Mexico

[quote] Veracruz is Mexico's oldest, largest, and historically most significant port.

Population over half a million with almost a million in its metro area.

Is there some sort of weather related event that may have something to do with it?

Now that we have named it Gulf of America, people will be FLOCKING to that coast!

I think it has to do with the Spanish building cities atop indigenous cities. The indigenous civilizations weren't seafarers, my guess is that they didn't need to be, there was plenty of food available on land.

Makes sense I guess.

Veracruz has half a million people. That's nothing to sneeze at.

Because the Atlantic sucks.

$$$$

There are no harbors or rivers on the east coast of Mexico. This is one of the reasons given for why Africans never developed beyond their coasts. Life is very hard without machines (hence slavery for practically all of our history), access to waterways, clean water or a year round food supply. We are really blessed beyond words compared to our ancestors.

[quote] There are no harbors or rivers on the east coast of Mexico. This is one of the reasons given for why Africans never developed beyond their coasts.

The most interesting thing I've read on DL today. Thanks, R9.

How about Merida? The food is awesome. There’s a lot of hurricanes hitting that entire coast of Mexico, maybe that is a factor

This is a little simplistic they say but not really, Mexico has weird and wonderful geography.

Veracruz specializes in a delicious red snapper recipe

Because Mexico's Atlantic coast mostly sits in the tropical zone, which is muggy, swampy, and prone to hurricanes. That might be fine if you're a beach tourist, but most of Mexico's indigenous people and the early European settlers preferred to live in the temperate zone, where it's nice and cool year round. That's where the Aztecs built their cities and where the Conquistadors established their colonies.

Also, building inland protected the villages from plundering pirates and foreign navies. Naturally, these inland villages grew into big cities and metropolis, while the remote coastal villages and ports were hampered by small labor forces and weak infrastructures.

Cancun and the rest of the Yucatán are hot and muggy. There isn’t much fresh water there. Mexico City has a great climate and was a built on a huge fresh water lake

According to the definition of the Atlantic Ocean by the International Hydrographic Organization's Limits of Oceans and Seas, Mexico doesn’t touch the Atlantic, so no Atlantic coast.

R14 is full of shit. The Mayans settled all of the Yucatán and Guatemala long before the Aztecs.

The Spanish first went to where they thought (or were told) the gold and silver would be…that’s why they didn’t conquer Yucatán earlier.

[quote]This is one of the reasons given for why Africans never developed beyond their coasts.

They also never built boats, even in South Africa, which has deep ports.

Merida is lovely.

Been to the usual tourist spots like Cancun, Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta. Tijuana when I was inmy early teens with my parents. Liked Puerto Vallarta a lot but that was decades ago.

More recently I spent 3 days in Monterrey for a funeral and I liked what I saw but it wasn't much.

would love to visit Mexico City

From about 1500 to 1800, silver was mined in the interior-western part of the country, and then shipped to China. Huge amounts-- basically the world's supply of China came from Mexico and Peru. I assume that has something to do with the development of large cities in the west, but it's just a guess.

R20 I just returned from Merida and Celestún. The scuttlebutt is all about Canadians buying up the nicest properties.

The Spanish were not exporting silver to China—totally nuts.

I wish r22. Stayed in a nice home with a private garden courtyard. $$$ that I I don't have at the moment.

[Quote] They also never built boats, even in South Africa, which has deep ports.

Except African slaves are credited with teaching river navigation skills to Americans

r23 I don't know if you're joking or not, but silver was the one thing China did not have and thus was massively hungry for.

r10 You shouldn't thank him because that's complete nonsense delivered confidently, which is the worst kind of nonsense.

He's wrong about both Mexico's and Africa's geography AND makes weird racist inferences about development. Just the existence of the fucking Nile alone and the trade that went deep into the continent thanks to it disproves that notion. There's the Niger River and Congo River as well, not to mention all the numerous ports in Northern Africa.

He probably picked up that discredited theory at school back in the '70s or even earlier.

— the Spanish sent their silver back to Spain. It was for their own treasury. It was silver coins that ended up in China; it was not an export commodity. Your AI antenna is off kilter. Crazy talk.

R28 So is yours.

Much of the New World silver went WEST to the Philippines, then China. China had little silver of its own and was hungry for it.

Silver is silver. If you think it had to go to Madrid first before going to China, well, then you're quite wrong. Mexico and Bolivia and Peru and the Philippines were ALL part of Spain.

Uhm, ok, R25.

Joan Didion named her daughter after a place on the Yucatan Peninsula. Joan, her husband Gregory Dunne and the daughter are all dead, Jim.

Is Mexico City the largest city not situated on a major coast or riverway?

A wiki article with unsupported statements is not the evidence you think it is—copying and pasting even less so.

[Quote] Is Mexico City the largest city not situated on a major coast or riverway?

It’s built on a lake that formed in a dead volcano

[quote] Joan, her husband Gregory Dunne and the daughter are all dead, Jim.

In addition to my sister in law, brother and niece, my daughter and I are also dead.

R16, the Caribbean Sea is not part of the Atlantic?