Nueva España and Mexico-A Brief 500 Years

I wish I had taken the time to for a quick history lesson on Nueva España and how it evolved into today’s Mexico, before I began my project. There were so many events that affected individuals’ lives and the decisions they made, in fact, too many to list here.  Throughout the first three centuries of the colonization, people from Spain and many other parts of the world left their homelands for more and better opportunities at every societal level.  The stories that had made their way back to Europe and other parts of the world, told of riches and opportunities abound; the gold, the silver and a life of luxury just waiting to be had.  In many cases, this prompted individuals to leave their families behind with the hope of returning one day with the wealth they had acquired; however for many, this just did not come to fruition. Others had just wanted a better chance at a better life so many left their impoverished lives behind in the hope of just finding a better opportunity.  Yet others like the Jews and the Moors were forced out of Spain and other parts of Europe during the Spanish Inquisition because of their religious views.  Whatever the reason, opportunity knocked and many answered.

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Below is a brief timeline of some of the major events that drove many to explore new opportunities in the New World.  As time passed, some of these events also drove much of the internal migration within New Spain as the Spanish sought to expand their territory and to put their stamp on everything in the Americas over the next three centuries.​

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• 1519-1521 - Hernan Cortes and his Military Conquer the Aztecs

  • This was beginning of the Spanish incursion into the Americas as Cortes allied his troops with some of the local indigenous tribes to form an alliance against Moctezuma. This, coupled with superior weaponry and the unfortunate aid of European disease, allowed him and his troops to topple the Aztecs who had ruled much of that area for two centuries.

• 1526-1572         Spanish Conquer the Incas

  • The Spanish, lead by Francisco Pizarro, crossed into the Pacific and began a decades-long battle with the Inca as they sought the same riches that had been acquired in Tenochtitlán.  After years of battle and tremendous loss of life, the Spanish eventually overtook the Inca civilization​ in western South America.  This created the geographic platform for expansion into this part of the Americas. While this area is not a part of what is Mexico today, it is important to know that both men and supplies moved back and forth between these areas as they worked to secure trade and mineral rights.

• 1524                    Establishment of Presidios in northern Nueva España

  • As the Spanish encroached on the Americas, the establishment of presidios, essentially colonial military outposts, began as the Spanish Crown sought ways to protect it's people and it's new claims from the indigenous people and any other potential enemies.  It was especially important that Spanish people were protected so that the homeland Spaniards would continue to flow into Nuevo España and solidify it as a stronghold for the Crown. Over the next three centuries, the presidio would continue to evolve with over 200 presidios being established during the colonization period, including Presidio del Norte in what is now Ojinaga.

• 1525                    First Catholic Diocese established in Tlaxcala 

  • First of several to be established in the 16th century that became the platforms for the catholic church to establish itself in the New World and spread religion to the indigenous inhabitants.  This was of the highest priority as Crown sought to convert the indigenous people to Catholicism and to a way of life conforming to Spanish standards.  

• 1540                    Discovery of Silver in Zacatecas

  • This discovery was the impetus for mineral discoveries as a key driver of individual wealth and as a source of income for the Spanish treasury.​  The Spanish came to realize that silver was abundant all over the Americas and the mining became an important part of the expansion into various areas of the Americas including the northern territories of New Spain. Word of the "riches" being had in the New World traveled back to Europe and prompted many to seek their own fortunes. In essence, mining became a key driver of migration as people descended onto these areas in search of wealth and opportunity. 

• 1545-1548           Disease

  • While there were many outbreaks of disease over the last several centuries, one time period from 1545-1548 wiped out millions of indigenous people, resulting in a near population collapse. It was termed a "pestilence" however the true nature of the disease remains unknown, although smallpox was high on the list.  ​There were several other outbreaks of disease over the next centuries that decimated indigenous populations, mostly a result of the Europeans that brought them from the Old World.​​

• 1562                     Establishment of Nueva Viscáya as a Spanish Province

  • The establishment of this new province was really the beginning of settlements in the northern part of Nueva España.  The province consisted of what is today Chihuahua and parts of Coahuila, Sonora and Sinaloa and the city of Durango was made the capital.  The addition was prompted somewhat by the discovery of silver in Zacatecas two decades earlier.  Spain needed more people in this area to help secure it's claims on the territory and with that, came the opportunity for additional discoveries of gold and silver.  In 1632, the capital city was moved to Hidalgo del Parral where it remained for roughly the next 100 years before it was relocated to its current capital, Cíudad Chihuahua (City of Chihuahua).​​

• 1631                     Discovery of Silver in Hidalgo del Parral

  • This was the first of many discoveries that took place in this particular part of New Spain.  Even though there had been silver discoveries in this area before, they failed to get a significant number of people into the area. The Parral discovery was different in that it took place in an area of the northern frontier that was considered to be a harsh environment and uninhabitable, to a certain extent.  Necessities such as food and water were much harder to come by in these more desolate areas of the northern frontier and therefore, made the living conditions much more difficult. This discovery however, still drew people into the area and helped establish it as an early hub in the northern frontier region, or what is now southern Chihuahua. By 1635, some records indicate there were between 4,000-5,000 people in Parral with about one-fifth of that number being of Spanish descent.  Subsequent discoveries over the next three centuries would become key drivers of migration and settlement in various areas to the north including silver in Santa Eulalia in the 1700's as well as in Shafter and Terlingua, both in Texas, in the 1800's.​

• 1680                    Pueblo Revolt in Santa Fe

  • Highly critical moment for migration as several indigenous Indian tribes revolted against the Spanish in Santa Fe (NM) and killed approximately 400 Spaniards including women and children.  The Spanish had already been in in this area for almost 100 years, however, societal conflict, centered mostly around inhumane treatment by the Spaniards, drove the indigenous tribes to rebel .  Those people that survived the massacre traveled south to an area what would eventually become the Juárez/El Paso area.  It should be noted that while some attempted to go back a few years later, many chose not to and migrated south and east into northern Nueva Viscáya which is how and where a number of your ancestors may have arrived to this area.​​

• 1810-1821          Mexican War of Independence

  • ​This was an on-going war between a then-turbulent Spanish crown, that had long been losing control over it's territories, and those newer generations of citizens many of whom felt no real connection to the Spanish homeland.  The eventual result of this conflict was an emancipation from Spanish rule; essentially, the birth of Mexico.

• 1846                     Mexican-American War

  • ​War between Mexico and the United States that was initially over the annexation of Texas by the U.S. and eventually resulted in the Treaty of Hidalgo that gave much of the Southwest lands all the way up to California, to the U.S. with a defined set of borders between the two countries that exist today.  

• 1910-1920          Mexican Revolution

  • This war began as a revolt against the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz.  People from around the country rebelled against his oppressive government policies including land distribution which had a particularly devastating impact in the areas bordering Texas.  It was a complicated war that pitted separate ideologies and resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of citizens.  The result was a new brand of government and a Mexico free of dictatorship, much as it is today.​​

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