Tampico.85Coordinates: 22°13′N 97°51′W / 22.22, -97.85, is the main city in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, and is the Mexican Gulf's main economic powerhouse. The city lies in a rich petroleum-producing region; it is a chief commercial center of northeastern Mexico and one of the most important seaports of the country. Although oil is the largest export of the port of Tampico, it also is a major exporter of silver, copper, lumber, wool, hemp, and other agricultural products. Containerised cargo, however, is mainly dealt with at the nearby ocean port of Altamira. The present city was founded with the granting of its formal charter in 1824, though there had already been a series of settlements in the area from very early on. The region had several Huastec settlements, among them the important site at Las Flores, which flourished between 1000 and 1250. The Franciscan priest Andrés de Olmos established a mission in the area in 1532. At his bequest, the Spanish settlement called San Luis de Tampico was established in 1554. However, its population was relocated in 1684 to the south of the Pánuco River due to pirate attacks, among them a particularly destructive incursion by Laurens de Graff.