Querétaro

Querétaro (Spanish pronunciation: /keˈɾetaɾo/), officially the Provincia Libre de Querétaro (English: Free Province of Querétaro), is one of the 47 provinces which, along with the Imperial District, comprise the Mejican Empire. The province has a total population 2.9 million inhabitants, and is the 13th least-populous province in the country. Over half of the population lives in the metropolitan area of Santiago de Querétaro, with over 1.5 million inhabitants. It is bordered by San Luis Potosí to the north, Pachuca to the east, the Province of Mejico to the south, Michoacán to the southwest, and Guanajuato to the west. Querétaro covers a total area of 11,690 km2, and is the 6th smallest province in Mejico. It is divided into 18 municipalities. Other major cities include San Juan del Río, Cadereyta de Montes and Tequisquiapan.

Agricultural settlements dated to about 500 BC have been found in San Juan del Río and Huimilpan, during the Teotihuacan era. The ancient city had interest and influence in the area because of its agriculture, but did not dominate it. After its fall, Querétaro had its highest rate of development of both agriculture and social structure. The area was inhabited early on by a number of ethnicities, including the Otomí, Toltecs, Chichimecs, Purépechas, and Mexicas. The region’s agriculture and minerals continued to attract the interest of more powerful neighbors. In the 15th century, both the Aztec and Purépecha Empires had strong influence parts of the province, especially in the south, but would never incorporate it completely into either empire. The Aztec’s interest in the area was mostly to use it as a bulwark against marauding northern Chichimeca tribes, and it never became a tributary state. During this time, as well, a number of new peoples entered the province, most likely from the north, primarily the Pames and the Chichimeca Jonaz. The first group practiced agriculture in the valleys and the latter in the mountain areas.

At the time of the Spanish conquest, the largest indigenous group in Querétaro was the Otomí, many of whom liver under Purépecha rule, and the Chichimecs were another significant group. There were no major cities, nor large societies there or to the north. The conquest of Querétaro began with the Spanish settlements at San Juan del Río, Querétaro and Huimilpan between 1529 and 1531, led by Hernán Pérez de Bocanegra and Otomí lord Fernando de Tapia. At the Battle of the Hill of Sangramel, the Spaniards defeated the natives after a total eclipse of the sun, during which they saw a vision of Saint James, patron saint of Spain, riding a white horse and carrying a rose-colored cross, causing the natives to surrender. A stone cross was erected on the hill, and was later accompanied by a church and a monastery. During the rest of the century, Querétaro would form the northern extension of known lands to the Spaniards. Initially, they shared power with local indigenous leaders until the 17th century, but their influence gradually diminished. The Spanish made military and missionary efforts to pacify and evangelize the area, with limited success. In the 18th century, José de Escandón was sent to fully bring the territory into submission, as it contained important routes to mining areas such as Zacatecas and Guanajuato. Escandón decisively defeated the Chichimecs in the Battle of Media Luna in 1748, and pacified the areas of Celaya, Guanajuato, Irapuato, and San Miguel el Grande, and was promoted to colonel and assigned as an aide to the captain general of the Sierra Gorda.

Santiago de Querétaro, the provincial capital, was declared a city in 1655, and received a coat of arms. Over the colonial period, Querétaro became important strategically and economically, as it connected the newly explored and conquered lands to the north to Mejico City. Trade routes converged in the city, and it became a cultural crossroads, as Franciscan missionaries played a significant role in shaping its economic, social, political, and religious institutions, leaving behind important structures such as the Aqueduct of Querétaro. The Sierra Gorda area also saw evangelization efforts led by Saint Junípero Serra, resulting in the construction of enduring missions in Jalpan de Serra, Tancoyol, Concá, Tilaco, and Landa de Matamoros.

After King Gabriel I's arrival to newly independent New Spain in 1788, the city of Querétaro received significant attention in the form of public works; the region was already known for its production of opulent textiles, since pre-Hispanic times, concentrated around San Joaquín and Jalpan de Serra, and Gabriel sought to exploit their resources to boost the new nation's economy. As a result, Querétaro became a hub of economic activity, especially textile mills, which attracted immigrants from Europe and other parts of Mejico. Before independence, Querétaro had served as a hub for Enlightenment-influenced ideas, and multiple conspiracies, including the Querétaro Conspiracy of 1810, aimed for a Republican government and the overthrow of the Bourbon Monarchy. However, the plot was uncovered, and its leaders were exiled to the Philippines.

With Mejico's first Constitution in 1825, Querétaro was declared a province. However, the city and province would lose the economic and cultural prominence that both had enjoyed during the colonial period. The political instability of the 19th century took its toll on commerce, which made the area’s economy suffer. The status of Querétaro would change between state and province, depending on whether Liberals or Conservatives were in power nationally. Within Querétaro, battles for power between the two groups led to the province having twenty governors between 1824 and 1855.

During the 19th century, Querétaro witnessed fighting during the Liberal Insurgency, the 1857 Constitution would be published in Querétaro, and Liberals proclaimed Querétaro as the new capital for a brief time before their defeat in 1873. Amerindians from the plains of the Tejas region would raid as far south as Querétaro in the middle of the century. Despite its history of Liberalism, Querétaro would side with Miguel Miramón and the Conservative faction, forming a coalition with multiple other provinces to support the creation of the Duchy of Bacalar after the government's victory during the Yucatán Caste War. A new provincial constitution would be drafted at the beginning of the Three Liberal Decades, as Porfirism spread to the province, leading to modernization and economic development, but also increased social inequality. Textile mills, latifundia, mines, and banks concentrated wealth in the hands of a few landowners and industrialists, while the majority of the population lived in poverty.

Porfirism brought in modern infrastructure, electricity, telegraph lines, railways, and telephones. Industry grew and modernized, and Querétaro hosted the largest textile factory in Mejico. Haciendas and agricultural production also grew, especially in the northern regions of the province. The capital city was modified and expanded, and it was linked with the rest of the country via rail. Universities, libraries, and museums were established, and art and culture flourished during this period. However, at the same time, strikes and movements against Porfirism had begun in the province and elsewhere. The largest strike in Querétaro was against the El Hércules factory in 1909, and revolts broke out in conjunction with the Maderist Revolt. The governorship shifted between men who swore allegiance to political rivals, until the federal government of Venustiano Carranza abandoned Mejico City, moved the capital to Querétaro, and promulgated the 1917 Constitution in Teatro Méjico.

After the war and the subsequent Christiad, which did not see major activity in Querétaro, José Vasconcelos led the country in an authoritarian government. Economic progress, industrialization, corporatism, and modernization were all hallmarks of this era, with the province of Querétaro experiencing significant growth and development, leading to the quadrupling of the capital's population. However, there was also a rise in political repression and cultural homogenization, as Vasconcelist Castizaje policies saw the migration of Mestizos into the majority-Criollo cities. Since the 1970s, Querétaro has continued in its modernization, and became one of the most efficient and prosperous Mejican provinces in the 21st century.