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connected it by railway to the state’s port city of Manzanillo. During the early

20th century, the turmoil caused by the Mexican Revolution wreaked havoc on

the state of Colima, as battles raged back and forth across its fertile land.

Slowly, though, the land recovered, and today its mining and shipping

industries are prosperous. Tourists are also attracted to Colima’s beaches and

still-active volcano.

The state is a leading producer of lemons, as well as bananas, coconuts, corn,

rice, and mangos. Factories are also moving into the state, producing beverages

and clothing, and new discoveries of iron ore have made Colima one of Mexico’s

largest iron-producing states. The port of Manzanillo has become a hub for trade

with the United States, Central and South America, and countries across the

Pacific Ocean.

Michoacán

Heading south along the Pacific Coast from Colima brings you to the state of

Michoacán. When the Aztecs ruled Mexico, the Purépeche people lived around the

shores of Lake Pátzcuaro, supporting themselves on the bountiful fish that lived

in the lake. As a result, the Aztecs referred to these lands as “Michoacán”—which

meant “country of fishermen.”

The Purépeche people spoke a language that was different from any other

spoken by the native people of Mexico, and they built terraced farm plots that

were also unique in the land. Today archeologists believe these people probably

migrated to Mexico from the South American country of Peru.

The Purépeche lived in what is now Michoacán from about 800

. until the

arrival of the Spanish in their lands in 1522. European germs did their part in

decreasing the Purépeche population, but today the remnants of this culture

The States of Mexico