Brief History of Aguascalientess
Early Settlers
In the territory of what is now Aguascalientes state, evidence of human presence has been found dating back some 12,000 years. These groups were nomadic or semi-nomadic, living in caves or rock shelters and depending on the natural resources available to them. They were hunter-gatherers, harvesting trees such as pine, acacia, and fir; they ate agave, prickly pear, fruits, berries, roots, and seeds; they lit their homes with mesquite and ocotillo, and made household utensils from plant fibers.
Pre-Hispanic Era
Several urban centers flourished in Aguascalientes during the Late Classic Period (650-900 AD). This was a time of abundant rainfall, allowing for the practice of agriculture. However, a prolonged drought between 1000 and 1200 AD caused the sedentary populations to abandon this territory, which was later repopulated by semi-nomadic groups who inhabited the land until the first Spanish interventions in 1540.
From this period, the main archaeological remains have been found in the "El Ocote" reserve. These consist of pottery, human burials, pictographs, and food remains. At the top of Cerro Los Tecuanes, a volcanic rock formation, there are two bases; on its slopes, terraces with foundations, and at its foot, remains of wattle and daub walls with "cave paintings."
The Conquest and the New Spanish Period
At the time of the conquest, the Aguascalientes Valley was inhabited by various ethnic groups incorrectly called "Chichimecas", some of which were the Caxcanes, Guachichiles, Zacatecos, Guamares, and Tecuexes. Specialists have calculated that by 1546, this region was sparsely populated by about 8,500 individuals, compared to other similar areas such as Lagos (Jalisco), which had a population of 20,000, or Nochistlán (Zacatecas), which had about 50,000 inhabitants at the time.
The first Spanish incursions into the southern part of the "Great Chichimeca" began in 1540 slowly and gradually, it was around 1546, with the discovery of the silver mines in Cerro de la Bufa (Zacatecas), that colonization accelerated. In twenty years, inns, missions, towns and presidios were founded along the Silver Road, a route traced by the Spanish to transport valuable metals from the mines to the capital of New Spain.
For nearly 400 years, the Silver Route connected present-day Mexico City with the town of Santa Fe, New Mexico, now a U.S. territory, stretching a total of 2,560 kilometers. The indigenous response to the Spanish advance was immediate, with several groups rebelling, which was put down by Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza y Pacheco in the so-called Mixtón War (1540-1541).
However, the conflict with the native peoples would continue with the recurrent attacks on caravans and towns by groups such as the Huachichiles and Guamares, thus giving rise to the so-called "Chichimeca Wars". This generated Spanish alliances with other peoples such as those of Mexica affiliation, Tlaxcalans, Otomis, Tarascas and Caxcans under the command of Captain Francisco de Ibarra, in order to face the complicated situation in the Bajío and north of the New Spain territory.
The Chichimeca War dragged on for a long time and could not be resolved solely by force of arms, but through diplomacy and persuasion, thanks to the support of the friars and the rapid progress of the evangelization of the indigenous peoples. Around 1590, Viceroy Luis de Velasco appointed Miguel Caldera as head of the new peace strategy with the warrior peoples. A difficult and long-term process, but one that ultimately achieved relative peace, initiating the creation of new towns and the arrival of more settlers to the region.
Foundation of the Villa de la Asunción
The Villa de la Asunción emerged as a transit point for travelers and caravans traveling the Silver Route. The first land grant benefited Hernán González Berrocal in July 1565. Shortly after, grants were made to Alonso Ávalos de Saavedra, Gaspar López, Francisco Guillén, Nicolás Ramírez, Cristóbal de Mata, Francisco Gómez, Menzo López, among others. These were the first 12 Spanish settlers mentioned in the founding charter issued in Guadalajara on October 22, 1575, and signed by the president of the Audiencia of New Galicia.
As a town, Aguascalientes enjoyed preeminences, prerogatives, and certain rights, such as electing its authorities (two mayors, four councilors, and a representative trustee), having legal land or ejidos (five leagues in radius), and distributing land among its residents.
The first years of existence for any new foundation were difficult, and Aguascalientes was no exception. Some houses were built and farmland was opened, but the new cities suffered the same nomadism as their former settlers. Constant Chichimeca attacks on the town and smallpox epidemics (1564) fostered continued mobility and devastating mortality. During the Chichimeca War, a large part of the native population was exterminated, and the survivors had to migrate further north. A contemporary chronicler estimated that in Teocaltiche alone, 800 of the town's 1,000 "war men" had died.
In 1576, a new epidemic struck, killing many peaceful Indians working on the estancias. Villages were founded by Spanish residents and Otomi and Tlaxcalan Indians brought from the Central Highlands or surrounding regions. By 1585, the village was settled by residents from Lagos de Moreno (Jalisco), and at the beginning of the 17th century, Tlaxcalan Indians founded the town of San Marcos. The site is now occupied by the neighborhood that bears the same name.
Although the town of Aguascalientes had a defensive character during its early years, over time it became a small and prosperous agricultural colony. In 1601, the town was named the seat of a parish and soon after, the capital of a new mayor's office. This laid the institutional foundation for Aguascalientes's subsequent existence as a political entity.
The Government Palace was, and remains, the most significant building in the square. Its history dates back to 1665, when the parish priest D. Pedro Rincón de Ortega acquired the site, and in that same year, construction began on what would become a sumptuous mansion, property of the Marquis Rincón Gallardo Grande of Spain.
Other important spaces in the plaza included the chapel that would later become The Cathedral; the fountain that supplied water to the population; the gallows and pillory, symbols of the sovereign's power; and a cross at the shrine.
The region's large estates began to form in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, with grants granted in the name of the king to compensate for services rendered by the captains in the war against the Chichimecas. Due to various abuses, such as the illegal trafficking of grants, the purchase of titles, and the use of figureheads, the lands accumulated in a few hands and favored the subsequent formation of large estates.
Aguascalientes during the Mexican Independence
The intendant of Zacatecas, Miguel Rivera de Bernárdez, Count of Santiago de la Laguna, ordered the defense of the town of Aguascalientes when he received news of the rebellion in Guanajuato, led by the priest Miguel Hidalgo. Spanish residents of the town took refuge in Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí. In less than three weeks, on October 8, the town was taken by the insurgent leader Rafael Iriarte, a soldier in the Spanish army who allied himself with the insurgents. Iriarte enjoyed the support of enlightened figures such as José María Cos, a theologian and a highly influential figure in the Zacatecas intendancy.
In 1811, Félix María Calleja arrived in Aguascalientes to impose the Bourbon reforms and the Ordinance of Intendants. He was also responsible for suppressing the insurrection led by Miguel Hidalgo, Ignacio Allende, and José María Morelos y Pavón.
That same year, 1811, the two factions met in the neighboring state of Jalisco at the Battle of Calderón Bridge. This resulted in a brutal defeat for the insurgent army, which resulted in Miguel Hidalgo losing his leadership of the rebellion once they had taken refuge at the Hacienda de San Blás de Pabellón, in the current Aguascalientes municipality of Rincón de Romos.
After Mexico's independence, Aguascalientes had several ranks: the party of Zacatecas, the province of Jalisco, and the department. It was only in the mid-19th century that it was recognized as a sovereign state, ratified in the Constitution of 1857.
Aguascalientes becomes a sovereign state
During the war of US military intervention, President Valentín Gómez Farías, a distinguished Zacatecan, chose to restore the 1824 Constitution and send emissaries to all states to order that, as long as US intervention was contained, the sovereignty of the Mexican Republic would be vested in each one. Thus, Aguascalientes adopted the status of a sovereign state for the first time.
In 1835, during the civil war between the Centralist and Federalist sides, an event known as "The legend of the kiss" occurred, in which it is said that after the uprising of the state of Zacatecas against President António López de Santana, he on his way to fight said uprising, arrives in Aguascalientes, where he is received with joy and a great banquet, attended by civil, military and religious authorities, as well as some ladies of society, among whom was Doña María Luisa Fernández Villa, wife of Don Pedro García Rojas, prominent man of the Villa de Aguascalientes, legend says that she took advantage of the fact that at some point in the night she was alone with the president, she knew how to steer the conversation to expose the need for Aguascalientes to be an independent state, saying that she would be capable of anything to achieve this end, to which Santana, with clear interest in the beautiful lady, asks her for a kiss and that if she gives it to him, he would be in charge of fulfilling the wish of María Luisa and the entire town, so that kiss is given, which would be a pact so that Aguascalientes, once the war is over, would achieve the status of an independent state.
However, the situation in Aguascalientes after Santa Anna's visit would be erratic, and in early 1847, with the return of the federalist regime, the National Congress disavowed Aguascalientes' status as a federal entity and ordered it to be reinstated within Zacatecas as a party. This demand was forceful on the part of General Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga, and later on, the citizens of Aguascalientes. After General Manuel Arteaga abandoned the plaza, the federal government sent General Tomás Requena to negotiate, and the citizens agreed to temporarily belong to Zacatecas. However, at every opportunity, the city council petitioned the federal government to establish itself as an independent state, but this request was continually repealed.
In 1853, federalism was defeated, and the centralists demanded the return of Antonio López de Santa Anna as chief executive. On February 20, Santa Anna reassumed power and reorganized the territory into departments. Aguascalientes acquired this status, with the same territory designated in the laws of 1836 and 1838. Later, on February 5, 1857, upon signing the new Constitution, Aguascalientes now became one of the states of the Republic.
The Porfirian Period
Economically, the Porfiriato represented a period of prosperity for the state, as it promoted the construction of the railroad and the location of service and repair shops for the National Railways' machinery and cars in the city. It also brought foreign investors who brought, among other businesses, the Great Mexican Central Foundry and the first electricity and service companies.
In the artistic and cultural sphere, the city is the birthplace and home to great figures such as Jesús F. Contreras, Saturnino Herrán, Manuel M. Ponce, among others.
However, Aguascalientes, like other states, experienced a complicated political and social situation. The majority of the population lived in poverty and was illiterate. The government of Porfirio Díaz, who exercised power arbitrarily for more than 30 years, fostered social inequality and concentrated the country's wealth in a few hands. Under the latifundia system, the large estates resorted to slave-like models where they took ownership not only of the land, but also of the lives of women, children, and men, who ended up with debts that were inherited from parents to children, preventing them from leaving their employers. These systems, as well as the lack of labor justice and Díaz's refusal to leave power, would trigger movements such as the miners' strike in Cananea, Sonora in 1906 and later the Mexican Revolution in 1910.
Aguascalientes during the Mexican Revolution
Due to Aguascalientes's geographic location in the center of the country, its excellent railroad connections, and its peaceful atmosphere, as well as the fact that it was not markedly aligned with any faction of the Revolution, it was chosen as the site of the Great Convention of Military Chiefs with Command of Forces and Governors of the States, better known as the "Sovereign Revolutionary Convention", convened by the constitutionalist leader Venustiano Carranza, which took place from October 10 to November 9, 1914.
The iconic Morelos Theater hosted this event, where the future direction of the revolution was discussed, as well as the appointment of an interim president. Eulalio Gutierrez was elected to this position.
Although the Convention was considered a failure because it caused greater division among the different factions, it is considered a point of great importance in Mexico's political history, as it was the first time that leaders of different currents and visions for the country met in relative peace with a common goal. This convention would produce future leaders and groups that would shape post-revolutionary Mexico, and several of the ideas raised during the month of speeches and debates would be reflected in the future Constitution of 1917, which is in force to this day.
Aguascalientes Today
After the Revolution, Aguascalientes has experienced periods of great social and economic stability. With the arrival of modernity, we have witnessed constant growth, becoming today a modern state with sufficient infrastructure to attract companies such as NISSAN, Continental, Grupo Modelo, and more. It is also an important tourist destination during the San Marcos National Fair and the Festival of Skulls, celebrations that demonstrate the deep roots of our traditions, while keeping our eyes fixed on the continuous search for a better future for all.
Today, Aguascalientes is a multicultural melting pot, nourished by the arrival of people from all over the world who contribute daily to making this city the Land of Good People.
If you are interested in learning more about the history of Aguascalientes, please visit our Tourist Information Center or visit the "Orgullo Hidrocalido" page to learn more.
