Britons in Mexico

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British Mexicans
británico-mexicanos
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of Mexico.svg
Panteon Ingles, Real del Monte, Hidalgo, Mexico, 2013-10-10, DD 06.JPG
Panteón Inglés, Real del Monte, Hidalgo
Total population
4,572 UK-born residents (2017) [1]
Regions with significant populations
Mexico City, Veracruz and Hidalgo
Languages
Mexican Spanish and British English
Religion
CatholicismMethodismAnglicanism
Related ethnic groups
Other British diasporas

Britons in Mexico, or British Mexicans, are Mexicans of British descent or British-born persons who have become naturalized citizens of Mexico.

Contents

The British have had a presence in Mexico since the Colonial era. However, the greatest exchange occurred following independence, notably with the Cornish miners in Hidalgo and the construction of the port of Coatzacoalcos. [2]

History

The El Divino Salvador Methodist Church in Pachuca was founded by Cornish immigrants and Mexican converts. The current building was inaugurated in 1901. Iglesia Metodista del Divino Salvador, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico, 2013-10-10, DD 01.JPG
The El Divino Salvador Methodist Church in Pachuca was founded by Cornish immigrants and Mexican converts. The current building was inaugurated in 1901.

During the Colonial era, the Spanish restricted the entrance of other Europeans, however, some non-Spanish Europeans were present. In 1556, the English adventurer Robert Thomson encountered the Scotsman Tomás Blaque (Thomas Blake), who had been living in Mexico City for more than twenty years. [3] Blaque is the first known Briton to have settled in what would become Mexico. [4]

During his third voyage, the ship commanded by John Hawkins of Plymouth escaped destruction at the Battle of San Juan de Ulúa (1568). However, after becoming lost in the Gulf of Mexico and with a bloated crew, Hawkins abandoned more than one hundred men near Tampico. [5] A group of the men went north (including David Ingram), while the rest went south and were captured by the Spanish. Notable among this group was Miles Philips who wrote a narrative detailing his and the other Englishmen's struggles. They were taken to Mexico City, given care at a hospital and imprisoned. After attempting to escape, they were sold as servants or slaves. [5] Some were able to accumulate wealth by rising to the position of overseers at mines and other operations. However, after the establishment of the Mexican Inquisition, the men were stripped of any wealth and imprisoned as Lutheran heretics. Three of the men were burned, while some sixty were given penance. [5]

In southern Baja California Sur, a few families retain the English surname "Green". This surname was established to be descended from Esteban (Steven) Green, an English whaler that settled in the region in 1834 after migrating from the United Kingdom. [6]

The first great power that recognized the independence of Mexico was the United Kingdom in 1824, shortly after the sale of mines from Pachuca and Real del Monte occurred.[ citation needed ] The majority of migrants to this region came from what is now termed the Cornish "central mining district" of Camborne and Redruth. Real del Monte's steep streets, stairways and small squares are lined with low buildings and many houses with high sloping roofs and chimneys which indicate a Cornish influence. Mexican remittances from these miners helped to build the Wesleyan Chapel in Redruth.[ citation needed ]

The Panteón de Dolores, which became the largest cemetery in Mexico, was founded in 1875 by Juan Manuel Benfield, the son of Anglican immigrants. Benfield fulfilled his father's goal of creating a cemetery after his sister was refused burial in Catholic cemeteries and had to be interred at a beach. [7]

According to the 1895 National Census, 3,263 residents were from the United Kingdom. [8]

The twin silver mining settlements of Pachuca and Real del Monte are being marketed as of 2007 as 'Mexico's Little Cornwall' by the Mexican Embassy in London and represent the first attempt by the Spanish speaking part of the Cornish diaspora to establish formal links with Cornwall. The Mexican Embassy in London is also trying to establish a town twinning arrangement with Cornwall. In 2008 thirty members of the Cornish Mexican Cultural Society travelled to Mexico to try and re-trace the path of their ancestors who set off from Cornwall to start a new life in Mexico. [9]

Culture

Sign in El Portal pastes shop in Real del Monte. Pastes el portal.jpg
Sign in El Portal pastes shop in Real del Monte.

The Cornish introduced institutionalized football to Mexico. [10] A plaque was placed at the site of the first game in Real del Monte. The English also introduced other popular sports such as rugby union, tennis, cricket, polo, and chess. Football clubs founded by Britons included the British Club, Rovers FC Mexico and Reforma Athletic Club. The most successful club founded by Britons is C.F. Pachuca.

Cuisine

The paste is a pastry with Cornish roots. Introduced by miners from Cornwall who were contracted in the towns of Real del Monte and Pachuca in Hidalgo. [11] The Cornish miners may have also introduced the turnip to Mexico. [12]

Demographics

There were 3,589 UK-born residents in Mexico recorded during the 2010 census, up from the 3,172 individuals counted in the 2000 census. [13] The census only requests place of birth (administrative division or country), the government does not ask its citizens for ancestry nor additional citizenship. According to the British Embassy in Mexico, there were about 15,000 British citizens living in Mexico. [14]

Institutions

British immigrants established several institutions of their own, among others:

- The British Society of Mexico (2003)

Notable individuals

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pasty</span> Cornish pastry filled with meat or vegetables

A pasty or Cornish pasty is a British baked pastry, a variety of which is particularly associated with Cornwall, but has spread all over the British Isles, and elsewhere through the Cornish diaspora. It consists of an uncooked filling, typically meat and vegetables, baked in a folded and crimped shortcrust pastry circle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hidalgo (state)</span> State of Mexico

Hidalgo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Hidalgo, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 84 municipalities and its capital city is Pachuca de Soto. It is located in east-central Mexico and is bordered by San Luis Potosí and Veracruz on the north, Puebla on the east, Tlaxcala and State of Mexico on the south and Querétaro on the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redruth</span> Town and civil parish in Cornwall, England

Redruth is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also includes Carn Brea, Illogan and several outlying villages, stood at 55,400 making it the largest conurbation in Cornwall. Redruth lies approximately at the junction of the A393 and A3047 roads, on the route of the old London to Land's End trunk road, and is approximately 9 miles (14 km) west of Truro, 12 miles (19 km) east of St Ives, 18 miles (29 km) north east of Penzance and 11 miles (18 km) north west of Falmouth. Camborne and Redruth together form the largest urban area in Cornwall and before local government reorganisation were an urban district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pachuca</span> Capital and largest city of Hidalgo, Mexico

Pachuca, formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexican state of Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality for which the city serves as municipal seat. Pachuca is located about 90 kilometres (56 mi) north of Mexico City via Mexican Federal Highway 85.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornish diaspora</span> Ethnic diaspora

The Cornish diaspora consists of Cornish people and their descendants who emigrated from Cornwall, United Kingdom. The diaspora is found within the United Kingdom, and in countries such as the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the Samoas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mineral del Monte</span> Municipality and town in Hidalgo, Mexico

Mineral del Monte, commonly called Real del Monte or El Real, is a small mining town, and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in the State of Hidalgo in east-central Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paste (pasty)</span>

A paste is a small pastry produced in the state of Hidalgo in central Mexico and in the surrounding area. They are stuffed with a variety of fillings including potatoes and ground beef, apples, pineapple, sweetened rice, or other typical Mexican ingredients, such as tinga and mole.

British Latin Americans are Latin Americans of British ancestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pachuca Municipality</span> Municipality in Hidalgo, Mexico

The Municipality of Pachuca de Soto, or Municipality of Pachuca, is one of the Municipalities of the state of Hidalgo, located in east-central Mexico.

British Peruvians are Peruvians of British descent. The phrase may refer to someone born in Peru of British descent. Among European Peruvians, the British were the fifth largest group of immigrants to settle in the country after the Spanish, Germans, Italians, the Swiss or/and the French.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spaniards in Mexico</span> Ethnic group

Spanish Mexicans are citizens or residents of Mexico who identify as Spanish as a result of nationality or recent ancestry. Spanish immigration to Mexico began in the early 1500s and spans to the present day. The vast majority of Mexicans have at least partial Spanish ancestry; the Northern regions of Mexico have a higher prevalence of Spanish heritage. There are three recognized large-scale Spanish immigration waves to the territory which is now Mexico: the first arrived during the colonial period, the second during the Porfiriato and the third after the Spanish Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C.F. Pachuca</span> Football club

Club de Fútbol Pachuca is a Mexican professional football team based in Pachuca, Hidalgo, that competes in Liga MX. Founded by Cornish miners from Camborne and Redruth in 1892, it is one of the oldest football clubs in the Americas, and was one of the founding members of the Mexican Primera División.

Yahualica is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 164.5 km².

Alfred Charles Crowle was a Mexican Technical Director to Selección de fútbol de México. Born in Mexico, he was the son of tin miner Alfred Crowle and Eugenia Augusta Leonora Shaw.

The 1766 Real del Monte strike occurred when silver miners in the province of New Spain went on strike for better working conditions. Real del Monte was a prosperous mining city under the Spanish crown, located in east-central Mexico—today a municipality in the state of Hidalgo. The mines were owned and controlled by the Count de Regla, Pedro Romero de Terreros from 1735 until Mexican independence from Spain in 1821. He is considered by many to be one of the richest and most powerful Spaniards in the colonies at the time of the strike, and is noted for his incredible business skill in restoring his bankrupt uncle's estate to one of the most prosperous silver producing regions in the whole of Spanish America (Ladd). The strike in 1766 though, in which miners protested changes in labor and wage practices under Terreros, is considered by many to be the first real labor strike in North American history, as it was not only a work stoppage, which had occurred in many places before, but an organized attempt at renegotiating labor contracts and conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Rule</span> Cornish miner

Francis Rule was a Cornish miner who moved to Mexico and became immensely wealthy by using pumping equipment to explore previously flooded and abandoned mines. He found and exploited rich seams of silver and use the funds to form various mining companies.

The International Pasty Festival is an annual festival celebrating the pasty that has been held in Real del Monte, Hidalgo, Mexico since 2009. Pasties, were introduced to the region by Cornish miners in the 19th century and are still made by their descendants. Traditional recipes may be followed, but often the ingredients today reflect local preferences. The annual festival attracts thousands of visitors, who may also visit the Cornish Pasty Museum and attend other cultural events.

The Cornish-Mexican Cultural Society is a society that tries to advance awareness of the historical and modern links between Cornwall and Mexico’s “Little Cornwall”, the area of Pachuca and Real del Monte in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico.

The Pachuca Range is a mountain range in the Sierra Madre Oriental of central Mexico, in the state of Hidalgo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comarca Minera Geopark</span> Geopark in Hidalgo, Mexico

The Comarca Minera Geopark is located in the center-south of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It extends over nine municipalities: Atotonilco el Grande, Epazoyucan, Huasca de Ocampo, Mineral del Chico, Mineral de la Reforma, Mineral del Monte, Omitlán de Juárez, Pachuca de Soto and Singuilucan. These municipalities are articulated by a network of 31 geosites, elected because they express the geological history of the territory and highlight the relationship between mining and metallurgy, and the historical spaces and cultural development of the region. In addition, they are important for science and education and, mostly, have a significant landscape value.

References

  1. "International Migration Database". OECD. Retrieved 7 January 2019. Country of birth/nationality: United Kingdom, Variable: Stock of foreign population by nationality
  2. El cementerio británico de Real del Monte Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Suarez Chavez, Aida, State of Hidalgo, Government, 2012. (in Spanish)
  3. The Melbourne Review, Volume 9. S. Mullen. 1884. p. 462. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  4. Ibáñez, Yolanda Mariel de; Fernández, José Luis Soberanes (1979). El Tribunal de la Inquisición en México (siglo XVI) (in Spanish). Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. p. 52. Ya en la ciudad hizo Thompson amistad con Tomas Blake escocés, el primer británico que vino a Nueva España; tenía como 20 años de vivir aquí.
  5. 1 2 3 Gunn, Drewey Wayne (2014). "British Travelers in New Spain". American and British Writers in Mexico, 1556-1973. University of Texas Press. ISBN   9780292773110 . Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  6. Martínez Márquez, Pablo L. (1965). Guía Familiar de Baja California. 1700-1900. Editorial Baja California.
  7. Herrera Moreno, Ethel. "El Panteón de Dolores y sus inicios" (PDF). INAH. p. 78. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  8. "Los extranjeros en México" (PDF). INEGI. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. BBC - The Cornish in Mexico
  10. Bar-On, Tamir (7 May 2014). The World through Soccer: The Cultural Impact of a Global Sport. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 45. ISBN   9781442234741 . Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  11. Millward, David (14 November 2011). "World's first Cornish pasty museum opens in Mexico". The Daily Telegraph. UK.
  12. Rider, Nick (20 October 2015). "Cornish Mexico: How the pasty was transported to the Sierras". The Independent. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  13. "Población inmigrante residente en México según país de nacimiento". Observatorio de Migración Internacional. Observatorio de Migración Internacional. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  14. Penêda, Vera. "Mexico City: hordes of British expats are struggling to find work". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 August 2016.

Further reading