The North American nation of Mexico appears in North and South exactly once, stated as having been mentioned by Frederick as a place where he had travelled. Mexico, during the time the book was being written, had just emerged from a series of devastating political wars and rebellions. In the 1920's, Spain attempted to reconquer Mexico, resulting in a few skirmishes between 1821 and 1825. In 1838, France attempted to invade and subjugate Mexico in revenge for extortion and looting against Frenchmen in the country by Mexican nationals. This conflict was known as the Pastry War. There was also a conflict between Mexico and Texas beginning in 1824, wherein American settlers continuously moved into the region, resulting in tension between the state and Mexico, until the 1835-1836 Texas Revolution. additionally, in 1846, the United States invaded Mexico, resulting in the Mexican-American War. This war caused the loss of much of Mexico's northern territory to the United States, and also caused extreme destruction of Mexico proper, as the US Army invaded all the way to Mexico City and captured it in order to win the war.

All of this is background to Frederick's mention of Mexico as a place where he had led "a wild life." Mexico during the time Frederick would have been there would have been under a constant state of war and conflict. His seeming ambivilence towards this would seem to suggest that he may consider this to be normal, something along the lines of "some countries are bad countries." On the other hand, his story was brought up in the context of cheering up Mr. Hale, and so a light attitude would have been appropriate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bandera_Mexicana_-_panoramio_-_cz354x_(3).jpg

1. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Mexican-American War". Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/event/Mexican-American-War. Accessed 20 October 2021

2. Gaskell, Elisabeth. North and South. London, Chapman and Hall, 1854.

3. Wallenfeldt, Jeff. "Texas Revolution". Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Texas-Revolution. Accessed 20 October 2021.

4. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Pastry War". Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/event/Pastry-War. Accessed 20 October 2021.