Miguel de Cozumel was officially recognized by the Mexican government.
In 1861, American President Abraham Lincoln ordered his Secretary of State, William Henry Seward (who was later to purchase the Russian Territory of Alaska for the US in 1867), to meet with the Mexican charge d�affaires Matias Romero to explore the possibility of purchasing the island of Cozumel for the purpose of relocating freed American slaves offshore. The idea was summarily dismissed by Mexican President Benito Juarez, but in 1862 Lincoln did manage to establish a short-lived colony of ex-slaves on �le � Vache off the coast of Haiti.
Late 20th century
In 1956, Mexican film director Rene Cardona shot the movie Un Mundo Nuevo under the waters of Cozumel at what is now known as Cardona Reef. In 1957, this film was translated into English and broadcast over American television as A New World. Cardona's movie is often confused with Jacques Yves Cousteau's 1956 documentary Monde du Silence, but Cousteau's film was shot entirely in the Eastern Hemisphere, and it was Cardona's film that brought the crystal clear waters of Cozumel to the attention of American divers. Cousteau did not visit the island for the first time until the late 1960s, years after the island's dive industry was well established.
Although the original airport was a World War II relic and was able to handle jet aircraft and international flights, a much larger airport was built in the late 1970s. This resulted in much greater tourism to Cozumel.
Scuba diving is still one of Cozumel's primary attractions, mainly due to the healthy coral reef marine communities. These coral reefs are protected from the open ocean by the island's natural geography. In 1996, the government of Mexico also established the Cozumel Reefs National Marine Park, forbidding anyone from touching or removing any marine life within the park boundaries. Despite the importance of healthy reefs to Cozumel's tourist trade,
