Guanajuato History, Mexico

In the very early years, the city of Guanajuato was inhabited by various tribes that use to live with their families and indulge in agricultural activities for their food. Otomi was one of the tribes that named the land as Mooti which meant metals place. The Nahua tribe that called this land as Paxtitlan. Later on came the Guamares tribe. The current name of the city was derived from purepecha name which meant hilly place of frogs. That purepecha name which resulted into the name of Guanajuato was quaraphuata.

It was the year 1541 when this land on which today the city of Guanajuato is located was explored by various Spanish explorers. Finally, it was the year 1546 when Viceroy of this city Antonio de Mendoza gave a huge chunk of land from the city of Guanajuato to the leader of Spanish Army Don Rodrigo de Vazquez. Later on it was the year 1548 when the first hint for the presence of silver was found in this land on which today the city of Guanajuato is situated. This was done by an explorer whose name was Rayas. He was traveling to north when he found the hints of silver in his bonfire. This was initially surprising but later on opened flood gates of business for the city of Guanajuato.

It was the year 1570 when officially the city of Guanajuato was formed and gifted with its own personal coat of arms. The official name for this city during its formation was Santa Fe y Real de Minas de Guanajuato. During the rule of Spain on Guanajuato the city was actually tagged as under the control of New Spain Viceroyalty. Finally, it was the year 1741 when Guanajuato was tagged as a city under the administration of Phillip V who was the ruler of Spain during those days.

Later on, the state of Guanajuato was created and the city of Guanajuato was named as Mexico’s capital. The city did face economic crises during the civil war which hit the city between the years of 1910 and 1920. Slowly after the civil war the city of Guanajuato started to grow economically and by now has left a mark on the brains of many tourists.

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