墨西哥讓人驚歎的10件事(下)

5. It's Home to the World's Smallest Volcano

5．世界最小的火山

So, apparently Mexico has an aptitude for leading the world in the 'unlikely smallest things' stakes. After the record beating barely-a-presidency of Lascurain, the country has since thrown up yet another tiny marvel. Welcome to Cuexcomate, the smallest volcano in recorded history.

這樣看來，墨西哥經常引領“世界不可思議之小”。繼Lascurain打破總統任期之後，該國已經拋出了另一個小奇蹟。歡迎來到Cuexcomate，有史以來最小的火山。

Now, pay attention, kids, because just looking at images of Cuexcomate is about as exciting as watching your toenails grow. It's the facts behind it that make it fascinating. Cuexcomate formed way, way back in 1664, an offshoot of the bigger Popocatepetl volcano. Somehow, it began to grow… and then just stopped. Like a kid who doesn't get any bigger after their first birthday, Cuexcomate topped out at a mere 43 feet. That's tiny. You could stack 7 averagely-tall dudes on one another's shoulders, and the top guy would be able to peer into the crater.

孩子們，現在請注意，因爲看Cuexcomate的圖片不比觀察腳趾甲生長更有趣。Cuexcomate背後的事實才是它吸引人的原因。早在1664年，Cuexcomate就形成了，是更大的波卡特佩特火山火山的延伸。不知怎的，它開始長大，然後就停止了。像個一歲生日後就不再長大的孩子，Cuexcomate只有43英尺高，很小。只要讓7個正常高度的小夥子站在彼此的肩上，頂部的那個人就能看到火山口裏面。

So small is the long-dormant volcano that no-one thought twice about building around it. If you want to visit Cuexcomate, you have to drive out into a suburb of Puebla, work your way around the Volkswagen factory, and locate it among people's yards.

這座長期休眠的火山太小了，人們在周圍建房子時都毫無顧慮。如果想拜訪Cuexcomate，你要開車到Puebla郊區，繞過大衆汽車的工廠，然後在人們的院子之間尋找它。

4. Net Mexican Migration to the US is Actually Negative

4．墨西哥向美國的淨移民其實是負的

Mexican immigration has become a political flashpoint in the US. While we don't want to get into the politics of it here, it's worth noting that things may not be quite so explosive as they seem. While plenty of Mexican still travel to the US looking for a better life, plenty more come to the US, look around, then decide to go back to Mexico. We know this because, according to PEW Research, net Mexican immigration to the US over the last decade has fallen to negative levels.

墨西哥移民已成爲美國政治的熱點話題。我們不打算討論那裏的政治，不過值得注意的是，事情可能並不像看上去那麼嚴重。很多墨西哥人前往美國尋找更好的生活，但也有很多抵達美國後四處一看，就決定回到墨西哥。我們知道這些是因爲跟據皮尤研究，墨西哥到美國的淨移民在過去十年已降至負數。

This means there are actually more Mexicans permanently leaving the US than there are arriving. Prior to the recession, it was the other way. The period 1995-2000 saw a net migration of 2.27 million Mexicans to the US. The period 2009-2014, on the other hand, saw a net migration of minus 140,000.

這意味着，比起到達美國的墨西哥人，永遠離開的更多。與經濟衰退之前的情況正相反。1995 – 2000年墨西哥向美國的淨移民有227萬。2009 – 2014年的淨移民則減少了1.4萬。

The factors for this are manifold. Better border policing, the Great Recession, and increasing job opportunities in Mexico have all played a part, as has the desire to reunite with family members still in Mexico.

原因是多方面的，比如更好的邊境治安、大蕭條、墨西哥的就業機會增加，還有與家人團聚仍然在墨西哥團聚的願望。

3. Mexico Once Went to War With France Over Pastries

3．曾與法國爲了糕點開戰

In the annals of warfare, there can't be many dumber reasons for attacking another state than the fate of a pastry shop. Yet that's exactly what transpired between France and Mexico in 1838. After a rioting mob ransacked a Mexico City bakery owned by a Frenchman named Remontel, he sued the nation of Mexico for compensation. When Mexico laughed him out, he returned to France and demanded an audience with King Louis-Philippe. Amazingly, he got it. Even more amazingly, Louis-Philippe agreed to help him.

戰爭年代，不可能有比糕點店的命運更愚蠢的宣戰理由了。然而這就是法國和墨西哥之間1838年發生的事。騷亂的暴徒洗劫了一家墨西哥城的麪包店，店主Remontel是法國人，起訴了墨西哥要求國家賠償。被墨西哥取笑後，他回到法國，要求會見法王路易·菲利普。令人驚訝的是，他成功了。更令人驚訝的是，法王同意幫他。

Paris wrote to Mexico and demanded payment of 600,000 pesos, some 600 times the value of Remontel's shop (to be fair, some of it was for unpaid Mexican debts incurred a decade earlier). When Mexico balked, the French navy invaded. They bombarded San Juan de Ulua, captured Veracruz, and blockaded the entire country. It was only thanks to a British-brokered agreement that the war ended in early 1839. Remontel got his money. All in all, the Pastry War dragged on for four months, killed over 100 people, and injured nearly 200 more.

巴黎寫信給墨西哥索要60萬比索的賠償，比Remontel的店貴了600倍（其實這裏面有一些是墨西哥十年前欠的債）。墨西哥猶豫不決時，法國海軍入侵了。他們轟炸San Juan de Ulua，俘虜Veracruz，封鎖了整個國家。幸虧有英國人調解，戰爭纔在1839年初結束。Remontel得到了他的錢。總之，糕點戰爭持續了四個月，超過100人死亡，近200人受傷。

2. They Briefly Had the Most-Deluded Emperor in History

2．史上最“瞎”皇帝

Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph has the distinct honor of being just Mexico's second and final Emperor. A member of Europe's royal Habsburg line (the guys who ruled the Austro-Hungarian Empire), Maximilian was just drifting along when, in 1863, he received a letter telling him the people of Mexico had voted to make him their king. Rather than treat it as we would an email from a Nigerian prince, Maximilian hightailed it to Mexico and declared himself Emperor. Bad move.

費迪南德·馬克西米利安·約瑟夫擁有一項獨特的榮譽，即墨西哥的第二個也是最後一個皇帝。作爲歐洲哈普斯堡皇室成員（奧匈帝國統治者），馬克西米利安正無所事事時，1863年，他收到了一封信，說墨西哥人投票讓他當國王。不像我們忽略什麼尼日利亞王子發來的電子郵件，馬克西米利安立馬奔赴墨西哥即位。糟糕的舉動。

The letter had been issued by Napoleon III of France, who was conspiring with conservative Mexicans to place a loyal French puppet on the throne. Unknown to Maximilian, they'd chosen him as their useful idiot. When Maximilian crowned himself emperor, it triggered a civil war in Mexico that lasted three years. Apparently, Maximilian didn't realize this, and thought he was a beloved, paternal figure who'd finally found his true calling. When the US intervened to push France's pro-Maximilian troops out, the Emperor even refused to leave, saying the Mexican peasants needed him.

這封信來自法國拿破崙三世，他密謀讓保守的墨西哥人擁立一個法國傀儡皇帝。馬克西米利安不知道他們想讓他當個有用的白癡。馬克西米利安的即位引發了墨西哥持續三年的內戰。顯然馬克西米利安並沒有意識到這一點，反倒認爲自己是受人愛戴的國父，真是當皇帝的料。當美國介入驅逐法國的馬克西米利安軍隊時，他甚至拒絕離開，說墨西哥農民需要他。

Those same peasants executed him on a hillside outside Queretaro in 1867. The deluded reign of Mexico's last Emperor was over.

也正是這些農民，1867年將他在克雷塔羅州外的山坡上處決。自欺欺人的墨西哥末代皇帝的統治就此結束。

r Capital City is Sinking

1．首都在下沉

At 2,240 meters above sea level, Mexico City is one of the highest capital cities on Earth. Only seven other capitals (out of nearly 200) sit at a higher altitude. Pretty neat, huh? Well, wait till you get a load of this next part. If things keep going the way they are, Mexico City may not hold its coveted 8th position much longer. This is for the simple reason that the capital is sinking at an incredible rate.

墨西哥城海拔2240米，是地球上海拔最高的首都之一。200個首都中，只有7個更高。很不錯對吧？別急，接着看。如果事情繼續如此發展，墨西哥城第8的寶座可能很快就坐不穩了。原因很簡單，就是首都正以驚人的速度下沉。

Yeah, sinking. Every year, this vast megacity, home to over 21 million people, loses roughly one meter (3 feet) in altitude. In the last 60 years, the entire city has dropped 10 meters closer to sea level. That might not sound like much, so let's put it this way. The 7th highest capital city in the world is Sana'a in Yemen. It stands at 2,250 meters above sea level, ten meters higher than Mexico City. Over the course of six decades, the entire Mexican capital sank so low that it passed Sana'a, dropping from 7th to 8th place in the ranking of capitals by altitude.

沒錯，下沉。這巨型城市是超過2100萬人的家園，卻每年失去約1米海拔高度。在過去的60年裏，整座城市離海平面近了10米。聽起來可能不算太多，那就這麼說吧：世界第7高的首都是也門的薩那，海拔2250米，比墨西哥城高10米。在過去的60年裏，整個墨西哥首都經過薩那，從第7下沉到了第8。

The reason for this is simple: water. Mexico City's residents draw their water from beneath the capital, draining the water table and causing it to subside. As the city's population keeps growing, it will sink faster and faster, until eventually dropping out of the top 10 highest capitals altogether. While that's still a way off yet, (Nairobi, the current #10, is nearly 450 meters lower than Mexico City), the simple fact it could happen is mind-blowing.

原因很簡單：水。墨西哥城的居民從首都地下取水，導致水位消退。隨着城市人口的持續增長，它會下沉得越來越快，直到完全退出十大最高的首都之列。儘管目前這還比較遙遠，（內羅畢是現在的第10，比墨西哥城低近450米），但這一簡單事實可能發生還是令人興奮。