Nueva Galicia

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Location of Nueva Galicia in Spanish Mexico from 1819

Nueva Galicia (German: New Galicia , completely Nuevo Reino de Galicia, New Kingdom of Galicia) was a province in the viceroyalty of New Spain , the Spanish colonial empire in today's Mexico . It existed from 1531 to 1823 and covered roughly the area of ​​today's Mexican states of Aguascalientes , Colima , Jalisco , Nayarit and Zacatecas .

Emergence

As part of the Conquista , Spanish troops under Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán conquered the west and north of today's Mexico from 1530. The entire largely undeveloped area was given the name Nueva Galicia by royal charter on January 25, 1531 .

Santiago de Galicia de Compostela was founded as the capital ; however, the Spaniards did not succeed in stabilizing their conquest in the first few years. Again and again there were uprisings among the local population, who resisted the Spanish conquerors in various coalitions.

Consolidation

In 1540, Cristóbal de Oñate moved the capital to a more suitable location. It was commonly called Compostela de las Indias and still exists today as Compostela (Nayarit) . In 1548 the court in Madrid decided that New Galicia should have its own Real Audiencia . It first took its seat in Compostela.

In 1549 the province was founded by Pope Paul III. raised to the rank of archdiocese ; Eleven years later, the Archbishop and the Audiencia moved to the new capital, Guadalajara .

Separation from Nueva Vizcaya

When Francisco de Ibarra continued the Spanish conquest to the north, the areas in the north and west were separated as Nueva Vizcaya as an independent province, which should have its own governor. The Real Audiencia of Guadalajara retained sovereignty over administration and jurisdiction of Nueva Vizcaya .

development

Thanks to its mineral resources and fertile soil, the province developed rapidly. The city of Guadalajara became an important trading center.

Bourbon reforms

From 1777 onwards, José de Gálvez y Gallardo completely renewed the Spanish colonial empire. The viceroyalty should be divided into more manageable units, intendencias , and the administration should be decentralized. Guadalajara became the seat of an intendente .

independence

In the Mexican War of Independence New-Galicia was contested. Miguel Hidalgo established the seat of government for the independence movement in Guadalajara at the end of November 1810. Not far from the city, the Mexicans suffered a crushing defeat in the battle of the Puente de Calderón on January 17, 1811. On January 21st, however, Guadalajara fell back to the Spanish.

After Mexican independence was achieved, the province was divided into the states of Jalisco and the territory of Colima in 1824.

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