page_title: Mexico–United Kingdom relations
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Mexico–United Kingdom relations / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International; Kgalema Motlanthe, President of South Africa; Han Seung-Soo, Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea; Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico; captured during the session 'Reviving Economic Growth' at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
context_page_description: Mexico–United Kingdom relations refers to the bilateral relations between Mexico and the United Kingdom. Both nations are members of the G-20 major economies, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations.
context_section_description: After Mexico declared its independence in 1810, Britain was the first European great power to recognize Mexican sovereignty. Soon afterwards, Emperor Agustín de Iturbide sent a diplomatic envoy to London to establish diplomatic communications between the two nations. In 1837, both nations signed a treaty to abolish the slave trade.  The British established a network of merchant houses in the major cities.  However, according to Hilarie J. Heath, the results were bleak:
  Trade was stagnant, imports did not pay, contraband drove prices down, debts private and public went unpaid, merchants suffered all manner of injustices and operated at the mercy of weak and corruptible governments, commercial houses skirted bankruptcy.
  In November 1838, Mexico was involved in a brief war with France known as the Pastry War. Britain supported Mexico and intervened to find a diplomatic solution to end the war. In March 1839, Mexico and France ended their war when Mexico acquiesced to French demands.
  In 1861, Mexican President Benito Juarez suspended Mexico's interest payments to its creditors in France, Spain and Britain. This act angered the three nations and in October 1861 the Convention of London was signed by the three nations to send joint navy ships to Mexico as a show of force to demand repayment by the Mexican government. In December 1861 the triple-alliance took the port of Veracruz and nearby towns. After a few months, both the Spanish and British government became evidently aware that Emperor Napoleon III of France was planning to colonize Mexico in order to expand its empire and take advantage of the fact that the United States was involved in its civil war and was not able to implement the Monroe Doctrine. In early 1862, Britain and Spain pulled its forces from Mexico. This intervention would later be known as the Second French intervention in Mexico. In 1864, France installed a puppet emperor in Mexico thus creating the Second Mexican Empire which lasted until 1867 with the execution of Emperor Maximilian I.
  After 1880, the British turned their attention in Mexico primarily to investments in railways and mines, sending both money and engineers and skilled mechanics. The British invested £7.4 million in railways during the decade of the 1880s, jumping to £53.4 million in 1910s. The decade-total of new investment in mining went from £1.3 million in 1880s to £11.6 million in 1910s. Investments in land and other properties rose from near zero in 1880s to £19.7 million in 1910s. The totals reached £135 million, almost as much as the United States. In 1900, there were 2800 British citizens living in Mexico, a relatively small number in contrast to the 15,000 Americans, 16,000 Spaniards, 4000 French, and 2,600 Germans. The British were famed for their sophisticated clubs, and their elaborate sports program - English football became a highly popular sport across Mexico; while cricket found no interest amongst the Mexican populace.
  During World War I (1914-1918), Mexico was neutral while involved in its own civil war (1910-1920). In 1917 British intelligence intercepted the Zimmermann Telegram, and gave it to the United States government. Zimmermann was the German Foreign Minister. He tried to induce Mexico to join the war against the United States, hoping to divert American attention away from Europe. Mexico ignored the offer, realizing its weak military would be quickly overwhelmed by the U.S.
  In March 1938, the government of President Lázaro Cárdenas expropriated all oil reserves, facilities, and foreign oil companies in Mexico. The British government, alongside the United States government, demanded compensation from the expropriation which the Mexican government refused to pay. As a result, diplomatic relations between the two nations were severed. Although relations were restored in 1942, the British government held out until 1947 in regards to demanding payment, and was duly recompensated for the expropriation.
  In May 1942, Mexico declared war on the Axis Powers during World War II, thus officially entering on the side of the A
caption: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Mexican President Felipe Calderón in Davos, 2009
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