The history of Sonora, state of Mexico, dates back to approximately 12,000 years, with the presence of the first primitive tribes that populated this territory, made up of gatherers and hunters.
Before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors in the 16th century under the command of Diego Guzmán, there were various native peoples in Sonora such as the Mayos, the Seris, the Yaquis, the Pimas, the Papagos, the Opatas, the Guarijíos and the Cucapás.
In 1732, the two provinces of Sonora were united to the five of Sinaloa to form the governorate of Sinaloa and Sonora, or province of Nueva Navarra. The state of Sonora was finally created on October 18, 1830.
You may also be interested in the typical traditions of Sonora or the history of its shield.
Prehispanic period
The vestiges of the presence of the first settlers of Sonora are found in the archaeological ruins of the San Dieguito complex, in the El Pinacate desert.
In the territories of the current municipalities of Carbó, Hermosillo and Pitiquito, remains of stone tools used in hunting have also been found.
In the lower areas of the state near the coast, three different cultures developed: the Trincheras culture, the Huatabampo culture, and the Central Coast culture.
While in the high areas of Sonora the cultures of the Sonora River and Casas Grandes settled and developed.
Viceregal period
There are different versions about the exact date of the first Spanish settlements. Some historians claim that the first settlement was founded in 1530 by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1530, near Huépac.
Other historical versions indicate that it was in 1540 on the banks of the Yaqui River, but there are those who maintain that it was not until 1614 with the missionaries Pedro Méndez and Pérez de Rivas, who worked evangelizing the Mayan Indians.
The Jesuit fathers came to Sonora in 1610 to evangelize the Yaqui Indians. They then worked with the Pima and the Tohono O'odham.
In 1687 the Italian Jesuit missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino, also known as Father Kino, arrived in Sonora.
After the establishment of the missions, the Spanish colonizers arrived in Sonora, encouraged by the fertility of the lands and the strategic location of this territory.
Indigenous resistance to the presence of the Spanish colonizers extended throughout the colonial period.
Upon being elevated to a province in 1637, Sonora was baptized as Nueva Andalucía, but it was in 1648 when it received its current name.
In 1732, the King of Spain Felipe V approved the annexation of the two provinces of Sonora to the five of Sinaloa.
Thus was born the government of Sinaloa and Sonora, or province of Nueva Navarra, which in 1770 was renamed the Intendance of Arizpe.
Period of independence
When Mexico achieved its independence from Spain in 1821, Sonora and Sinaloa became one of the 21 provinces of the first Mexican Empire.
Subsequently, on January 31, 1824, the Constitutive Act of the Mexican Federation was signed, and the Free and Sovereign State of the West was created, made up of the territories of Sonora and Sinaloa.
Finally, on October 18, 1830, the National Congress approved the federal law for the division of the Internal State of the West and the Free and Sovereign State of Sonora was created.
References
- History of the State of Sonora. Retrieved on November 10 from paratodomexico.com
- History of our State of Sonora. Consulted canalsonora.com
- Truett, Samuel; William P. Clements (2006). Fugitive Landscapes: The Forgotten History of the US-Mexico Borderlands. New Haven, CT, USA: Yale University Press. Recovered from academic.oup.com
- States of Mexico. Consulted from statoids.com
- Bowen, Thomas G. (1976). "Outline of the history of the Trincheras culture." In Braniff, Beatriz and Felger, Richard (coords.), Sonora: anthropology of the desert. Mexico City. Recovered from books.google.co.ve
- Government of the State of Sonora. Recovered from sonora.gob.mx