Spanish Conquest

Mexico was discovered by the Spanish in 1517 when Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba landed on the Yucatan peninsula. In 1519 Hernando Cortez, with 600 men, established the port of Veracruz. He defeated the Aztecs in 1521 and built Mexico City on the site of their devastated capital. In the next few years, Cortez and other conquistadores subdued the Zapotecs, Mixtecs, and other Indian groups and conquered all of Mexico. The colony was named New Spain, and in 1535 was made a viceroyalty. Nominally, it included Central America as far south as Panama, and stretched northwest to newly discovered Lower California, and northeast to the Rio Grande.

Aztec gold, silver, and gems enriched both the Spanish government and colonial officials. New mines were opened and new treasure sought by further exploration. Meanwhile, Roman Catholic friars began converting the Indians to Christianity. The first missions were established in 1524 but met with little success at first. Then, in December, 1531, Juan Diego, an Indian, reported that the Virgin had appeared to him on Tepeyac Hill at the edge of Mexico City. Named Our Lady of Guadalupe, she was made the patron saint of Mexico. Many Indians were rapidly converted and became devout Catholics.

Together, Spanish troops and missionaries extended the boundaries of New Spain northward. The present states of New Mexico and Arizona were occupied in the early 17th century; Texas, 1720–22; California, 1769–76. By 1790 the land that is now Nevada, Utah, and part of Wyoming, Colorado, and Kansas also fell within the territory governed from Mexico City.