Guerrero
Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 31 states that compose the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 85 municipalities. The state has a population of about 3.5 million people. It is located in southwest Mexico and is bordered by the states of Michoacán to the north and west, the State of Mexico and Morelos to the north, Puebla to the northeast and Oaxaca to the east. In addition to the capital city, Chilpancingo and the largest city Acapulco, other cities in Guerrero include Petatlán, Ciudad Altamirano, Taxco, Iguala, Ixtapa, and Zihuatanejo. Today, it is home to a number of indigenous communities, including the Nahuas, Mixtecs, Tlapanecs, Amuzgos, and formerly Cuitlatecs. It is also home to communities of Afro-Mexicans in the Costa Chica region.
The state was named after Vicente Guerrero, one of the most prominent leaders in the Mexican War of Independence and the second President of Mexico. It is the only Mexican state named after a president. The modern entity did not exist until 1849, when it was carved out of territories from the states of Mexico, Puebla, and Michoacán.
Geographically, the state is mountainous and rugged with flat areas limited to small mesas and the Pacific coastline. This coastline has been important economically for the area, first as the port of Acapulco in colonial and post-Independence era and today for the tourist destinations of Acapulco, Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa. Tourism is the single most important economic factor of the state and Acapulco's tourism is important to the nation's economy as a whole. Agriculture and mining are also important to the state's economy, with production of crops like bananas, coffee, rice, corn, and sugarcane, as well as mined copper, silver, and gold. However, other sources of employment are scarce in the state, which has caused its ranking as number one in the emigration of workers to the United States.
History
Prehistoric and Pre-Columbian periods
The first humans in the state's territory were nomadic hunter-gatherers who left evidence of their existence in various caves starting about 20,000 years ago. Until about 8,000 years ago, climatic conditions better favored human habitation than those today; however, sedentary human habitation happened around this time in the mountainous areas with more moisture, and better soil for agriculture. After that, settlements appeared near the coast because of fishing. At these sites, evidence of weaving, ceramics, basketry and other crafts has been found. Around this time, a grain called teocintle, or the forerunner to corn, became the staple of the diet.There is debate as to whether the earliest civilizations here were Olmecs, who migrated to this region or native peoples who were heavily influenced by the Olmecs, especially in the Balsas River area. Olmec influences can be seen in cave paintings such as those found in Juxtlahuaca and Cacahuaziziqui as well as stone tools and jade jewelry from the time period.
Recent evidence indicates that ancient Guerrero cultures may have influenced the early development of the Olmecs.
Eventually, the peoples of the Mexcala River area developed their own distinctive culture, called Mezcala or Mexcala. It is characterized by its own sculpture and ceramics, distinguished by its simplicity. Olmec influence remained with this culture, especially evident in the grouping of villages, construction of ceremonial centers and a government dominated by priests. Later, the culture assimilated aspects of the Teotihuacan model, which included the Mesoamerican ballgame.
Later migrations to the area brought ethnicities such as the Purépecha, Mixtecs, Maya and Zapotecs who left traces on the local cultures as they established commercial centers around the seventh century. In the 8th century, Toltec influence was felt as they traveled the many trade routes through here in search of tropical bird plumage and amate paper. From the 12th century to the 15th, the various peoples of the state were influence by the Chichimecas, culminating in Aztec domination by the 15th century.
In the 11th century, new migrations entered the area from the north, which included the Nahuas, who occupied what is now the center of the state, and the Purépecha who took over the west. The Nahuas established themselves in Zacatula, Atoyac de Álvarez and Tlacotepec, later conquering the areas occupied by the and Matlatzincas.
By the 15th century, the territory of the modern state of Guerrero was inhabited by a number of peoples, none of whom had major cities or population centers. The most important of these peoples were the Purépecha, Cuitlatecs, Ocuiltecs and Matlatzincas in the Tierra Caliente, the Chontales, Mazatecos and Tlahuicas in the Sierra del Norte, the Coixcas and Tepoztecos in the Central Valleys, the Tlapanecos and Mixtecs in the La Montaña, the Jopis, Mixtecos and Amuzgos on the Costa Chica and Tolimecas, Chumbias, Pantecas and Cuitlatecas on the Costa Grande. Most of these lived in smaller dominions with moderate social stratification. One distinctive feature of the peoples of this region was the use of cotton garments.
The Aztecs began making incursions in the Guerrero area as early as 1414 under Chimalpopoca as part of the conquest of the Toluca Valley. Incursions into the Tierra Caliente came around 1433 under Itzcoatl who attacked the Cuitlatecos settled between the Teloloapan and Cocula Rivers. By 1440, the Aztec Empire controlled the north of the state, or the La Montaña area. Attempts to take the Costa Chica area began in 1452 against the Yopis, which failed. Various battles would be fought between 1452 and 1511 before most of the rest of the state became Aztec tributary provinces. The modern state of Guerrero comprised seven Aztec provinces.
Colonial period
During the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, the last Aztec emperor, Cuauhtémoc, came from Ixcateopan de Cuauhtémoc. After the fall of Tenochtitlan, there was little resistance by the peoples of the Guerrero area to the Spanish and a number of them, such as the Amuzgos, actively sided with the Europeans. In 1521, Rodrigo de Castañeda entered the Taxco area, while Gonzalo de Sandoval marched on the Chontal region, the Sierra del Norte, the Iguala valley and later the Costa Chica. Juan Rodriguz de Villafuerte took the Costa Grande area.After the Spanish Conquest, the territory was part of the audencia or "court of royal law for indigenous peoples" called México, which initially consisted of the lands of the former Aztec Empire, which was then diminished somewhat when it became a province of New Spain. The Guerrero area was attractive to the Spanish mostly for its coast. The first Spanish Pacific port was at Zihuatanejo, used for trade, fishing and pearls. Another important area for the Spanish was Taxco for its minerals. The lands were divided into 76 encomiendas given to the conquistadors to exploit and "civilize" the mines, farmlands, forest and native peoples. Evangelization efforts were undertaken by the Augustinians in the Central Valleys, La Montaña and Tierra Caliente regions while the Franciscans took the northern areas, the Costa Grande and Acapulco.
Much of the population decline occurred in the first half of the 16th century when diseases brought by the Europeans, as well as brutal exploitation, killed many natives. This was particularly true in the Costa Chica region, which would lead to the importation of African slaves to the area. During this time indigenous political bodies called "pueblos" or "Indian Republics" arose, which were local entities that represented the Indians of that area before Spanish authorities. They are credited with being one of the forerunners of the current municipality system in the state. At their height, there were 213 such pueblos in the Guerrero territory.
During the colonial period, Acapulco became the main western port for New Spain, connecting this part of the Spanish empire to Asia. The Manila galleon came here each year, bringing silks and other merchandise from China, India and other Asian areas. Also on board were thousands of Asian slaves. These slaves and other Asian individuals that migrated of their own will during the colonial period form the basis of what is known as the "cuarta raíz" of Mexico.
On January 25, 1614, a delegation led by samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga, which included over one hundred Japanese Christians as well as twenty-two samurai under the shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu, arrived from Japan to Acapulco as part of a mission to form closer relations with Catholic Europe. A fight soon broke out in which a Japanese samurai stabbed a Spanish colonial soldier. This was witnessed and recorded by historian Chimalpahin, who was descended from an Aztec nobleman. Some of Tsunenaga's delegation would stay and marry with the locals.
By the second half of the 18th century, few indigenous people survived and exploitation of those that were left took on more varied forms in indentured servitude. Acapulco became the most important city in the area, and its mayor governed much of Guerrero's territory. This territory then belonged into three intendencias or alcaldias–Puebla, Mexico and Valladolid, regions managed by a superintendent intended to root out corruption–and would remain so until the early Independence period.
Independence and the later nineteenth century
Peoples of the territory of Guerrero immediately supported the cause of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla which would culminate with the Independence of Mexico. During the first part of the Mexican War of Independence, José María Morelos fought on the side of Miguel Hidalgo in the southern part of Mexico, including the Acapulco area and the Costa Grande. Filipino-Mexicans led by Isidoro Montes de Oca, who were also against Spanish colonization, assisted in the general uprising. However, the insurgents were never able to take the port. They were able to take control of territories in the center of the state. Morelos took Chilpancingo and set up the Congress of Anáhuac, which would publish the document "Sentimentos de la Nación" on 6 November 1813. The Congress of Anáhuac also approved the Act of Independence written by Carlos María Bustamante. Later, the Mexican flag was designed and first sewn in Iguala, after Agustín de Iturbide and Vicente Guerrero joined forces under the Plan of Iguala to end the war in 1821.The first government of an independent Mexico divided the country into twelve departments. The territory of the modern state of Guerrero was divided among the departments of Mexico, Puebla, Michoacán, and Oaxaca. The 1824 Constitution made these entities states.
In 1823, Nicolás Bravo and Vicente Guerrero petitioned for the creation of a "South State", encompassing the lands that Guerrero had military control over during the war, but without success. However, the federal government did recognize a military district centered on Chilpancingo which Guerrero headed until he became President of Mexico in 1824.
Much of the country struggled between its liberal and conservative factions in the first half of the 19th century. In one of these battles, Vicente Guerrero was captured and executed in Oaxaca in 1831. With conservatives in charge, Nicolas Bravo proposed in 1836 a South Department with its capital in Chilpancingo, including the provinces of Acapulco, Chilapa, Tlapa and Taxco. In 1841, representatives from 42 communities in the area, called the "amigos del sur," pushed to have a "Acapulco Department" created, but it was rejected by Antonio López de Santa Anna.
There were other political and military reorganizations in the area during the 1840s. In 1847, Nicolas Bravo and Juan Álvarez proposed creating a separate entity for the Acapulco, Chilapa and Taxco areas, but the Mexican–American War intervened. After the war, the states of Puebla, Mexico and Michoacán were persuaded to cede territory for a new entity.
In 1849, President José Joaquín de Herrera decreed the establishment of the state of Guerrero, with Juan Álvarez as its first governor. Tixtla was declared the first capital. The state was created from the districts of Acapulco, Chilapa and Taxco from the State of Mexico, Tlapa from Puebla and the municipality of Coyuca from the state of Michoacán. The capital would later be moved to Chilpancingo in 1870.
In this state, Juan Álvarez rebelled against the government of Ignacio Comonfort and declared the Plan of Ayutla in 1854. However, this rebellion was quelled by the federal government. More uprisings would ensue after the adoption of the 1857 Constitution. These uprisings were part of the ongoing struggle between liberals and conservatives in the country. The state of Guerrero was a mostly conservative area of the country, and it opposed both the 1857 Constitution and the 1859 Reform Laws. Intense battle between liberal and conservative elements would continue through most of the rest of the 19th century.
For most of the period of President Porfirio Díaz's regime, the state was in relative peace, electing nine governors, although only two of these were Guerrero natives. The economy became concentrated in the hands of a few landholders, military people and others. While the era was relatively prosperous, very little of this benefit reached the common people. Laws were passed and infrastructure in the state was created to benefit the major players of the economy. In addition, indigenous people were forced from the north to the south to work, such as the Kickapoos who were forced to work in the haciendas of the Costa Chica. Some of the first factories built in the state were constructed during this period. Acapulco was connected to Mexico City by rail in the 1890s. Despite the economic development, many people remained without work at the very end of the 19th century as mining and cotton farming waned.