies, and this is effected by state ownership of a controlling share in most of the trunk lines.
Mexico is well provided with tramway lines in its larger cities. A British consular report for 1904 stated that Mexico City and Torreon only were using electric traction, but that Guadalajara, Monterrey, Aguascalientes, Lagos, Colima, Vera Cruz and San Luis Potosí would soon be using it. No official reports are available. The telegraph lines had an aggregate length of 35,980 m. at the end of 1907, of which 33,000 m. belonged to the national government. The President reports an addition of 1626 m. in 1908. Wireless telegraphy was represented in 1908 by a connexion between Mazatlán and Lower California, which was in successful operation. Telephone lines were in use in all the large cities and in connexion with the large industrial enterprises and estates, beside which the government had 500 m. of its own in 1908.
Commerce.—In 1905 the mercantile marine of Mexico comprised only 32 steamers, of 13,199 tons, and 29 sailing vessels, of 8451 tons. The ocean-carrying trade was almost wholly in the hands of foreigners, the government wisely refraining from an attempt to develop an occupation for which its citizens had no natural aptitude. The coast wise trade is principally under the Mexican flag, but the steamers are owned abroad. An official publication entitled “Mexico: Yesterday and To-day, 1876–1904,” states that while the number of steamers engaged in the foreign trade increased from 841 to 969 in the 17 years from 1886 to 1903, the number of Mexican steamers decreased from 55 to 4. For the year 1906–1907 the entries of vessels from foreign ports numbered 1697, of 3,282,125 tons, and the clearances were 1669, of 3,257,932 tons. Subventions are paid for regular steamship service at the principal ports, the total expenditure in 1907–1908 being £42,876. These ports are well served by a large number of foreign steamship companies, which give direct communication with the principal ports of the United States, Europe, and the west coast of South America, and the initiation of a Japanese line in 1908 also brings Mexico into direct communication with the far East. The larger ports for foreign trade are Vera Cruz, Tampico, Progreso, Carmen and Coatzacoalcos on the Gulf coast, and Guaymas, La Paz, Mazatlán, Manzanillo, San Blas, Acapulco and Salina Cruz on the Pacific coast. Some of these—Vera Cruz, Tampico, Coatzacoalcos, Salina Cruz, Manzanillo and Mazatlán—have been greatly improved with costly port works. Among the smaller ports, some of which are open to foreign trade, are Matamoros, Tuxpan, Alvarado, Tlacotalpan, Frontera, Campeche and the island of Mujeres (coast of Yucatán) on the Gulf side, and Ensenada, Altata, Santa Rosalia and Soconusco on the Pacific.
The foreign trade has shown a steady increase during the period of industrial development, to which better means of transport have been an invaluable aid. In 1906–1907 the imports were valued at $111,234,968 U.S. gold, and the exports at $123,512,969, of which very nearly one half consisted of precious metals. According to an official report issued early in 1909 there had been a heavy decrease in both imports and exports, the former being returned at $36,195,469 and the latter at $54,300,896 for the six months ending the 31st of December 1908. Too rapid development and overtrading were given as reasons for this decline. Import and export duties are levied, the former in many cases for the protection of national industries.
The imports largely consist of railway material, industrial machinery,
