The Colonization Law of August 18, 1824 was a Mexican statute allowing foreigners to immigrate to the country.
99-608: Under Spanish rule, New Spain was populated almost solely with native peoples or Spanish settlers. Foreign immigration was forbidden for much of the country. Few settlers chose to journey to the economically stagnant northern frontier, leaving provinces like Spanish Texas and Alta California chronically underpopulated. Despite multiple efforts to increase the population along the frontier, by 1821 there were only 3,200 settlers in Alta California, and only 2,500 in Texas. In 1819, after
198-459: A Spanish city, sixteenth-century Puebla had Indians resident in the central core. Martin de Leon Martín De León (1765–1833) was a rancher and wealthy Mexican empresario in Texas who was descended from Spanish aristocracy. He was the patriarch of one of the prominent founding families of early Texas. De León and his wife Patricia de la Garza established De León's Colony , the only predominantly Mexican colony in Texas. They founded
297-609: A cattle ranch in the vicinity of San Patricio County, Texas . Their cattle brand, with a connected E and J (standing for Espíritu de Jesús ), became the first registered cattle brand in what was to become Texas. The brand had been modeled after one used by the Jesuits, and brought from Spain when the De León family emigrated. Martín officially registered it in Texas under the family name in 1807. De León's 1807 and 1809 petitions to act as an empresario for colonization in Texas were denied by
396-411: A certain level of autonomy. The viceroy was captain-general of those provinces that remained directly under his command. At the local level there were over two hundred districts, in both indigenous and Spanish areas, which were headed by either a corregidor (also known as an alcalde mayor ) or a cabildo (town council), both of which had judicial and administrative powers. In the late 18th century
495-526: A leading figure who helped shape and nurture the community. Their extended family colonized Texas, and included politicians whose deeds affected the course of history both in Texas and in Mexico. The couple had four sons: Fernando, Silvestre, Félix and Agapito. Fernando helped trade livestock for munitions to help Stephen F. Austin , and later became aide-de-camp to provisional Texas governor James W. Robinson . Silvestre fought beside his brother-in-law Plácido at
594-500: A localized network. Even where infrastructure was improved, transit on the Veracruz-Puebla main road had other obstacles, with wolves attacking mule trains, killing animals, and rendering some sacks of foodstuffs unsellable because they were smeared with blood. The north-south Acapulco route remained a mule track through mountainous terrain. Veracruz was the first Spanish settlement founded in what became New Spain, and it endured as
693-509: A number of families. One went to Stephen F. Austin , son of Moses Austin, and another to Martin de Leon . On August 18, 1824, the new Mexican government passed the General Colonization Law. This statute allowed foreigners to gain title to land that was at least 20 leagues from the border of another country or at least 10 leagues of the coast. Settlers would be exempt from taxes for ten years. Most individuals were restricted to
792-445: A priority for his administration. He appointed a government commission, headed by Juan Francisco Azcárate y Ledesma , to recommend a plan. The commission recommended following the precedent of the earlier Spanish law and allowing foreign settlers to help colonize Coahuila , Nuevo Santander , Baja California , Alta California, New Mexico , and Texas. The proposal suggested that Europeans and American citizens be recruited for most of
891-446: A steady stream of tax revenues by supplying the huge Mexican demand, so the crown limited zones of tobacco cultivation. It also established a small number of factories of finished products, and licensed distribution outlets ( estanquillos ). The crown also set up warehouses to store up to a year's worth of supplies, including paper for cigarettes, for the factories. With the establishment of the monopoly, crown revenues increased and there
990-601: A total of 11 square leagues of land (71.5 square miles (185 km)). Of them, 6 square leagues could be of quality for grazing animals, 1 square league could be irrigable land, and 4 square leagues could be non-irrigable. New towns would be given an additional 4 leagues of land for public use. Empresarios were granted more personal land. For every 100 families settled, the empresario could receive 5 sitios of grazing land and 5 labores of farmland. The law did not require settlers to be Mexican citizens although citizens were given preference in land grants, and it did not require that
1089-569: A unit of Tejano fighters at the Battle of Goliad . He was recruited by Stephen F. Austin for the Battle of Bexar. Benavides became known as the "Texas Paul Revere " for his 1836 journey from San Patricio to Goliad to Victoria, warning residents of the approaching Mexican army. Francisca married Vicente Dosal, of whom nothing is known. Martín De León died of cholera in 1833, a year of epidemics that swept North America along its waterways. His estate
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#17328519083361188-482: Is evidence that despite high prices and expanding rates of poverty, tobacco consumption rose while at the same time, general consumption fell. In 1787 during the Bourbon Reforms Veracruz became an intendancy , a new administrative unit. Founded in 1531 as a Spanish settlement, Puebla de los Angeles quickly rose to the status of Mexico's second-most important city. Its location on the main route between
1287-446: Is known. María de Jesús (María) married politician Rafael Manchola , who was elected to the state legislature in 1830. María del Refugio (Refugio) married Mexican freedom fighter José María Jesús Carbajal , who waged guerrilla warfare in Mexico against López de Santa Anna's political machine. Agustina married Plácido Benavides , who opposed Santa Anna's dictatorship, but believed that Texas should remain part of Mexico. Benavides led
1386-674: Is territory that attracted few Spanish settlers, with less dense indigenous populations and apparently lacking in mineral wealth. Huge deposits of gold in California were discovered immediately after it was incorporated into the U.S. following the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). The northern region of New Spain in the colonial era was considered marginal to Spanish interests compared to the most densely populated and lucrative areas of central Mexico. To shore up its claims in North America in
1485-522: The Amsterdam stock market , the first in history and whose origin is owed precisely to the need for funds to finance pirate expeditions, as later by the London market. The above is what some authors call the "historical process of the transfer of wealth from the south to the north." In the colonial period, basic patterns of regional development emerged and strengthened. European settlement and institutional life
1584-451: The Bourbon dynasty began phasing out the corregidores and introduced intendants , whose broad fiscal powers cut into the authority of the viceroys, governors and cabildos . Despite their late creation, these intendancies so affected the formation of regional identity that they became the basis for the nations of Central America and the first Mexican states after independence . As part of
1683-799: The Manila galleon . In the Philippines Manila near the South China Sea was the main port. The ports were fundamental for overseas trade, stretching a trade route from Asia, through the Manila galleon to the Spanish mainland. These were ships that made voyages from the Philippines to Mexico, whose goods were then transported overland from Acapulco to Veracruz and later reshipped from Veracruz to Cádiz in Spain. So then,
1782-562: The Metropolis (mother country) due to Spanish Roman Catholic Monarchy's frequent preoccupation with European wars (enormous amounts of this wealth were spent hiring mercenaries to fight the Protestant Reformation ), as well as the incessant decrease in overseas transportation caused by assaults from companies of British buccaneers , Dutch corsairs and pirates of various origin. These companies were initially financed by, at first, by
1881-595: The New World terminus of the transpacific trade with the Philippines via the Manila galleon . New Spain became a vital link between Spain's New World empire and its East Indies empire . From the beginning of the 19th century, the kingdom fell into crisis, aggravated by the 1808 Napoleonic invasion of Iberia and the forced abdication of the Bourbon monarch, Charles IV . This resulted in a political crisis in New Spain and much of
1980-590: The Philippines and Guam . Additional Asian colonies included " Spanish Formosa ," on the island of Taiwan . After the 1521 Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire , conqueror Hernán Cortés named the territory New Spain, and established the new capital, Mexico City, on the site of Tenochtitlan , the capital of the Mexica (Aztec) Empire . Central Mexico became the base of expeditions of exploration and conquest, expanding
2079-700: The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (1519–1521) to the collapse of Spanish rule in the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821). Beginning with the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521 by Hernán Cortés , Spanish rule was established, leading to the creation of governing bodies like the Council of the Indies and the Audiencia to maintain control. It involved the forced conversion of indigenous populations to Catholicism and
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#17328519083362178-512: The port of Veracruz . Alexander von Humboldt called this area, Mesa de Anahuac , which can be defined as the adjacent valleys of Puebla, Mexico, and Toluca, enclosed by high mountains, along with their connections to the Gulf Coast port of Veracruz and the Pacific port of Acapulco , where over half the population of New Spain lived. These valleys were linked trunk lines, or main routes, facilitating
2277-452: The 1530s sugar production was underway. New Spain's first viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza established an hacienda on lands taken from Orizaba. Indians resisted cultivating sugarcane themselves, preferring to tend their subsistence crops. As in the Caribbean, black slave labor became crucial to the development of sugar estates. During the period 1580–1640 when Spain and Portugal were ruled by
2376-468: The 1540s, the discovery of silver in Zacatecas attracted Spanish mining entrepreneurs and workers, to exploit the mines, as well as crown officials to ensure the crown received its share of revenue. Silver mining became integral not only to the development of New Spain, but also to the enrichment of the Spanish crown, which marked a transformation in the global economy . New Spain's port of Acapulco became
2475-557: The 1760s) Louisiana (including the western Mississippi River basin and the Missouri River basin); Nueva Extremadura (the modern states of Coahuila and Texas ); and Santa Fe de Nuevo México (parts of Texas and New Mexico ). The Viceroyalty was administered by a viceroy residing in Mexico City and appointed by the Spanish monarch , who had administrative oversight of all of these regions, although most matters were handled by
2574-409: The 1835 Siege of Béxar to drive Martín Perfecto de Cos out of Texas. The couple also had six daughters, who were overshadowed by the men they married. Candelaria married José Miguel Aldrete, who was 1835 state land commissioner of Coahuila y Tejas . Aldrete joined several Texas insurgent groups to resist President Antonio López de Santa Anna . Guadalupe married Desiderio García, of whom nothing
2673-456: The Governorate of Spanish Florida (Spanish: La Florida ) and the Governorate of Spanish Louisiana (Spanish: Luisiana ). The high courts, or audiencias , were established in major areas of Spanish settlement. In New Spain the high court was established in 1527, prior to the establishment of the viceroyalty. The First Audiencia was headed by Hernán Cortés 's rival Nuño de Guzmán , who used
2772-498: The Gulf Coast port of Veracruz , size and complexity of indigenous populations, and the presence or absence of mineral resources. Central and southern Mexico had dense indigenous populations, each with complex social, political, and economic organization, but no large-scale deposits of silver to draw Spanish settlers. By contrast, the northern area of Mexico was arid and mountainous, a region of nomadic and semi-nomadic indigenous populations, which do not easily support human settlement. In
2871-566: The Holy Office of the Inquisition , the merchants' guild ( consulado ), and home of the most elite families in the Kingdom of New Spain. Mexico City was the single most populous city, not just in New Spain, but for many years the entire Western Hemisphere, with a high concentration of mixed-race castas . Significant regional development grew along the main transportation route from the capital east to
2970-552: The Kingdom of New Spain with a viceroy appointed as the king's "deputy" or substitute. This was the first New World viceroyalty and one of only two that the Spanish Rmpire administered in the continent until the 18th-century Bourbon Reforms . At its greatest extent, the Spanish crown claimed on the mainland of the Americas much of North America south of Canada, that is: all of modern Mexico and Central America except Panama ; most of
3069-747: The Philippine Islands, the Mariana Islands , the Caroline Islands , parts of Taiwan , and parts of the Moluccas . Although asserting sovereignty over this vast realm, it did not effectively control large swaths. Other European powers, including England, France, and the Netherlands established colonies in territories Spain claimed. Much of what was called in the United States the "Spanish borderlands",
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3168-569: The Spanish Empire in 1808, which ended with the government of Viceroy José de Iturrigaray . Conspiracies of American-born Spaniards sought to take power, leading to the Mexican War of Independence , 1810–1821. At its conclusion in 1821, the viceroyalty was dissolved and the Mexican Empire was established. Former royalist military officer turned insurgent for independence Agustín de Iturbide would be crowned as emperor. The Kingdom of New Spain
3267-410: The Spanish government. After Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, colonization possibilities looked more favorable. The provisional Mexican government approved a contract on April 13, 1824 for De León to settle forty-one Mexican families on the lower Guadalupe and Lavaca rivers, in the vicinity of Coleto, Garcitas, Arenosa, and Zorillo (Placido) creeks. The settlement's original name
3366-507: The United States abandoned its claims to Texas, Spain implemented a new immigration policy. In January 1821, Spanish authorities gave Moses Austin , a former Spanish subject from Louisiana , a land grant and permission to bring families from Louisiana to Texas. Austin died before bringing any families. Several months later, at the urging of Mexican delegates, the Spanish Cortes granted permission for foreigners to live on public lands along
3465-523: The United States in the nineteenth century. Regional characteristics of colonial Mexico have been the focus of considerable study. For those based in the vice-regal capital of Mexico City, everywhere else were the "provinces." Even in the modern era, "Mexico" for many refers solely to Mexico City, with the pejorative view that anywhere outside the capital is a hopeless backwater. "Fuera de México, todo es Cuauhtitlán" ["outside of Mexico City, it's all Podunk"], that is, poor, marginal, and backward, in short,
3564-735: The United States west of the Mississippi River, plus the Floridas . The Spanish West Indies , settled prior to the conquest of the Aztec Empire, also came under New Spain's jurisdiction: Cuba, Hispaniola , Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands , Trinidad , and the Bay Islands . New Spain also claimed jurisdiction over the overseas territories of the Spanish East Indies in Asia and Oceania:
3663-656: The United States. Secretary of State Lucas Alamán , who wrote the 1830 law, stated, "Texas will be lost for this Republic if adequate measures to save it are not taken.... Where others send invading armies... [the Americans] send their colonists." In 1836, federal officials rescinded the provision allowing governors to preside over land commissions. Although most governors were honest, in Arizona and California some were land speculators who seized land illegally and gave it to their friends and relatives. The updated rules forbade anyone who
3762-449: The ample tithe income indicates, plus manufacturing woolen cloth for the domestic market. Merchants, manufacturers, and artisans were important to the city's economic fortunes, but its early prosperity was followed by stagnation and decline in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The foundation of the town of Puebla was a pragmatic social experiment to settle Spanish immigrants without encomiendas to pursue farming and industry. Puebla
3861-499: The application process. Empresarios often claimed land that was already inhabited by people who had not sought legal protection forcing the existing residents from their homes. Many of the traditional hunting grounds of the native tribes were considered public land and given to empresarios to settle foreigners. Many Americans immigrated to Mexico, where land was cheaper. By 1830, Texas had a population of 7,000 foreign-born residents, with only 3,000 Mexican nationals. The new population
3960-501: The blending of Spanish and indigenous cultures. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Spanish settlers founded major cities such as Mexico City, Puebla , and Guadalajara , turning New Spain into a vital part of the Spanish Empire. The discovery of silver in Zacatecas and Guanajuato significantly boosted the economy, leading to conflicts like the Chichimeca War . Missions and presidios were established in northern frontiers, aiding in
4059-576: The court to deprive Cortés of power and property. The crown dissolved the First Audiencia and established the Second Audiencia. The audiencias of New Spain were Santo Domingo (1511, effective 1526, predated the Viceroyalty); Mexico (1527, predated the Viceroyalty); Panama (1st one, 1538–1543); Guatemala (1543); Guadalajara (1548); Manila (1583). Audiencia districts further incorporated
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4158-465: The discovery of silver in the north, the Spanish sought to conquer or pacify those peoples in order to exploit the mines and develop enterprises to supply them. Nonetheless, much of northern New Spain had sparse indigenous population and attracted few Europeans. The Spanish crown and later the Republic of Mexico did not effectively exert sovereignty over the region, leaving it vulnerable to the expansionism of
4257-725: The eighteenth century as other powers encroached on its claims, the crown sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest , which explored and claimed the coast of British Columbia and Alaska. Religious missions and fortified presidios were established to shore up Spanish control on the ground. On the mainland, the administrative units included Las Californias , that is, the Baja California peninsula, still part of Mexico and divided into Baja California and Baja California Sur ; Alta California (modern Arizona , California , Nevada , Utah , western Colorado , and southern Wyoming ); (from
4356-524: The establishment of economic societies, were part of the efforts to enhance efficiency and revenue for the crown. The decline of New Spain culminated in the early 19th century with the Mexican War of Independence. Following Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla 's 1810 Cry of Dolores , the insurgent army waged an eleven-year war against Spanish rule. The eventual alliance between royalist military officer Agustín de Iturbide and insurgent leader Vicente Guerrero led to
4455-455: The even worse treatment given to the black slaves. In colonial Mexico, Encomenderos de Negros were specialized middlemen during the first half of the seventeenth century. While encomendero (alternatively, encomenderos de indios) generally refers to men granted the labor and tribute of a particular indigenous group in the immediate post-conquest era, encomenderos de negros were Portuguese slave dealers who were permitted to operate in Mexico for
4554-513: The expansion and control of territories that later became part of the southwestern United States. The 18th century saw the implementation of the Bourbon Reforms , which aimed to modernize and strengthen the colonial administration and economy. These reforms included the creation of intendancies , increased military presence, and the centralization of royal authority. The expulsion of the Jesuits and
4653-546: The first registered brand in what was to become Texas. The extended De León family included politicians and freedom fighters who helped alter the course of history both in Texas and in Mexico. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 6542, placed at Evergreen Cemetery in 1936, acknowledges Don Martin de León's contribution to Texas. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 6543, placed at Church and Bridge Streets in 1936, denotes Don Martin de León's home in Victoria. Martín De León
4752-481: The frontiers was necessary. The sparse settlements were vulnerable to attacks from native tribes and for encroachment by foreign powers. The most vulnerable was Texas; early in 1821 the town of Goliad had been captured by American filibusters as part of the Long Expedition . By 1823, approximately 3,000 Americans from the United States were living illegally in Texas. The roughly 200 Mexican troops garrisoned in
4851-596: The frontiers. Mexican liberals argued in favor of allowing foreigners to immigrate. This would satisfy multiple objectives, including boosting economic growth, increasing the size of the military, and bringing new capital and skills into the country to replace those lost during the expulsion of many Spaniards. Proponents of immigration pointed to the United States' population growth, attributed largely to immigration. Opponents cautioned that there may be difficulties in attracting settlers and later assimilating them to Mexican mores. Emperor Agustin I of Mexico made colonization
4950-400: The greatest number in the mainland in 1786: 1764 La Habana (later subdivided); 1766 Nueva Orleans; 1784 Puerto Rico; 1786 México, Veracruz, Puebla de Los Ángeles, Guadalajara, Guanajuato, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Durango, Oaxaca, Guatemala, San Salvador, Comayagua, León, Santiago de Cuba, Puerto Príncipe; 1789 Mérida. The history of mainland New Spain spans three hundred years from
5049-469: The indigenous and Spaniards, ending the corrupt practices of local crown officials, encouraging trade and mining, and establishing a system of territorial division similar to the model created by the government of France, already adopted in Spain. The establishment of intendancies was strongly resisted by the viceroyalties and general captaincies similar to the opposition in the Iberian Peninsula when
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#17328519083365148-453: The lack of state involvement in the development of physical infrastructure was to have lasting effects, constraining development until the late nineteenth century. Despite the road improvements, transit was still difficult, particularly for heavy military equipment. Although the crown had ambitious plans for both the Toluca and Veracruz portions of the king's highway, improvements were limited to
5247-488: The local governmental bodies, which ruled the various regions of the viceroyalty. First among these were the audiencias , which were primarily superior tribunals, but which also had administrative and legislative functions. Each of these was responsible to the Viceroy of New Spain in administrative matters (though not in judicial ones), but they also answered directly to the Council of the Indies . The Captaincy Generals were
5346-412: The mines in the north of Mexico had a workforce of black slave labor and indigenous wage labor, not draft labor. Indigenous who were drawn to the mining areas were from different regions of the center of Mexico, with a few from the north itself. With such diversity they did not have a common ethnic identity or language and rapidly assimilated to Hispanic culture. Although mining was difficult and dangerous,
5445-418: The movement of vital goods and people to get to key areas. Even in the relatively richly endowed region of Mexico, the difficulty of transit of people and goods in the absence of rivers and level terrain remained a major challenge to the economy of New Spain. This challenge persisted during the post-independence years until the late nineteenth-century construction of railroads. In the colonial era and up until
5544-461: The multiethnic Indian populations in the Veracruz area and for that reason Spaniards imported black slaves as either an alternative to indigenous labor or its complete replacement in the event of a repetition of the Caribbean die-off. A few Spaniards acquired prime agricultural lands left vacant by the indigenous demographic disaster. Portions of the province could support sugar cultivation and as early as
5643-476: The northern frontier of the colony. The lack of a formal policy had not stopped many immigrants – a number of people had left the United States to settle in the Mexican northern provinces. Local officials were not eager to expel potentially productive settlers who could help improve the colonies, and the squatters were generally left alone. Shortly thereafter, Mexico gained independence from Spain. The new country
5742-505: The older, smaller divisions known as governorates ( gobernaciones , roughly equivalent to provinces ), which had been originally established by conquistador -governors known as adelantados . Provinces which were under military threat were grouped into captaincies general , such as the Captaincies General of the Philippines (established 1574) and Guatemala (established in 1609), which were joint military and political commands with
5841-501: The only viable Gulf Coast port, the gateway for Spain to New Spain. The difficult topography around the port affected local development and New Spain as a whole. Going from the port to the central plateau entailed a daunting 2000 meter climb from the narrow tropical coastal plain in just over a hundred kilometers. The narrow, slippery road in the mountain mists was treacherous for mule trains, and in some cases mules were hoisted by ropes. Many tumbled with their cargo to their deaths. Given
5940-580: The overseas territories, with not just sovereignty over the realm but also property rights. All power over the state came from the monarch. The crown had sweeping powers over the Catholic Church in its overseas territories, and via the Patronato real , a grant by the papacy to the crown to oversee the Church in all aspects save doctrine. The Viceroyalty of New Spain was created by royal decree on October 12, 1535, in
6039-417: The periphery. The picture is far more complex, however; while the capital is enormously important as the center of institutional, economic, and social power, the provinces played a significant role in colonial Mexico. Regions (provinces) developed and thrived to the extent that they became sites of economic production and tied into networks of trade. "Spanish society in the Indies was import-export oriented at
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#17328519083366138-477: The population there, a far greater proportion than any other area of New Spain, and greater than even nearby Jalapa. In 1765 the crown created a monopoly on tobacco, which directly affected agriculture and manufacturing in the Veracruz region. Tobacco was a valuable, high-demand product. Men, women, and even children smoked, something commented on by foreign travelers and depicted in eighteenth-century casta paintings. The crown calculated that tobacco could produce
6237-554: The port of Acapulco and European goods via the flota (convoy) from the Spanish port of Cádiz . Spaniards also settled in the temperate area of Orizaba , east of the Citlaltepetl volcano. Orizaba varied considerably in elevation from 800 metres (2,600 ft) to 5,700 metres (18,700 ft) (the summit of the Citlaltepetl volcano), but "most of the inhabited part is temperate." Some Spaniards lived in semitropical Córdoba , which
6336-452: The port of Veracruz and the capital had some short sections paved and bridges constructed. The construction was done despite protests from some indigenous settlements when the infrastructure improvements, which sometimes included rerouting the road through communal lands. The Spanish crown finally decided that road improvement was in the interests of the state for military purposes, as well as for fostering commerce, agriculture, and industry, but
6435-443: The province were unable to effectively patrol the borders to keep out additional squatters, nor were they powerful enough to evict the squatters already there. Proponents of immigration reform argued that legalizing these settlers would help to turn their loyalty towards Mexico. Some believed that their own countrymen were not suitable colonists, and most agreed that the system of missions and presidios did not work well for settling
6534-412: The railroads were built in key areas in post-independence in the late nineteenth century, mule trains were the main mode of transporting goods. Pack mules were used because unpaved roads, mountainous terrain, and seasonal flooding could not generally accommodate carts. In the late eighteenth century, the crown devoted some resources to study and remedy the poor roads. The Camino Real (royal road) between
6633-511: The reform was adopted. Royal audiencias and ecclesiastical hierarchs opposed the reform for its intervention in economic issues, for its centralist politics, and the forced ceding of many of their functions to the intendants. In New Spain, these units generally corresponded to the regions or provinces that had developed earlier in the center, South, and North. Many of the intendancy boundaries became Mexican state boundaries after independence. The intendancies were created between 1764 and 1789, with
6732-458: The same monarch and Portuguese slave traders had access to Spanish markets, African slaves were imported in large numbers to New Spain and many of them remained in the region of Veracruz. But even when that connection was broken and prices rose, black slaves remained an important component of Córdoba's labor sector even after 1700. Rural estates in Córdoba depended on African slave labor, who were 20% of
6831-494: The same name. It became the seat of the richest diocese in New Spain in its first century, with the seat of the first diocese, formerly in Tlaxcala, moved there in 1543. Bishop Juan de Palafox asserted that the income from the diocese of Puebla was twice that of the archbishopic of Mexico, due to the tithe income derived from agriculture. In its first hundred years, Puebla was prosperous from wheat farming and other agriculture, as
6930-453: The second being Peru in 1542, following the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire . Both New Spain and Peru had dense indigenous populations at conquest as a source of labor and material wealth in the form of vast silver deposits, discovered and exploited beginning in the mid-1500s. New Spain developed strong regional divisions based on local climate, topography, distance from the capital and
7029-558: The second-level administrative divisions and these were relatively autonomous from the viceroyalty. The viceroy was captain-general of those provinces that remained directly under his command. Santo Domingo (1535); Philippines (1565); Puerto Rico (1580); Cuba (1608); Guatemala (1609); Yucatán (1617); Commandancy General of the Provincias Internas (1776) (analogous to a dependent captaincy general). Two governorates , third-level administrative divisions, were established,
7128-424: The settlers convert to Catholicism. However, federal laws prohibited all religions except Catholicism. Land would be granted from available public land. Spanish custom had allowed residents continuing use of their land as long as there was no challenge to ownership. The new law allowed residents, including Christianized natives, to claim title to any land they inhabited, cultivated, or used for grazing. Each state
7227-401: The seventeenth century, but silver mining in Mexico out-performed all other Spanish overseas territories in revenues for the royal coffers. The fast red dye cochineal was an important export in areas such as central Mexico and Oaxaca in terms of revenues to the crown and stimulation of the internal market of New Spain. Cacao and indigo were also important exports for the New Spain, but
7326-507: The ships that set sail from Veracruz were generally loaded with merchandise from the East Indies originating from the commercial centers of the Philippines , plus the precious metals and natural resources of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. During the 16th century, Spain held the equivalent of US$ 1.5 trillion (1990 terms) in gold and silver received from New Spain. However, these resources did not translate into development for
7425-470: The slave trade. In Peru, the other discovery that perpetuated the system of forced labor, the mit'a , was the enormously rich single silver mine discovered at Potosí, but in New Spain, labor recruitment differed significantly. With the exception of silver mines worked in the Aztec period at Taxco , southwest of Tenochtitlan, the Mexico's mining region was outside the area of dense indigenous settlement. Labor for
7524-515: The states and provinces, although for California they recommended sending Mexican convicts and recruiting Chinese settlers. Iturbide's primary concern was stabilizing the new government, and the Imperial Colonization Law was not signed until February 18, 1823. Iturbide was overthrown a month later, and the law was annulled shortly thereafter. During its brief existence, a few land grants were awarded to empresarios who agreed to settle
7623-425: The successful campaign for independence. In 1821, New Spain officially became the independent nation of Mexico, ending three centuries of Spanish colonial rule. During the era of the conquest, in order to pay off the debts incurred by the conquistadors and their companies, the new Spanish governors awarded their men grants of native tribute and labor, known as encomiendas . In New Spain these grants were modeled after
7722-442: The sweeping eighteenth-century administrative and economic changes known as the Bourbon Reforms , the Spanish crown created new administrative units called intendancies , to strengthen central control over the viceroyalty. Some measures aimed to break the power of local elites in order to improve the economy of the empire. Reforms included the improvement of public participation in communal affairs, distribution of undeveloped lands to
7821-410: The territory claimed by the Spanish Empire. With the political and economic importance of the conquest, the crown asserted direct control over the densely populated realm. The crown established New Spain as a viceroyalty in 1535, appointing as viceroy Antonio de Mendoza , an aristocrat loyal to the monarch rather than the conqueror Cortés. New Spain was the first of the viceroyalties that Spain created,
7920-564: The town of Villa de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Victoria Nombre de Jesús (now known as Victoria ) on the Guadalupe River . The name referred both to the river and to Mexico's president Guadalupe Victoria . De León was a merchant who originally supplied basic necessities to mine workers at Real de San Nicolás. In 1790 he joined the Fieles de Burgos regiment, where he was promoted to captain. The De León E–J (Espíritu de Jesús) cattle brand became
8019-446: The transport constraints, only high-value, low-bulk goods continued to be shipped in the transatlantic trade, which stimulated local production of foodstuffs, rough textiles, and other products for a mass market. Although New Spain produced considerable sugar and wheat, these were consumed exclusively in the colony even though there was demand elsewhere. Philadelphia, not New Spain, supplied Cuba with wheat. The Caribbean port of Veracruz
8118-539: The tribute and corvee labor that the Mexica rulers had demanded from native communities. This system came to signify the oppression and exploitation of natives, although its originators may not have set out with such intent. In short order the upper echelons of patrons and priests in the society lived off the work of the lower classes. Due to some horrifying instances of abuse against the indigenous peoples, Bishop Bartolomé de las Casas suggested bringing black slaves to replace them. Fray Bartolomé later repented when he saw
8217-571: The very base and in every aspect," and the development of many regional economies was typically centered on support of that export sector. Mexico City was the center of the Central region, and the hub of New Spain. The development of Mexico City itself was vitally important to the development of New Spain as a whole. It was the seat of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the Archdiocese of the Catholic Church,
8316-462: The viceregal capital and the port of Veracruz, in a fertile basin with a dense indigenous population, largely not held in encomienda , made Puebla a destination for later arriving Spaniards. If there had been significant mineral wealth in Puebla, it could have been even more prominent a center for New Spain, but its first century established its importance. In 1786 it became the capital of an intendancy of
8415-405: The wages were good, which is what drew the indigenous labor. The Viceroyalty of New Spain was the principal source of income for Spain in the eighteenth century, with the revival of mining under the Bourbon Reforms . Important mining centers like Zacatecas , Guanajuato , San Luis Potosí and Hidalgo had been established in the sixteenth century and suffered decline for a variety of reasons in
8514-526: Was Villa de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Victoria Nombre de Jesús , for both the river and Mexico's president Guadalupe Victoria . It is now known as Victoria. This was the only predominantly Mexican colony in Texas, where the eastern areas were settled primarily by immigrants from the United States. The Mexico legislature passed the General Colonization Law on August 18, and enacted on March 25, 1825, allowing foreigners to gain title to land that
8613-646: Was born in 1765 in Burgos, Tamaulipas , Mexico to José Bernardo de León y García and María Antonia Galván y de las Rivas from Burgos , Spain who were wealthy and well-connected aristocratic immigrants. He first worked as a supplier of basic necessities to Real de San Nicolás mine workers. He joined the Fieles de Burgos regiment in 1790, being promoted to captain. De León and his wife Patricia de la Garza began ranching in Cruillas following their marriage. In 1799, De León moved northward and established Rancho Chiltipiquin,
8712-653: Was built in the Mesoamerican heartland of the Aztec Empire in Central Mexico. The South (Oaxaca, Michoacán, Yucatán, and Central America) was a region of dense indigenous settlement of Mesoamerica, but without exploitable resources of interest to Europeans, the area attracted few Europeans, while the indigenous presence remained strong. The North was outside the area of complex indigenous populations, inhabited primarily by nomadic and hostile northern indigenous groups. With
8811-505: Was established on 18 August 1521, following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire , as a New World kingdom ruled by the Crown of Castile . The initial funds for exploration came from Queen Isabella . Although New Spain was a dependency of Castile, it (Mexico) was a kingdom and not a colony, subject to the presiding monarch on the Iberian Peninsula . The monarch had sweeping power in
8910-459: Was founded as a villa in 1618, to serve as a Spanish base against runaway slave ( cimarrón ) predations on mule trains traveling the route from the port to the capital. Some cimarrón settlements sought autonomy, such as one led by Gaspar Yanga , with whom the crown concluded a treaty leading to the recognition of a largely black town, San Lorenzo de los Negros de Cerralvo, later called the municipality of Yanga. European diseases immediately affected
9009-611: Was not a federal official from issuing the patent. New Spain New Spain , officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( Spanish : Virreinato de Nueva España [birejˈnato ðe ˈnweβa esˈpaɲa] ; Nahuatl : Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl ), originally the Kingdom of New Spain , was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire , established by Habsburg Spain . It
9108-508: Was not fully assimilated. Many immigrants settled in the eastern part of Texas and were isolated from the established Mexican towns. The attitudes of the immigrants culminated in the Fredonian Rebellion 's failed secession attempt in 1827, which alarmed Mexican officials. The Law of April 6, 1830 rescinded all empresario contracts that had not been completed, and it prohibited Americans from settling in any Mexican territory adjacent to
9207-468: Was not within 20 leagues of the border of another country or within 10 leagues of the coast. In 1795, Martín De León married Patricia de la Garza . Her financial inheritance contributed to the foundation of De León's Colony. Upon her husband's death, de la Garza assumed the role of head of the De León family. She kept the family together during exile in Louisiana . After their return to Victoria, she became
9306-506: Was one of several domains established during the Spanish conquest of the Americas , and had its capital in Mexico City. Its jurisdiction comprised a large area of the southern and western portions of North America, mainly what became Mexico and the Southwestern United States, but also California , Florida and Louisiana ; Central America, the Caribbean, and northern parts of South America; several Pacific archipelagos, including
9405-457: Was privileged in a number of ways, starting with its status as a Spanish settlement not founded on existing indigenous city-state, but with a significant indigenous population. It was located in a fertile basin on a temperate plateau in the nexus of the key trade triangle of Veracruz–Mexico City–Antequera (Oaxaca). Although there were no encomiendas in Puebla itself, encomenderos with nearby labor grants settled in Puebla. And despite its foundation as
9504-443: Was small, with its hot, pestilential climate not a draw for permanent settlers: its population never topped 10,000. Many Spanish merchants preferred living in the pleasant highland town of Jalapa (1,500 m). For a brief period (1722–76) the town of Jalapa became even more important than Veracruz, after it was granted the right to hold the royal trade fair for New Spain, serving as the entre for goods from Asia via Manila galleon through
9603-409: Was sparsely populated. Approximately 6.2 million people lived in an area that spanned from what is now the United States state of Oregon to what is now Guatemala . Almost 10% of the population – primarily young men – had been killed during the Mexican War of Independence , leaving the young nation with a shortage of laborers. Many Mexicans believed that a new method for increasing population along
9702-422: Was to have administrators to survey land, confirm land titles, and settle disputes. Missionaries were tasked with helping the native tribes to understand the process. Governors were to organize and to preside over land commissions to review and to finalize the land titles. The process for gaining an official land title was expensive and time-consuming, and many residents did not have their land surveyed or complete
9801-455: Was used through rather the vice royalties rather than contact with European countries due to piracy, and smuggling. The indigo industry in particular also helped to temporarily unite communities throughout the Kingdom of Guatemala due to the smuggling. There were two major ports in New Spain, Veracruz the viceroyalty's principal port on the Atlantic, and Acapulco on the Pacific, terminus of
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