Saturday, September 10, 2011

Establishing the Colonial City, San Miguel Allende

Before the conquest by Spain, in the early 1500s, before an indigenous settlement called Izcuinapan, literally "place of dogs," existed just southeast of the present site of San Miguel de Allende. With the arrival of the Spanish a Franciscan missionary priest Juan de San Miguel built a small chapel and started a village near the indigenous settlement, dedicating the Spanish town to the Archangel Michael. Spanish colonization was met with hostility by the local indigenous population. Taking issue with this invasion of their territory, the Chichimecas Indians raided mule caravans streaming south heavily loaded with silver from newly discovered mines and the tribe attacked the village itself in 1551, 15 people were killed and the village burned to the ground. This, along with ongoing problems with water supply resulted in the abandonment of the original site of the Spanish settlement and its relocation.
For a blog on Puerto Vallarta please visit Puerto Vallarta and for information on San Miguel Allende and other Mexican destinations please visit San Miguel Allende Guide

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