The history of Morelos dates back to the 1500s BC. C., when the first human settlements arrived at the site called Tamoanchán. The state of Morelos is located in central Mexico.
It is surrounded by mountains with high slopes and has a pleasant temperate climate. It borders the Federal District and the states of Puebla and Guerrero.
The state of Morelos was invaded by the Spanish in 1521 and was used as a direct passage to the capital of the then Mexica Empire.
300 years later it gained independence and became a state only until the end of the 19th century, with the arrival of Maximilian of Habsburg.
You may also be interested in the culture of Morelos or its traditions.
Prehispanic period
Between 200 and 500 AD. C. the Olmec culture settled in the territory of Morelos. After 650 AD The Mayan, Teotihuacan and Mixtec-Zapotec cultures arrived. These groups dominated the territory until well into the 13th century.
In the 13th century, new Xochimilca tribes emerged, who founded Tepoztlán, Tetela, Hueyacapan and Xumiltepec.
In the north, the Tlahuicas founded Cuauhnahuac, the current city of Cuernavaca, capital of the state of Morelos.
The Mexica Empire grew stronger and regained power to extend its territory, subjecting the new tribes to large tributes that were controlled by Tenochtitlán.
In the 16th century the Spanish arrived in the territory of Morelos and in 1821 they subdued the indigenous tribes.
The spanish kingdom
The Spanish arrived in a territory divided by the control of the territory and took advantage of this situation to keep the lands, subjecting the two chiefdoms: Cuernavaca and Oaxtepec.
The conqueror Hernán Cortés and his men were the first Spaniards to arrive in Morelos when they were looking for the route to Texcoco.
Together with Gonzalo de Sandoval, they developed a strategy to seize the entire territory and make the submission of Tenochtitlán official.
Then Cortés took the town of Ocuituco, and Sandoval those of the Yecapixtla route. Just one year later, Cortés and Sandoval arrived together in Tlamanalco, Acapatringo, Oaxtepec and Cuauhnáhuac.
The independence
From the Grito de Dolores, on September 16, 1810, until the recapture of Mexico City on September 27, 1821, the process of Mexican independence was generated. As of 1821, the conquered territories once again belonged to the Mexicans.
Mexico achieved its independence as a free and sovereign nation. During the Congress of the Union, the district of Cuernavaca, today the state of Morelos, was created.
Morelos as a state
On April 16, 1869, Mexico was divided into three states: Mexico, Hidalgo, and Morelos.
Morelos received its name in homage to the caudillo José María Morelos. It was integrated with a small part of the territory of the old state of Mexico and constituted by the districts of Cuernavaca, Cuautla, Jonacatepec, Tetecala and Yautepec.
The first governor elected for the state of Morelos was Francisco Leyva and the city of Cuernavaca was declared the capital of the state.
References
- Lockhart, J. (1992). The Nahuas after the conquest: A social and cultural history of the Indians of Central Mexico, sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. Stanford University Press.
- Gibson, C. (1964). The Aztecs under Spanish rule: A history of the Indians of the Valley of Mexico, 1519-1810. Stanford University Press.
- Stern, SJ (1999). The Secret History of Gender: Women, Men, and Power in Mexico in the Late Colonial Period. Economic Culture Fund USA.
- Hirth, K., & Villasenor, JA (1981). Early state expansion in central Mexico: Teotihuacan in Morelos. Journal of Field Archeology, 8 (2), 135-150.
- Hamnett, BR (2006). A concise history of Mexico. Cambridge University Press, Chicago.