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Mexico Travel :: The Colonial States

State of Zacatecas

Archeologists believe that the state of Zacatecas was on the border between the Chich-imecs and the more advanced civilizations to the south. A tribe known as the Zacatecos occupied well-developed urban areas at La Florida, Alta Vista and La Quemada. The latter was constructed within a hilltop fortress, perhaps as a front line against Chichimec invasion. Alta Vista was the center of a mining region, whose products were sent to Teotihuacan to be used as ceremonial objects. The western border of the state was occupied by a less advanced tribe called the Caxcanes. In 1530, the first Spaniards entered Zacatecas under the orders of Beltran de Guzman. Miguel de Ibarra's expedition reached Zacatecas in 1541 and encountered fierce opposition from the Caxcanes. This battle became so intense that it threatened Guadalajara, and the army was called in finally to defeat the Indians. In 1548, huge deposits of silver and gold were found near the town of Nuestra Senora de los Remedios de Zacatecas, today's state capital, and a horde of prospectors and adventurers descended on the state. Within a few years this region was producing a third of all Mexican silver. As the metal flowed out in wagon trains, settlers, tax collectors, priests, building materials and luxury items flowed in.

By 1700, Zacatecas was the home of churches, palaces, mansions, luxurious convents and ambitious public monuments. The city also became the center for the evangelization of the north. In 1707, the Franciscans founded the Colegio Apostolico de Propaganda Fide in Guadalupe, ten kilometers (six miles) out of town. This was one of the three most important missionary training institutions in Mexico and its influence changed the face of the north. During the fight for independence from Spain, Zacatecans gave important early help to the cause, and Miguel Hidalgo's army captured the city in 1810 shortly after his victory in Guanajuato. The troubles of the 19th century led to a drop in Zacate-can silver production, but this picked up again under Diaz' pro-business dictatorship. In June 1914, Venustiano Carranza, Villa's commanding officer, ordered him to attack Zacatecas, which was occupied by President Huerta's federal troops. Villa refused, Carranza fired him and Villa attacked the city to spite his former boss. After two days of fighting, the federales retreated. Villa had won a major victory but had also opened a danger crack in the coalition against Huerta. In the late 1920s, Zacatecas was one of the a of the Cristero rebellion against the anti-Catholic policies of President Calles. Silve longer as plentiful or as valuable-although the mines are still worked-but the ci retains the charms of a showplace of the colonial era.

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