Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) September 1, 1880 Porfirio Diaz’s government awards the concessions for building railroad lines from Mexico City to the U.S. border. 1, 1925 The inauguration of the Bank Of Mexico which will function as a central bank, the only one able to print money. On this precise […]
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G. M. Bashford’s Tourist Guide to Mexico was first published exactly seventy years ago in 1954. It was one of a spate of motoring book guides written after World War II as Americans began to hit the open road and drive south in search of sunshine and adventure. How much has Mexico really changed in […]
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Tony Burton’s most recent book, Lake Chapala: a postcard history, is an interesting pictorial romp through the Lake Chapala area from just before the twentieth century to about 1960. Over 150 postcards mostly taken from Burton’s private collection give a broad overview of what life was like around the lake from the time when the […]
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Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) 1, 1524 King Charles V of Spain forms the Council of the Indies, making it responsible for the administration and politics of the New World. According to the law, the future well-being of the natives, discovered by Columbus, is guaranteed! 2, 1857 Gas lighting is introduced in […]
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Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) July 1, 1823. At the Congress of the United Provinces of Central America, held in Guatemala City, it is decided that Nicaragua and Guatemala (who had joined Mexico of their own volition on January 5, 1822) should be separate entities. The Province of Chiapas votes in favor […]
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In April, my two sisters and I traveled to the Lake Chapala area for an opportunity to celebrate the future, specifically the upcoming nuptials of our youngest sister, Dorian. Our trip also allowed us an opportunity to connect to our past, retracing the footsteps of our grandparents, Jean and Ralph Carmichael, who had wintered in […]
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Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) May 1, 1552 A royal decree establishes four schools for natives in the province of Nueva Galicia (now Jalisco): in Guadalajara, Atoyac, Ahuacatlán and Juchipila. 1, 1917 Venustiano Carranza begins his term as President. During his three years in office (until 1920) fighting continues in much of […]
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Tony Burton’s most recent book, Foreign Footprints in Ajijic, captures a period of time in Ajijic’s history from the 1940s to the 1980s that is both intriguing and eye-opening. It is hard to imagine the comings and goings that took place in this seemingly quiet fishing village nestled beside Lake Chapala, a stone’s throw from […]
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Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) June 1, 1565. Andrés de Urdaneta sets sail from the Philippine Islands on what eventually becomes recognized as a landmark voyage in sailing history. His return to New Spain, by sailing across the Pacific Ocean from west to east, is the earliest documented successful voyage in this […]
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Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) 1, 1857 Conservative general Tomás Mejía assaults the British consulate in San Luis Potosí and steals $240,000. The British government subsequently demands that this sum be included in the external debt owed them by President Juárez. 1, 1873 The birth in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, of the […]
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