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THIS OBJECT IS PART OF THE PROJECT 'A HISTORY OF CORNWALL IN 100 OBJECTS'.

POLDARK MINE. Immediately after the Mexican War of Independence in 1824, Cornish miners were recruited to reopen the famous silver and gold mines of Real del Monte. Emigrants married locals so that today men with surnames like Skewes often speak only Spanish but are proud of their Cornish roots. By 1874 there were 500 mines in Mexico with the Cornish focused on Pachuca and Real del Monte. Cornish engine houses survive and the district is renowned for its pasties.

Cornish miners introduced Mexico's national game, football, to the country and established Mexico's first team, Pachuca. The first games were played on the patio of Mina Delores at Real del Monte. The medal is from the first international football game in Mexico in 1902. It was won by J.M. Rule, a miner from Camborne. The Pachuca football team were 1904-5 champions and known as the Tuzos (moles). Today the club has one of the world's leading football universities.