History of Monterrey
Gradually, Nuevo León was populated with families of nomadic herders of Portuguese origin who fought and displaced the native indigenous groups in the region.
They were generally called Chichimecas to distinguish them from the larger and more powerful cultural groups of Mesoamerica: the Mayan, Olmec, Zapotec, etc.
Specialists have differentiated several linguistic nuclei between the tribes that inhabited the region but have failed to find a uniform approach, placing them in the family of the Athabascans, the Hokan or Macro-Yuma, subgroup Coahuilteco-Karankawa.
[3] They lived in caves and river ravines where they left traces of their passage in paintings, engravings, and movable items which might have been amulets used in fertility rites or initiation of puberty,[4] as well as mortars, hollowed stones and spearheads of all kinds ranging from those dating back millennia like those found in the municipality of Ramones with more than 11,000 thousand years of antiquity, to those used by the tribes of the Comanches in the 19th century.
[5] Between 1960 and 1967, a group of archaeologists from the University of Texas at Austin headed by Jeremiah F. Epstein, undertook an extensive research program in the entire area.
[8] Born in the Azores in 1547, Captain Alberto del Canto was commissioned by Martin Lopez de Ibarra to make settlements in name of New Vizcaya.
As mayor of Tampico (modern state of Tamaulipas next to the Gulf of Mexico), he was entrusted with the "pacification" of the Huasteca and participated in several campaigns of exploration.
[10] Gaspar de Sosa, who had been Caraval's lieutenant in Almaden, left the region and went to New Mexico, which earned him banishment to China where he died.
Diego de Montemayor, who had been appointed lieutenant by Carvajal returned after eight years of absence and established the Metropolitan City of Our Lady of Monterrey where Saint Lucia and the failed Villa of San Luis King of France had been.
The first few people-about 34, including children -had to go through many hardships, eating burdock offered them by the springs of water, raising small livestock and farming.
After the floods of 1611, the people again began to build the city, this time in a slightly higher place (Plaza Zaragoza), where general Zavala maintained for more than 10 years a flour store, seeds and other supplies to distribute to the families.
He also continued pacification campaigns and established a military detachment under the command of Hernando Huarte de la Concha.
This small kingdom already had a convent by 1602 under the patronage of San Andrés and after the floods of 1611 was moved to its new site in 1626 where it had a cemetery, cell tower and bells.
Another element that helped to pacify and establish the towns in the New Kingdom of León was the alliance of the Spanish with the Tlaxcalans made by Hernán Cortés.
Among the personalities of rank were, of course, governors and lieutenants, but along with them, the families of the founders, whose power increased if they also had large resources or mercedes-large tracts of land, Indians, cattle, servants, slaves, etc.
In the seventeenth century, among the most outstanding personalities was Bernabé de las Casas, owner of an immense estate that began in the northeast of Monterrey and reached the present limits of Colima.
The division of his land among his heirs gave rise to the haciendas of San Francisco de las Canas, the Pueblito, Chipinque and Our Lady of Guide (or Eguía), which in the nineteenth century would become the villages of Mina, Hidalgo, El Carmen and Abasolo, respectively.
They gathered in the main square, which was named the Plaza de Armas, because from there they set out to battle and congregated twice a year, on 25 July and 25 November.
The second bishop, Rafael José Verger requested that the headquarters be in Monterrey and not in Saltillo or Múzquiz as Teodoro de Croix, the commander of the internal provinces of that era, wanted.
Velanger built his residence -the current bishopric- in the Loma de la Chepevera and wanted the cathedral to be in that area as well.
When the news that Miguel Hidalgo had risen in arms against the Spanish power came to Monterrey, the governor of Nuevo León, Santa Maria, sent the commander Juan Ignacio Ramón south to contain the insurgents.
On 3 July 1821 Gaspar López, governor of Nuevo León, proclaimed adherence to the Plan of Iguala and the Independence of Moneterrey.
In 1902, Reyes returned to Monterrey to fulfill his mandate as governor of the state, and with the support of Diaz, began campaigning for re-election.
On 2 April 1903, a date when the nation celebrated the triumph of Porfirio Díaz, the supporters of Reyes gathered in Zaragoza square to hear the governor's speech.
On 23 October 1913, the carrancistas forces under the command of General Pablo González, Jesus Carranza and Antonio I. Villarreal came to Monterrey.
In the smelter they tried to approach the Government palace and arrived at the southern end of the Santa Catarina (San Luisito) river.
The metropolitan area extended its perimeters, invading the municipalities of Guadalupe, Garza García, Santa Catarina, San Nicolás, General Escobedo, Apodaca, etc.
In the Esplanade of the Heroes, which is part of the Macroplaza, the remains of some of the governors of Nuevo León are conserved, including Juan Zuazua, Antonio I. Villarreal, Pablo González, J. Silvestre Arramberri y Bernardo Reyes.
