Nueva Vizcaya, New Spain
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Nueva Vizcaya was the first province of northern Mexico (New Spain) to be explored and settled by the Spanish.
Spanish exploration of the area began in 1531 with Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán's expedition. He called the area "Nueva Galicia" (after his birthplace), although that name later came to be applied to a different area, namely what became the colonial intendencia of Guadalajara. Nueva Vizcaya originally included the area of Spanish settlement north of Zacatecas. Eventually that included most of the area of the modern Mexican states of Chihuahua and Durango, and at times parts of the states of Sinaloa, Sonora and Coahuila.
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[edit] History
The objections that led to the division of the internal provinces in 1785, increased with growing population and resources. In 1804, a royal decree ordered the redivision of the provinces into two districts. The new comandante general of each district exercised the same authority as the existing commander. [1]
[edit] War of independence
The war of independence started in 1812. Viceroy Venegas appointed brigadier Alejo Garcia Conde, governor of Sonora and Sinaloa to the command of the Occidente region.[1] Command of the Oriente region was offered to the Mariscal de campo, Felix Calleja, who declined the position. It was offered to Simon Herrera, governor of Nuevo León, but he was killed by insurgents before he could accept the position. Finally, José Joaquín de Arredondo received the position.[1]
[edit] Gutiérrez de Lara
After the suppression of the insurrection of 1811 in Nuevo Santander, José Bernardo Maximiliano Gutiérrez de Lara, a citizen of Revilla, and a strong supporter of the revolutionary movement, took refuge in the United States, seeking assistance on behalf of his cause. The welcome accorded to him by the people, and the well-known intentions of the United States government with regard to the Texan frontier, had given rise to no little uneasiness in Mexico, which was further increased by a report that he was marching at the head of a large army, returning to aid the insurgents.[1]
The troops under Gutiérrez de Lara's command consisted of only 450 men, many of whom were military adventurers from the United States. He invaded Texas with this slender force in 1812, taking possession of several cities and driving back the forces of Manuel María de Salcedo and José Joaquín de Herrera. Warned of this danger, José Joaquín de Arredondo, whose forces were quartered in the valley del Maiz, marched to engage Gutiérrez de Lara, collecting men and material on the way through Nuevo Santander. Colonel Ignacio Elizondo, sent in advance, allowed himself to be drawn into an engagement, and was totally routed.[1]
A few weeks later Arredondo himself defeated the insurgents, now under the command of José Álvarez de Toledo y Dubois, who had replaced Gutiérrez de Lara. Many prisoners were executed, including all the captured U. S. citizens, ending all hope of aid from the United States.
Issues of increased of population and development of natural resources took second place to military matters and the suppression of revolutionary movements. In the northwest hostilities with Indians continued, while in the east revolution fomenting.[1]
[edit] Insurgent’s trial
Salcedo managed to accumulate a large fortune while avoiding the conflict to the south. From May to July, 1811, he was responsible for overseeing the trial and execution of Miguel Hidalgo, and his chief officers.[1]
Nueva Vizcaya was not spared from the war. A month before Hidalgo’s capture, a number of insurgents were detained, and a conflict at San Francisco between several hundred men occurred early in 1812.[1]
[edit] Independence
Toward the close of 1814, José Félix Trespalacios and Juan Pablo Caballero planned an outbreak at Chihuahua, but the plot was revealed to Garcia Conde, who now controlled the Occidente section from this point, and promptly arrested the principals. The men were pardoned through the efforts of authorities and clergy. Chihuahua continued to suffer from Apache raids, and Durango a brief rebellion by the Opatas in 1820, which was quelled without any serious bloodshed. In 1819 explorer Zebulon Pike visited and the Jesuits were reestablished.[1]
Spanish Constitution of 1812 was well received by the provinces, but was suspended soon after by the viceroy. Nueva Vizcaya managed to elect a representative to the Cortes Generales. Royalist Agustin de Iturbide went to Durango to make a final effort in behalf of Spain. He entered that city July 4, 1821, attended by officials from Zacatecas and other points, with a few hundred soldiers. Pedro Celestino Negrete, Iturbide’s lieutenant, followed in pursuit, and laid siege to the city early in August, with about 3,000 men.[1]
The defense was maintained for over three weeks, with brisk firing and occasional sorties, varied by assaults, which involved severe losses. Negrete finally planted a battery against a vulnerable point, and on the August 30 gained a decided advantage. By this time defection undermined the zeal of the royalist. A truce was accepted, and on September 3 the garrison surrendered, with the honors of war, and permission to retire with Cruz to Spain.[1]
[edit] First empire
M. Urrea was installed as governor, while Antonio Cordero, who had governed at Durango as civil and military governor for the past three years, replaced of Garcia Conde.[1]
[edit] Province of the Federal Republic of Mexico
The federalists rose against Agustin de Iturbide, joined by Chihuahua after a momentary objection from Janos. Durango was initially against the movement, but on March 5, 1823 it gained the favor of the troops followed by the people. Comandante general Cordero resigned, as did Brigadier I. del Corral, civil and military governor at Durango, whereupon a provincial delegation declared Juan Navarro successor to the latter, and Gaspar de Ochoa, as commander in place of Cordero.[1]
[edit] States Of Chihuahua and Durango
On July 19, 1823, the supreme congress decreed the division of Nueva Vizcaya into two provinces, to be known as Chihuahua and Durango. The capital of the former receiving the title of city and became the seat of a provincial council. Chihuahua, with a population of over 100,000, benefited from a separate administration from that of the distant and sometimes uncooperative Durango. Nevertheless, a party persuaded the chamber to create a new state — Estado Interno del Norte — by reuniting the two provinces and including New Mexico, with a capital at Chihuahua. Durango, however, raised objections, demanding retention of the capital, or exclusion from the new state, because of its large population and superior resources.[1]
On May 22 and July 6, 1824 the separation was affirmed, New Mexico being declared a territory of the federation. In the following year the two states, issued their constitution. Chihuahua established a legislative chamber of not less than eleven deputies, while Durango created a senate of seven members in addition to a legislature.[1]
[edit] References
- Oakah L. Jones, Nueva Vizcaya: Heartland of the Spanish Frontier (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1988).
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] External links
- Nueva Vizcaya, New Spain from the Handbook of Texas Online
