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94-519: The city accounts for the highest production of steel in Mexico as well as Latin America, hence its nickname "The Steel Capital". Today Monclova has one of the highest levels of commercial, industrial, and financial development, and is currently has one of the lowest poverty rates among Mexican cities. Its metropolitan area is among the 10 most competitive urban areas in the country, and it also has one of

188-457: A corregidor (also known as an alcalde mayor ) or a cabildo (town council), both of which had judicial and administrative powers. In the late 18th century the Bourbon dynasty began phasing out the corregidores and introduced intendants , whose broad fiscal powers cut into the authority of the viceroys, governors and cabildos . Despite their late creation, these intendancies so affected

282-783: A Spanish city, sixteenth-century Puebla had Indians resident in the central core. Altos Hornos de Mexico Altos Hornos de México , S.A.B. de C.V. (AHMSA) is a steel plant in Mexico . It has corporate offices in Monclova , Coahuila , in the center of the Mexican state of Coahuila, 155 miles from the United States border. Teódulo Flores Calderon donated the land to AHMSA, later Harold Rudolph Pape founded Altos Hornos de Mexico in 1942 in Monclova, Coahuila for its proximity to

376-605: A large area of the southern and western portions of North America, mainly what became Mexico and the Southwestern United States, but also California , Florida and Louisiana ; Central America, the Caribbean, and northern parts of South America; several Pacific archipelagos, including the Philippines and Guam . Additional Asian colonies included " Spanish Formosa ," on the island of Taiwan . After

470-507: A localized network. Even where infrastructure was improved, transit on the Veracruz-Puebla main road had other obstacles, with wolves attacking mule trains, killing animals, and rendering some sacks of foodstuffs unsellable because they were smeared with blood. The north-south Acapulco route remained a mule track through mountainous terrain. Veracruz was the first Spanish settlement founded in what became New Spain, and it endured as

564-485: A low around 21 °C (70 °F) and a high near 35 °C (95 °F). In 1976 the wettest month on record took place in July, with 287.3 mm (11.31 in) of rain, more than half the median yearly value of 376.7 mm (14.83 in); however the average wettest month is September with 78.5 mm (3.09 in) . The warmer months of the year are typically wetter than the cooler ones. Cold fronts in winter have

658-635: A source of labor and material wealth in the form of vast silver deposits, discovered and exploited beginning in the mid-1500s. New Spain developed strong regional divisions based on local climate, topography, distance from the capital and the Gulf Coast port of Veracruz , size and complexity of indigenous populations, and the presence or absence of mineral resources. Central and southern Mexico had dense indigenous populations, each with complex social, political, and economic organization, but no large-scale deposits of silver to draw Spanish settlers. By contrast,

752-446: A steady stream of tax revenues by supplying the huge Mexican demand, so the crown limited zones of tobacco cultivation. It also established a small number of factories of finished products, and licensed distribution outlets ( estanquillos ). The crown also set up warehouses to store up to a year's worth of supplies, including paper for cigarettes, for the factories. With the establishment of the monopoly, crown revenues increased and there

846-448: A workforce of 22,250 people, including its subsidiary companies. As of April 2014, its subsidiaries included: AHMSA received the following quality labels : AHMSA also complies with the following standards : Since 1992, AHMSA leads an active social policy where its plants are active, maintaining permanent programs on the following fronts: These policies and activities have positioned AHMSA and its companies as benchmarks in

940-492: Is evidence that despite high prices and expanding rates of poverty, tobacco consumption rose while at the same time, general consumption fell. In 1787 during the Bourbon Reforms Veracruz became an intendancy , a new administrative unit. Founded in 1531 as a Spanish settlement, Puebla de los Angeles quickly rose to the status of Mexico's second-most important city. Its location on the main route between

1034-438: Is located at 26°54′37″N 101°25′20″W  /  26.91028°N 101.42222°W  / 26.91028; -101.42222 , in the state's central region (Región Centro) , in the east-central part of the state. Monclova experiences a warm semi-arid climate (BSh), with a median yearly temperature of 22.0 °C (71.6 °F). The median temperature of the coolest month, January, is 13.6 °C (56.5 °F), although

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1128-694: Is transported to AHMSA through a 180-mile pipe (called Ferroduct) that crosses the Coahuila desert. The Company also has iron ore mines in some other Mexican states. AHMSA manufactures high value-added steel products. AHMSA is a national leader in the production and commercialization of flat steel products including hot rolled coil used for machinery parts, wide plate, cold rolled coil, tinplate and tin-free steel, railroad tanks and bridge constructions, structural shapes... It also produces non-flat steel products like heavy shapes. AHMSA operates at an annual production rate of 3.5 million metric tons of liquid steel, with

1222-531: The Amsterdam stock market , the first in history and whose origin is owed precisely to the need for funds to finance pirate expeditions, as later by the London market. The above is what some authors call the "historical process of the transfer of wealth from the south to the north." In the colonial period, basic patterns of regional development emerged and strengthened. European settlement and institutional life

1316-943: The Cayman Islands , Trinidad , and the Bay Islands . New Spain also claimed jurisdiction over the overseas territories of the Spanish East Indies in Asia and Oceania: the Philippine Islands, the Mariana Islands , the Caroline Islands , parts of Taiwan , and parts of the Moluccas . Although asserting sovereignty over this vast realm, it did not effectively control large swaths. Other European powers, including England, France, and

1410-837: The Manila galleon . In the Philippines Manila near the South China Sea was the main port. The ports were fundamental for overseas trade, stretching a trade route from Asia, through the Manila galleon to the Spanish mainland. These were ships that made voyages from the Philippines to Mexico, whose goods were then transported overland from Acapulco to Veracruz and later reshipped from Veracruz to Cádiz in Spain. So then,

1504-578: The Metropolis (mother country) due to Spanish Roman Catholic Monarchy's frequent preoccupation with European wars (enormous amounts of this wealth were spent hiring mercenaries to fight the Protestant Reformation ), as well as the incessant decrease in overseas transportation caused by assaults from companies of British buccaneers , Dutch corsairs and pirates of various origin. These companies were initially financed by, at first, by

1598-628: The Patronato real , a grant by the papacy to the crown to oversee the Church in all aspects save doctrine. The Viceroyalty of New Spain was created by royal decree on October 12, 1535, in the Kingdom of New Spain with a viceroy appointed as the king's "deputy" or substitute. This was the first New World viceroyalty and one of only two that the Spanish Rmpire administered in the continent until

1692-514: The Pemex , Agro Nitrogenados, and Odebrecht frauds , as well as his mismanagement that led to the bankruptcy of Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA). Additionally, he has been accused of corruption , tax fraud , and money laundering . The Pemex case originated in 2013 when Alonso Ancira, his brother Jorge Ancira of Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA), and Emilio Lozoya , who served as Pemex's director, engaged in fraudulent activities. They orchestrated

1786-786: The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (1519–1521) to the collapse of Spanish rule in the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821). Beginning with the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521 by Hernán Cortés , Spanish rule was established, leading to the creation of governing bodies like the Council of the Indies and the Audiencia to maintain control. It involved the forced conversion of indigenous populations to Catholicism and

1880-747: The Viceroyalty of New Spain ( Spanish : Virreinato de Nueva España [birejˈnato ðe ˈnweβa esˈpaɲa] ; Nahuatl : Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl ), originally the Kingdom of New Spain , was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire , established by Habsburg Spain . It was one of several domains established during the Spanish conquest of the Americas , and had its capital in Mexico City. Its jurisdiction comprised

1974-464: The port of Veracruz . Alexander von Humboldt called this area, Mesa de Anahuac , which can be defined as the adjacent valleys of Puebla, Mexico, and Toluca, enclosed by high mountains, along with their connections to the Gulf Coast port of Veracruz and the Pacific port of Acapulco , where over half the population of New Spain lived. These valleys were linked trunk lines, or main routes, facilitating

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2068-520: The 1521 Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire , conqueror Hernán Cortés named the territory New Spain, and established the new capital, Mexico City, on the site of Tenochtitlan , the capital of the Mexica (Aztec) Empire . Central Mexico became the base of expeditions of exploration and conquest, expanding the territory claimed by the Spanish Empire. With the political and economic importance of

2162-400: The 1530s sugar production was underway. New Spain's first viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza established an hacienda on lands taken from Orizaba. Indians resisted cultivating sugarcane themselves, preferring to tend their subsistence crops. As in the Caribbean, black slave labor became crucial to the development of sugar estates. During the period 1580–1640 when Spain and Portugal were ruled by

2256-652: The 18th-century Bourbon Reforms . At its greatest extent, the Spanish crown claimed on the mainland of the Americas much of North America south of Canada, that is: all of modern Mexico and Central America except Panama ; most of the United States west of the Mississippi River, plus the Floridas . The Spanish West Indies , settled prior to the conquest of the Aztec Empire, also came under New Spain's jurisdiction: Cuba, Hispaniola , Puerto Rico, Jamaica,

2350-471: The Captaincies General of the Philippines (established 1574) and Guatemala (established in 1609), which were joint military and political commands with a certain level of autonomy. The viceroy was captain-general of those provinces that remained directly under his command. At the local level there were over two hundred districts, in both indigenous and Spanish areas, which were headed by either

2444-585: The Holy Office of the Inquisition , the merchants' guild ( consulado ), and home of the most elite families in the Kingdom of New Spain. Mexico City was the single most populous city, not just in New Spain, but for many years the entire Western Hemisphere, with a high concentration of mixed-race castas . Significant regional development grew along the main transportation route from the capital east to

2538-642: The Netherlands established colonies in territories Spain claimed. Much of what was called in the United States the "Spanish borderlands", is territory that attracted few Spanish settlers, with less dense indigenous populations and apparently lacking in mineral wealth. Huge deposits of gold in California were discovered immediately after it was incorporated into the U.S. following the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). The northern region of New Spain in

2632-530: The Provincias Internas (1776) (analogous to a dependent captaincy general). Two governorates , third-level administrative divisions, were established, the Governorate of Spanish Florida (Spanish: La Florida ) and the Governorate of Spanish Louisiana (Spanish: Luisiana ). The high courts, or audiencias , were established in major areas of Spanish settlement. In New Spain the high court

2726-523: The United States in the nineteenth century. Regional characteristics of colonial Mexico have been the focus of considerable study. For those based in the vice-regal capital of Mexico City, everywhere else were the "provinces." Even in the modern era, "Mexico" for many refers solely to Mexico City, with the pejorative view that anywhere outside the capital is a hopeless backwater. "Fuera de México, todo es Cuauhtitlán" ["outside of Mexico City, it's all Podunk"], that is, poor, marginal, and backward, in short,

2820-502: The Viceroyalty); Panama (1st one, 1538–1543); Guatemala (1543); Guadalajara (1548); Manila (1583). Audiencia districts further incorporated the older, smaller divisions known as governorates ( gobernaciones , roughly equivalent to provinces ), which had been originally established by conquistador -governors known as adelantados . Provinces which were under military threat were grouped into captaincies general , such as

2914-523: The adoption of the 1824 Constitution , which created the state of Coahuila y Tejas , the capital was transferred to Saltillo . In 1828, the decision was overturned when Monclova was declared the capital of the new state, but the state legislature continued to convene in Saltillo. On March 9, 1833, the state legislature settled the dispute in Monclova's favour, and the decision was ratified by President Antonio López de Santa Anna on December 2, 1834. With

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3008-449: The ample tithe income indicates, plus manufacturing woolen cloth for the domestic market. Merchants, manufacturers, and artisans were important to the city's economic fortunes, but its early prosperity was followed by stagnation and decline in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The foundation of the town of Puebla was a pragmatic social experiment to settle Spanish immigrants without encomiendas to pursue farming and industry. Puebla

3102-564: The blending of Spanish and indigenous cultures. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Spanish settlers founded major cities such as Mexico City, Puebla , and Guadalajara , turning New Spain into a vital part of the Spanish Empire. The discovery of silver in Zacatecas and Guanajuato significantly boosted the economy, leading to conflicts like the Chichimeca War . Missions and presidios were established in northern frontiers, aiding in

3196-492: The border, with the mines of iron located in the same state and Chihuahua, as well as with coal, located in the carboniferous region of Coahuila. Between 1944 and 1948, the production increased from 40,000 to 100,000 tons of liquid steel per year. In 1960, the smelter increased its capacity to 2 million tons of liquid steel per year, with this being consolidated as the largest company industry in Latin America . Throughout

3290-596: The colonial era was considered marginal to Spanish interests compared to the most densely populated and lucrative areas of central Mexico. To shore up its claims in North America in the eighteenth century as other powers encroached on its claims, the crown sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest , which explored and claimed the coast of British Columbia and Alaska. Religious missions and fortified presidios were established to shore up Spanish control on

3384-514: The company’s major domestic markets. Two steel plants operate in an area of nearly 3,000 acres. AHMSA extracts coal and iron ore . The company has its own coal mines in Palau, located 70 miles from Monclova. Once extracted, the washed coal is shipped by railroad to AHMSA’s coke plants. The main source of iron ore is located in Hercules, Coahuila, a mine owned by AHMSA. From that point the iron ore

3478-537: The conquest, the crown asserted direct control over the densely populated realm. The crown established New Spain as a viceroyalty in 1535, appointing as viceroy Antonio de Mendoza , an aristocrat loyal to the monarch rather than the conqueror Cortés. New Spain was the first of the viceroyalties that Spain created, the second being Peru in 1542, following the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire . Both New Spain and Peru had dense indigenous populations at conquest as

3572-558: The country after arrest warrants were issued by the Attorney General's Office (PGR) . To avoid capture, Ancira relocated to Israel on two occasions with his family and resided there for three years while being pursued by the Ministry of Finance. Ahmsa’s main steelmaking facilities and corporate offices are located in Monclova , Coahuila , close to transportation lines, raw materials supplies, principal points of export, and

3666-460: The decade of the '70s and after several expansions, the company achieved production of 3.75 million tons per year. In the decade of the '80s, AHMSA was nationalized by the federal government and went through several crises. In 1991,  Altos Hornos was under new management by Alonso Ancira , but his tenure was marked by a series of fraudulent activities that eventually led to the bankruptcy of Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA). He orchestrated one of

3760-460: The development of New Spain, but also to the enrichment of the Spanish crown, which marked a transformation in the global economy . New Spain's port of Acapulco became the New World terminus of the transpacific trade with the Philippines via the Manila galleon . New Spain became a vital link between Spain's New World empire and its East Indies empire . From the beginning of the 19th century,

3854-470: The discovery of silver in the north, the Spanish sought to conquer or pacify those peoples in order to exploit the mines and develop enterprises to supply them. Nonetheless, much of northern New Spain had sparse indigenous population and attracted few Europeans. The Spanish crown and later the Republic of Mexico did not effectively exert sovereignty over the region, leaving it vulnerable to the expansionism of

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3948-517: The enactment of the 1836 Constitutional Laws , by which the federal republic was converted into a centralised one, the state of Coahuila y Tejas was divided into two departments, Coahuila and Tejas (or Texas, as it would later become). Saltillo was confirmed as Coahuila's capital. However, 1835-36 was also the period of the Texas Revolution , and Texas became an independent republic . Monclova sits at an altitude of 620 m above sea level. It

4042-530: The establishment of economic societies, were part of the efforts to enhance efficiency and revenue for the crown. The decline of New Spain culminated in the early 19th century with the Mexican War of Independence. Following Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla 's 1810 Cry of Dolores , the insurgent army waged an eleven-year war against Spanish rule. The eventual alliance between royalist military officer Agustín de Iturbide and insurgent leader Vicente Guerrero led to

4136-455: The even worse treatment given to the black slaves. In colonial Mexico, Encomenderos de Negros were specialized middlemen during the first half of the seventeenth century. While encomendero (alternatively, encomenderos de indios) generally refers to men granted the labor and tribute of a particular indigenous group in the immediate post-conquest era, encomenderos de negros were Portuguese slave dealers who were permitted to operate in Mexico for

4230-525: The expansion and control of territories that later became part of the southwestern United States. The 18th century saw the implementation of the Bourbon Reforms , which aimed to modernize and strengthen the colonial administration and economy. These reforms included the creation of intendancies , increased military presence, and the centralization of royal authority. The expulsion of the Jesuits and

4324-1088: The federal government, such as the Tax Administration Service , Pemex , and the Federal Electricity Commission . AHMSA has debts with various areas of the federal government , including the Tax Administration Service, Petróleos Mexicanos, the Federal Electricity Commission , the National Workers' Housing Fund Institute , and the Mexican Social Security Institute , among others. Ancira had faced previous arrests for his mismanagement and corrupt practices at Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA). In 2004, he and his family members were charged with tax fraud in Mexico , prompting them to flee

4418-417: The formation of regional identity that they became the basis for the nations of Central America and the first Mexican states after independence . As part of the sweeping eighteenth-century administrative and economic changes known as the Bourbon Reforms , the Spanish crown created new administrative units called intendancies , to strengthen central control over the viceroyalty. Some measures aimed to break

4512-708: The ground. On the mainland, the administrative units included Las Californias , that is, the Baja California peninsula, still part of Mexico and divided into Baja California and Baja California Sur ; Alta California (modern Arizona , California , Nevada , Utah , western Colorado , and southern Wyoming ); (from the 1760s) Louisiana (including the western Mississippi River basin and the Missouri River basin); Nueva Extremadura (the modern states of Coahuila and Texas ); and Santa Fe de Nuevo México (parts of Texas and New Mexico ). The Viceroyalty

4606-533: The headquarters of the Sánchez Navarro latifundio , the largest private landholding in the Americas. During the initial battle for independence from Spain, fleeing rebel leaders who had been captured at the Wells of Baján were first taken to Monclova before the long trip to the city of Chihuahua . The captured leaders were Juan Aldama , Ignacio Allende , Miguel Hidalgo , and José Mariano Jiménez . With

4700-475: The highest labor productivity rates. Established on July 25, 1577 by Spanish colonists, Monclova became the first city in the region known as Coahuila, which later became the State of Coahuila. During the colonial period and the early 19th century, Monclova served as the capital of Nueva Extremadura . It remained the capital for a few years after Mexico's independence. Prior to 1840, haciendas near Monclova were

4794-440: The hottest records have climbed as high as 43 °C (109 °F) on July 13, 2005 and 45 °C (113 °F) on May 4, 1984. However nighttime low temperatures are typically 15 degrees cooler than daytime highs, due to the very arid conditions. Even in July, the warmest month, temperatures have gotten as low as 10.6 °C (51.1 °F) in 1975. The median temperature July is 28.6 °C (83.5 °F). A typical summer day has

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4888-504: The kingdom fell into crisis, aggravated by the 1808 Napoleonic invasion of Iberia and the forced abdication of the Bourbon monarch, Charles IV . This resulted in a political crisis in New Spain and much of the Spanish Empire in 1808, which ended with the government of Viceroy José de Iturrigaray . Conspiracies of American-born Spaniards sought to take power, leading to the Mexican War of Independence , 1810–1821. At its conclusion in 1821,

4982-457: The lack of state involvement in the development of physical infrastructure was to have lasting effects, constraining development until the late nineteenth century. Despite the road improvements, transit was still difficult, particularly for heavy military equipment. Although the crown had ambitious plans for both the Toluca and Veracruz portions of the king's highway, improvements were limited to

5076-458: The largest scams in Mexican history and was subsequently arrested by Interpol on charges of fraud, corruption, and money laundering. Ancira's involvement in the Pemex , Agro Nitrogenados, and Odebrecht frauds further solidified his culpability. The fraudulent transaction amounted to $ 500 million, with the plant itself being revealed as nothing more than a sham. Ancira is now obligated to repay

5170-412: The mines in the north of Mexico had a workforce of black slave labor and indigenous wage labor, not draft labor. Indigenous who were drawn to the mining areas were from different regions of the center of Mexico, with a few from the north itself. With such diversity they did not have a common ethnic identity or language and rapidly assimilated to Hispanic culture. Although mining was difficult and dangerous,

5264-418: The movement of vital goods and people to get to key areas. Even in the relatively richly endowed region of Mexico, the difficulty of transit of people and goods in the absence of rivers and level terrain remained a major challenge to the economy of New Spain. This challenge persisted during the post-independence years until the late nineteenth-century construction of railroads. In the colonial era and up until

5358-466: The multiethnic Indian populations in the Veracruz area and for that reason Spaniards imported black slaves as either an alternative to indigenous labor or its complete replacement in the event of a repetition of the Caribbean die-off. A few Spaniards acquired prime agricultural lands left vacant by the indigenous demographic disaster. Portions of the province could support sugar cultivation and as early as

5452-409: The northern area of Mexico was arid and mountainous, a region of nomadic and semi-nomadic indigenous populations, which do not easily support human settlement. In the 1540s, the discovery of silver in Zacatecas attracted Spanish mining entrepreneurs and workers, to exploit the mines, as well as crown officials to ensure the crown received its share of revenue. Silver mining became integral not only to

5546-501: The only viable Gulf Coast port, the gateway for Spain to New Spain. The difficult topography around the port affected local development and New Spain as a whole. Going from the port to the central plateau entailed a daunting 2000 meter climb from the narrow tropical coastal plain in just over a hundred kilometers. The narrow, slippery road in the mountain mists was treacherous for mule trains, and in some cases mules were hoisted by ropes. Many tumbled with their cargo to their deaths. Given

5640-417: The periphery. The picture is far more complex, however; while the capital is enormously important as the center of institutional, economic, and social power, the provinces played a significant role in colonial Mexico. Regions (provinces) developed and thrived to the extent that they became sites of economic production and tied into networks of trade. "Spanish society in the Indies was import-export oriented at

5734-477: The population there, a far greater proportion than any other area of New Spain, and greater than even nearby Jalapa. In 1765 the crown created a monopoly on tobacco, which directly affected agriculture and manufacturing in the Veracruz region. Tobacco was a valuable, high-demand product. Men, women, and even children smoked, something commented on by foreign travelers and depicted in eighteenth-century casta paintings. The crown calculated that tobacco could produce

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5828-566: The port of Acapulco and European goods via the flota (convoy) from the Spanish port of Cádiz . Spaniards also settled in the temperate area of Orizaba , east of the Citlaltepetl volcano. Orizaba varied considerably in elevation from 800 metres (2,600 ft) to 5,700 metres (18,700 ft) (the summit of the Citlaltepetl volcano), but "most of the inhabited part is temperate." Some Spaniards lived in semitropical Córdoba , which

5922-452: The port of Veracruz and the capital had some short sections paved and bridges constructed. The construction was done despite protests from some indigenous settlements when the infrastructure improvements, which sometimes included rerouting the road through communal lands. The Spanish crown finally decided that road improvement was in the interests of the state for military purposes, as well as for fostering commerce, agriculture, and industry, but

6016-502: The possibility of drastically reducing temperatures in the area, and are responsible for the little rainfall of such period. Even snowfall has occurred in Monclova some winters, although most years it is a phenomenon reserved only to the nearby mountains. Precipitation occurs an average of 47 days, out of which 6 will be thunderstorms and at least one day with hail. The city accounts for the highest production of steel of Mexico and Latin America, hence its nickname "The Steel Capital". In 1942

6110-474: The power of local elites in order to improve the economy of the empire. Reforms included the improvement of public participation in communal affairs, distribution of undeveloped lands to the indigenous and Spaniards, ending the corrupt practices of local crown officials, encouraging trade and mining, and establishing a system of territorial division similar to the model created by the government of France, already adopted in Spain. The establishment of intendancies

6204-412: The railroads were built in key areas in post-independence in the late nineteenth century, mule trains were the main mode of transporting goods. Pack mules were used because unpaved roads, mountainous terrain, and seasonal flooding could not generally accommodate carts. In the late eighteenth century, the crown devoted some resources to study and remedy the poor roads. The Camino Real (royal road) between

6298-633: The regions or provinces that had developed earlier in the center, South, and North. Many of the intendancy boundaries became Mexican state boundaries after independence. The intendancies were created between 1764 and 1789, with the greatest number in the mainland in 1786: 1764 La Habana (later subdivided); 1766 Nueva Orleans; 1784 Puerto Rico; 1786 México, Veracruz, Puebla de Los Ángeles, Guadalajara, Guanajuato, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Durango, Oaxaca, Guatemala, San Salvador, Comayagua, León, Santiago de Cuba, Puerto Príncipe; 1789 Mérida. The history of mainland New Spain spans three hundred years from

6392-599: The sale of a non-existent plant to the Mexican government, valued at just a few million dollars. However, in 2019, the Superior Audit Office uncovered that the transaction had far exceeded its actual cost. Consequently, Ancira was arrested for fraud in Spain in 2019 and subsequently extradited to Mexico in 2021. Furthermore, it came to light that during his management, the plant had been abandoned, with machines turned off for years. The 17,000 employees who worked at AHMSA had not received salary payments for four years. Despite being in debt, Ancira still owes various areas of

6486-408: The same monarch and Portuguese slave traders had access to Spanish markets, African slaves were imported in large numbers to New Spain and many of them remained in the region of Veracruz. But even when that connection was broken and prices rose, black slaves remained an important component of Córdoba's labor sector even after 1700. Rural estates in Córdoba depended on African slave labor, who were 20% of

6580-443: The same name. It became the seat of the richest diocese in New Spain in its first century, with the seat of the first diocese, formerly in Tlaxcala, moved there in 1543. Bishop Juan de Palafox asserted that the income from the diocese of Puebla was twice that of the archbishopic of Mexico, due to the tithe income derived from agriculture. In its first hundred years, Puebla was prosperous from wheat farming and other agriculture, as

6674-401: The seventeenth century, but silver mining in Mexico out-performed all other Spanish overseas territories in revenues for the royal coffers. The fast red dye cochineal was an important export in areas such as central Mexico and Oaxaca in terms of revenues to the crown and stimulation of the internal market of New Spain. Cacao and indigo were also important exports for the New Spain, but

6768-513: The ships that set sail from Veracruz were generally loaded with merchandise from the East Indies originating from the commercial centers of the Philippines , plus the precious metals and natural resources of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. During the 16th century, Spain held the equivalent of US$ 1.5 trillion (1990 terms) in gold and silver received from New Spain. However, these resources did not translate into development for

6862-474: The slave trade. In Peru, the other discovery that perpetuated the system of forced labor, the mit'a , was the enormously rich single silver mine discovered at Potosí, but in New Spain, labor recruitment differed significantly. With the exception of silver mines worked in the Aztec period at Taxco , southwest of Tenochtitlan, the Mexico's mining region was outside the area of dense indigenous settlement. Labor for

6956-509: The steel factory Altos Hornos de Mexico was founded, accelerating the industrial development of Monclova. Today Monclova has one of the highest commercial, industrial and financial developments, and it is currently one of the cities with the lowest poverty rates in Mexico. Its metropolitan area is among the 10 most competitive urban areas in the country, and it also has the highest labor productivity. New Spain New Spain , officially

7050-703: The stolen funds to the Mexican Government , as his actions have resulted in AHMSA declaring bankruptcy . In April 2023, Ancira was ousted from the presidency of AHMSA, which is now in the hands of Argentem Creek Partners, an American fund that is facing the challenge of reviving a company on the brink of collapse. Ancira resigned along with members of the Board of Directors, including Jorge Alberto Ancira Elizondo, José Eduardo Ancira Elizondo, James Pignatelli, Juan Carlos Quintana, and Francisco Pérez Ortega. AHMSA

7144-425: The successful campaign for independence. In 1821, New Spain officially became the independent nation of Mexico, ending three centuries of Spanish colonial rule. During the era of the conquest, in order to pay off the debts incurred by the conquistadors and their companies, the new Spanish governors awarded their men grants of native tribute and labor, known as encomiendas . In New Spain these grants were modeled after

7238-455: The temperature can climb as high as 30 °C (86 °F) during some days and it can drop to 0 °C (32 °F) some nights. Probably the coldest snap in recent history took place on December 25, 1983 when the temperature plunged to −9.5 °C (14.9 °F). On the other hand, temperatures during late spring and summer can have bouts of extreme heat, with evenings above 40 °C (104 °F) for many consecutive days. In recent decades

7332-446: The transport constraints, only high-value, low-bulk goods continued to be shipped in the transatlantic trade, which stimulated local production of foodstuffs, rough textiles, and other products for a mass market. Although New Spain produced considerable sugar and wheat, these were consumed exclusively in the colony even though there was demand elsewhere. Philadelphia, not New Spain, supplied Cuba with wheat. The Caribbean port of Veracruz

7426-539: The tribute and corvee labor that the Mexica rulers had demanded from native communities. This system came to signify the oppression and exploitation of natives, although its originators may not have set out with such intent. In short order the upper echelons of patrons and priests in the society lived off the work of the lower classes. Due to some horrifying instances of abuse against the indigenous peoples, Bishop Bartolomé de las Casas suggested bringing black slaves to replace them. Fray Bartolomé later repented when he saw

7520-653: The very base and in every aspect," and the development of many regional economies was typically centered on support of that export sector. Mexico City was the center of the Central region, and the hub of New Spain. The development of Mexico City itself was vitally important to the development of New Spain as a whole. It was the seat of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the Archdiocese of the Catholic Church,

7614-466: The viceregal capital and the port of Veracruz, in a fertile basin with a dense indigenous population, largely not held in encomienda , made Puebla a destination for later arriving Spaniards. If there had been significant mineral wealth in Puebla, it could have been even more prominent a center for New Spain, but its first century established its importance. In 1786 it became the capital of an intendancy of

7708-558: The viceroyalty was dissolved and the Mexican Empire was established. Former royalist military officer turned insurgent for independence Agustín de Iturbide would be crowned as emperor. The Kingdom of New Spain was established on 18 August 1521, following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire , as a New World kingdom ruled by the Crown of Castile . The initial funds for exploration came from Queen Isabella . Although New Spain

7802-405: The wages were good, which is what drew the indigenous labor. The Viceroyalty of New Spain was the principal source of income for Spain in the eighteenth century, with the revival of mining under the Bourbon Reforms . Important mining centers like Zacatecas , Guanajuato , San Luis Potosí and Hidalgo had been established in the sixteenth century and suffered decline for a variety of reasons in

7896-471: Was a dependency of Castile, it (Mexico) was a kingdom and not a colony, subject to the presiding monarch on the Iberian Peninsula . The monarch had sweeping power in the overseas territories, with not just sovereignty over the realm but also property rights. All power over the state came from the monarch. The crown had sweeping powers over the Catholic Church in its overseas territories, and via

7990-433: Was administered by a viceroy residing in Mexico City and appointed by the Spanish monarch , who had administrative oversight of all of these regions, although most matters were handled by the local governmental bodies, which ruled the various regions of the viceroyalty. First among these were the audiencias , which were primarily superior tribunals, but which also had administrative and legislative functions. Each of these

8084-672: Was built in the Mesoamerican heartland of the Aztec Empire in Central Mexico. The South (Oaxaca, Michoacán, Yucatán, and Central America) was a region of dense indigenous settlement of Mesoamerica, but without exploitable resources of interest to Europeans, the area attracted few Europeans, while the indigenous presence remained strong. The North was outside the area of complex indigenous populations, inhabited primarily by nomadic and hostile northern indigenous groups. With

8178-542: Was established in 1527, prior to the establishment of the viceroyalty. The First Audiencia was headed by Hernán Cortés 's rival Nuño de Guzmán , who used the court to deprive Cortés of power and property. The crown dissolved the First Audiencia and established the Second Audiencia. The audiencias of New Spain were Santo Domingo (1511, effective 1526, predated the Viceroyalty); Mexico (1527, predated

8272-459: Was founded as a villa in 1618, to serve as a Spanish base against runaway slave ( cimarrón ) predations on mule trains traveling the route from the port to the capital. Some cimarrón settlements sought autonomy, such as one led by Gaspar Yanga , with whom the crown concluded a treaty leading to the recognition of a largely black town, San Lorenzo de los Negros de Cerralvo, later called the municipality of Yanga. European diseases immediately affected

8366-457: Was privileged in a number of ways, starting with its status as a Spanish settlement not founded on existing indigenous city-state, but with a significant indigenous population. It was located in a fertile basin on a temperate plateau in the nexus of the key trade triangle of Veracruz–Mexico City–Antequera (Oaxaca). Although there were no encomiendas in Puebla itself, encomenderos with nearby labor grants settled in Puebla. And despite its foundation as

8460-594: Was responsible to the Viceroy of New Spain in administrative matters (though not in judicial ones), but they also answered directly to the Council of the Indies . The Captaincy Generals were the second-level administrative divisions and these were relatively autonomous from the viceroyalty. The viceroy was captain-general of those provinces that remained directly under his command. Santo Domingo (1535); Philippines (1565); Puerto Rico (1580); Cuba (1608); Guatemala (1609); Yucatán (1617); Commandancy General of

8554-443: Was small, with its hot, pestilential climate not a draw for permanent settlers: its population never topped 10,000. Many Spanish merchants preferred living in the pleasant highland town of Jalapa (1,500 m). For a brief period (1722–76) the town of Jalapa became even more important than Veracruz, after it was granted the right to hold the royal trade fair for New Spain, serving as the entre for goods from Asia via Manila galleon through

8648-486: Was sold to Argentem Creek Partners in April 2023 and is now run by new management. Despite the sale to Argentem Creek Partners, the steel company continues to have a debt of $ 650 million. Alonso Ancira Elizondo , the former president of AHMSA from 1991-2023, is known for leading one of the largest scams in the history of Mexico, defrauding the Mexican government of $ 500 million. He is responsible for his involvement in

8742-469: Was strongly resisted by the viceroyalties and general captaincies similar to the opposition in the Iberian Peninsula when the reform was adopted. Royal audiencias and ecclesiastical hierarchs opposed the reform for its intervention in economic issues, for its centralist politics, and the forced ceding of many of their functions to the intendants. In New Spain, these units generally corresponded to

8836-460: Was used through rather the vice royalties rather than contact with European countries due to piracy, and smuggling. The indigo industry in particular also helped to temporarily unite communities throughout the Kingdom of Guatemala due to the smuggling. There were two major ports in New Spain, Veracruz the viceroyalty's principal port on the Atlantic, and Acapulco on the Pacific, terminus of

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