Cornwall and Mexico – 200 years of mining heritage
2024 marks the 200th anniversary of Cornish mineworkers first travelling to Real del Monte, Mexico, in 1824, to restart silver mining following the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821).
In addition to bringing their much-sought mining skills and technology to the country, the Cornish also made a significant cultural impact including the introduction of the pasty. Today the paste, as it is known, is a major industry in the State of Hidalgo with tens of thousands being made and consumed daily. Descendants of the Cornish also still live in the State and the distinctive links with Cornwall have been reaffirmed in recent years with the creation of the Twinning Association and Mining and Pasty Festival in Redruth, and the annual International Paste Festival in Real del Monte.
Dr Sharron P. Schwartz, of Redruth, is the acknowledged authority in the field of Cornish mining migration and has been marking the anniversary through the creation and presentation of specialist videos and talks intended to highlight the history of the links and how these are celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic.
As part of this Sharron was recently invited to speak to the British Society in the City of Mexico with the British Embassy being the venue for the talk, held on 7th October. Three special celebratory pull-up banners were created for the trip by Sharron with Ainsley Cocks, of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site team, and these drew considerable interest on the day. Presented in Spanish, the banners chart the origins of the British Real del Monte Mining Company, how the Cornish colony became established within this mining town and the nearby city of Pachuca, and how the links are cherished and kept alive today.
The banners were also presented at talks at the 16th International Paste Festival in Real del Monte, and finally at the UNESCO Comarca Minera Geopark event held in Pachuca on 17th October. UNESCO Global Geoparks are similar in some respects to World Heritage Sites, in that these encompass heritage of international significance, in this case geological heritage, but an area's natural, cultural and intangible heritage are also important aspects of the designation.
The Comarca Minera Geopark expresses the rich and distinctive heritage of Pachuca and Real del Monte within the extensive geological landscape of Hidalgo and at the end of Sharron's talk the banners were donated to the Geopark team for display. The team were very grateful to accept the banners and these will be on show at various visitor sites across the Geopark to help celebrate the 200th anniversary.
To find out more about the remarkable cultural links between Cornwall and Mexico, please see:
https://www.cornishmining.org.uk/about/news/mining-a-shared-heritage-cornwall-and-mexico-1824-2024
and Dr Schwartz's own ‘Cousin Jack’s World’ website and Facebook page:
https://www.cousinjacksworld.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/333267543141496
To find out more about UNESCO Geoparks, please see: https://www.unesco.org/en/iggp/geoparks/about
