Matamoros, Tamaulipas in the context of Maquiladora

Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; it is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federated entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities.

It is located in northeast Mexico and is bordered by the states of Nuevo León to the west, San Luis Potosí to the southwest, and Veracruz to the southeast. To the north, it has a 370 km (230 mi) stretch of the U.S.–Mexico border with the state of Texas, and to the east it is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to the capital city, Ciudad Victoria, the state's largest cities include Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, Tampico, and Mante.

Brownsville (/ˈbraʊnzvɪl/ BROWNZ-vil) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Cameron County, located on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The city covers 145.2 sq mi (376.066 km), and had a population of 186,738 at the 2020 census. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it is the 136th-most populous city in the United States and 18th-most populous in Texas. It is part of the Matamoros–Brownsville metropolitan area. The city is known for its year-round subtropical climate, deep-water seaport, and Hispanic culture.

The city was founded in 1848 by American entrepreneur Charles Stillman after he developed a successful river-boat company nearby. It was named for Fort Brown, itself named after Major Jacob Brown, who fought and died while serving as a U.S. Army soldier during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). As a county seat, the city and county governments are major employers. Other primary employers fall within the service, trade, and manufacturing industries, including a growing aerospace and space transportation sector. It operates international trading through the Port of Brownsville. The city experienced a population increase in the early 1900s, when steel production flourished.

The Consultation, also known as the Texian Government, served as the provisional government of Mexican Texas from October 1835 to March 1836 during the Texas Revolution. Tensions rose in Texas during early 1835 as throughout Mexico federalists began to oppose the increasingly centralist policies of the government. In the summer, Texians elected delegates to a political convention to be held in Gonzales in mid-October. Weeks before the convention and war began, the Texian Militia took up arms against Mexican soldiers at the Battle of Gonzales. The convention was postponed until November 1 after many of the delegates joined the newly organized volunteer Texian Army to initiate a siege of the Mexican garrison at San Antonio de Bexar. On November 3, a quorum was reached in San Antonio. Within days, the delegates passed a resolution to define why Texians were fighting. They expressed allegiance to the deposed Constitution of 1824 and maintained their right to form the General Council. In the next weeks, the council authorized the creation of a new regular army to be commanded by Sam Houston. As Houston worked to establish an army independent from the existing volunteer army, the council repeatedly interfered in military matters.

After authorizing an expedition to take Matamoros, Mexico, the council named several men, simultaneously, to organize and lead the assault, angry at the effect the expedition was having on existing Texian garrisons, Smith dissolved the council. Alleging that Smith did not have the authority to disband them, council members impeached him and lieutenant governor James W. Robinson was named acting governor.

Benjamin Godfrey (December 4, 1794 – August 13, 1862) was an American merchant and philanthropist from Massachusetts who is known for his work in the Illinois region. Running away to Ireland at a young age, Godfrey worked on ships in his early life, eventually commanding his own. This vessel was wrecked off the coast of Mexico, but Godfrey found wealth in a trading house in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. However, he was robbed and returned to the U.S. penniless.

He moved to Alton, Illinois, where he co-founded a successful complex of groceries in the region with Winthrop Sargent Gilman. Godfrey became involved with the Presbytery and established Monticello Seminary for women, now known as Lewis and Clark Community College. He is the namesake of Godfrey, Illinois, where the college is located, and the Benjamin Godfrey Memorial Chapel found there.

The Autonomous University of Tamaulipas (in Spanish: Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, UAT) is a Mexican public university based in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. Throughout the larger cities of Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Tampico and smaller cities of Ciudad Mante and Valle Hermoso are UAT campuses that offer undergraduate studies.

Each of the various university faculties offer graduate studies leading to the Master's or Doctorate Degree. The Faculty of Medicine of Tampico offers the professional degree of Physician & Surgeon (Medico-Cirujano) as well as post-graduate specialty certificates in: pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics & gynecology, family practice, and intensive care medicine. The university's "Center of Excellence" (Centro de Excelencia) sponsors specialized professional certificates and studies for the state of Tamaulipas.

Matamoros is a municipality located in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Its municipal seat is the city of Matamoros.

Matamoros–Brownsville, also known as Brownsville–Matamoros, or simply as the Borderplex, is one of the six transborder agglomerations along the Mexico–United States border. It is part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley region. The city of Matamoros is situated in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, on the south bank of the Rio Grande, while the city of Brownsville is located in the U.S. state of Texas, directly north across the bank of the Rio Grande. The Matamoros–Brownsville area is connected by four international bridges. In addition, this transnational conurbation area has a population of 1,136,995, making it the fourth-largest metropolitan area on the Mexico-U.S. border.

The area of Matamoros–Brownsville lies among the top-10 fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. The Brownsville–Harlingen and the Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville metropolitan areas are included in the official countdown of this transnational conurbation.

The Municipality of Nuevo Laredo is located in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Its municipal seat is Nuevo Laredo. The municipality contains more than 60 localities which the most important ones are Nuevo Laredo, El Campanario y Oradel, and Álvarez, the last two being suburbs of the city of Nuevo Laredo. By population, the municipality is the third largest in the state of Tamaulipas (behind Reynosa and Matamoros respectively). The Nuevo Laredo municipality is the northernmost in Tamaulipas, lying at the extreme northwestern tip of its narrow strip of land along the Río Grande. The city of Nuevo Laredo contains approximately 97.5% of the total population of the municipality.