For centuries, Mexico has led the world in silver production. In 1546, during Mexico’s colonial period, silver was first discovered in Zacatecas, but many more mines would be opened up in the next two centuries. According to Michael M. Swann, “Migrants in the Mexican North,” the “silver centers attracted large, mixed populations from great distances.

In the aftermath of the Mexican revolution, Mexico’s Departamento de la Estadística Nacional administered a census that would be unique among Mexico’s census counts administered between 1895 and 2005. In this new census, the Mexican Government decided to ask Mexicans about their perception of their own racial heritage. In the 1921 census, residents of the Mexican Republic were asked if they fell into one of the following categories:

The Baja California Peninsula is located in the northwestern portion of the Mexican Republic. This body of land extends approximately 775 miles (1,250 kilometers) from Tijuana in the north to Cabo San Lucas in the south and is separated from the rest of Mexico by the Gulf of California (also called the sea of Cortés).