The place was disputed by several countries for many years, until the nation finally lost it
Mexico is a country that over the years has lost territory due to many reasons, mainly due to disputes between nations. And it is not only the territory that today is the south of the United States that was once part of the nation, but there are other corners that also have a history of being snatched by foreigners.
Such is the case of Clipperton, a paradisiacal island that is located about 1,200 kilometers from the port of Acapulco, which is, no more and no less, one of the most famous tourist areas of Mexico and that receives millions of tourists every year, both international and national.
Clipperton is not exactly a large island, but it does have a beautiful white sand beach, spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and up to 9 square kilometers of extension. This small piece of land in the middle of the ocean has been the protagonist of a lot of stories, from the one that narrates its discovery to how it ceased to be part of Mexico.
The discovery of Clipperton and the first disputes
The first record of a human being sighting Clipperton dates from the year 1520, just one year before the conquest of Mexico and the establishment of a Spanish colony in the national territory was consolidated. The discoverer of this mysterious island was the well-known Spanish Fernando de Magallanes. However, the explorer did not set foot on the island’s land, so he never took possession of it and the country to which the place belonged remained unclear.
This remained so for almost a couple of centuries, until in 1701, an English pirate named John Clipperton (hence the name of the island) touched the land and installed a base of operations there, where for several years he hid, fed legends (such as the one that assured that there were pirate treasures hidden in the sand) and attacked Spanish ships that passed by.
By 1711, the fate of the island finally found a direction, as a pair of French sailors arrived to claim the territory and name it part of France. Of course, the time that John Clipperton spent on the island was not taken into account due to his pirate condition.
How Mexico lost the territory of Clipperton
The French domain of the island lasted for some years, until in 1821, Mexico achieved its independence from Spain and the first constitution was promulgated, which stipulated very specifically that Clipperton belonged to Mexico.
It remained so until 1857, when a new constitution reiterated that the place was property of the nation; however, France did not recognize the document and, since then, a dispute began between the two nations about which of the two was the country to which Clipperton belonged.
During those years of dispute there were many important events on the island, from the arrival of an American company that sought to exploit a valuable mineral abundant in the area, to the arrival of communities that began to inhabit Clipperton.
In fact, one of the most tragic stories that are told of the island assures that a man went crazy, proclaimed himself king and began to sow terror among the inhabitants, until he was annihilated by the women of the town, who were the most affected.
Today the island is owned by France, after negotiations between that nation and Mexico, which resulted in a verdict that was given in 1931 by the king of Italy Victor Manuel III.
Source: Infobae
