Zacatecas (Spanish pronunciation: [sakaˈtekas] ) is the principal city within the municipality in Mexico of the same name, and the capital of the state of Zacatecas. Located in north-central Mexico,[1] the city had its start as a Spanish mining camp in the mid-16th century. Native Americans had already known about the area's rich deposits of silver and other minerals. Due to the wealth that the mines provided, Zacatecas quickly became one of the most important mining cities in New Spain. The area saw battles during the turbulent 19th century, but the next major event was the Battle of Zacatecas during the Mexican Revolution when Francisco Villa captured the town, an event still celebrated every anniversary. Today, the colonial part of the city is a World Heritage Site, due to the Baroque and other structures built during its mining days. Mining still remains an important industry.[2] The name Zacatecas is derived from the Zacateco people and has its roots in Nahuatl. The name means "people of the grasslands".[3]
The first people to populate the area arrived approximately 10,000 years ago, when the climate was wetter and warmer, with different vegetation and wildlife. Eventually, the area came to be dominated by Chichimeca tribes such as the Caxcans, Guachichils, Guamares, Huichols, Zacatecos and others, with the Zacatecos being the most numerous in the area of the city today.[2][4] These peoples were mining silver and other metals in the hills long before the Europeans arrived,[5] making the area important in pre-Columbian times.[1]
The Spanish came to the Zacatecas area via Guadalajara. In 1540, Nuño de Guzmán traveled from Mexico City conquering what are now the states of Michoacán and Jalisco. One of Guzmán's lieutenants, Cristóbal de Oñate, conquered the area around what is now Guadalajara. Another, Pedro Almindes Chirinos Peralmindes, went to explore the lands to the north, taking Zacatecas with little trouble but not knowing of the riches underneath the soil. And the area initially was simply frontier. Other expeditions followed, including one by Juan de Tolosa in 1546, who brought back rock samples from Cerro de la Bufa, which were determined to contain high concentrations of silver and lead.[6] A mining camp was soon established at the foot of Cerro de la Bufa.[2] The Zacatecos initially fought the permanent presence of the Spanish, but the mining potential of the area strengthened the Europeans’ resolve and the natives were defeated in the 1540s.[7] Surveys of the other surrounding hills were undertaken by Tolosa, Diego de Ibarra, Baltasar Temiño de Bañuelos, Andrés de Villanueva and others.[2]
A military mining camp was formally established in 1548 and called Minas de Nuestra Señora de Remedios.[4][8] The first major vein of silver was found in 1548 in a mine called San Bernabé. This was followed by similar finds in mines called Albarrada de San Benito, Vetagrande, Pánuco and others. This brought a large number of people to Zacatecas, including craftsmen, merchants, clerics and adventurers.[4] In 1550, royalty found its way to Zacatecas in the person of Leonor Cortés Moctezuma, the illegitimate daughter of conquistador Hernán Cortés and Isabel Moctezuma, daughter of the Aztec emperor. Doña Leonor married Juan de Tolosa. The settlement grew over the space of a few years into one of the most important cities in New Spain and the most populous after Mexico City. The camp became a parish in 1550,[2] in 1585, then it was declared a city with the name of "Muy Noble y Leal Ciudad de Nuestra Señora de Zacatecas" (Very Noble and Loyal City of Our Lady of Zacatecas), receiving its coat of arms from Philip II of Spain at the same time.[2] The success of the mines led to the arrival of indigenous people and the importation of black slaves to work in them. The mining camp spread southwards along the course of the Arroyo de la Plata, which now lies underneath Hidalgo Avenue, the old town's main road. Tall buildings were constructed along here due to the lack of flat area on which to build. The first house was supposedly built in 1547, just before the fortress and metal foundry. Hospitals and hospices were built in the 1550s.[6]
Zacatecas was one of the richest states in Mexico. One of the most important mines from the colonial period is the El Edén mine. It began operations in 1586 in the Cerro de la Bufa. It principally produced gold and silver with most of its production occurring in the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, the opening of this mine is within the city limits and was closed to mining in 1960. It was reopened as a tourist attraction in 1975.[9]By the end of the 16th century, the city was the second most important, after Mexico City, and the income its mines produced for the Spanish Crown made it one of the most powerful in Europe.[1][8] Its importance was not only due to mining. Most of the mendicant religious orders in New Spain eventually established monasteries, making Zacatecas an important center for evangelization. The Franciscans arrived in 1558, the Augustinians in 1576 and the Dominicans in 1604.[2] Many of the missionary expeditions to what are now California and Texas came from this city.[6]
Over the rest of the colonial period, the riches from the ground financed the building of important religious and secular constructions. The peak of this construction occurred in the 18th century. One of these constructions is the Colegio de San Luis Gonzaga, which was established in 1796.[2]
Ignacio López Rayón led a group of Mexican rebels capturing the city of Zacatecas on April 15, 1811, early in the fight for Mexican independence from Spain. Víctor Rosales and José María Cos were leaders of Hidalgo's rebellion. Shortly after Independence, the Mexican government established the city of Zacatecas as the capital of the newly formed state of Zacatecas.
In the mid-1820s, institutions such as the first opera house, first teachers’ college, the state treasury, the state supreme court and other institutions were founded in the city when the first state constitution was signed. The first newspaper i