Nueva Galicia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
New Galicia
Nueva Galicia
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Province & Indendancy
|
|||
| Nuevo Reino de Galicia New Kingdom of Galicia |
|||
|
|||
.svg) |
|||
| Country |  Spain |
||
| Viceroyalty | New Spain |
||
| Royal Audience | Mexico City Compostela (1548–1560) Guadalajara |
||
| Capital | Guadalajara | ||
| Established | c.1531 | ||
| Dissolved | 1824 | ||
.svg)
New Kingdom of Galicia (or Nuevo Reino de Galicia in Spanish), often called simply New Galicia, was a special part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Think of it like a large region or state within the Spanish Empire's lands in the Americas. It was named after a place called Galicia in Spain. Today, the land that was once New Galicia covers parts of several Mexican states: Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Colima, Jalisco, Nayarit, and Zacatecas.
Contents
History of New Galicia
Spanish explorers first arrived in this area around 1531. Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán led this early expedition. He founded a major city and named it Guadalajara, after his hometown in Spain. He wanted to call the region "Greater Spain," but the Queen of Spain, Queen Joanna, decided on "New Kingdom of Galicia" instead.
Conflicts and Settlement
Guzmán's arrival caused a lot of conflict with the local Native peoples. This made Spanish control of the area unstable for a while. About ten years later, a major conflict called the Mixtón War broke out (1540–1541). In this war, groups like the Coras, Guachichils, and Caxcans fought against the Spanish settlers.
Later, around 1550, another conflict began, known as the Chichimeca War. This time, the Zacateco people fought against the Spanish and their allies, including the Caxcan. As the Spanish settled the area, Nahuas from the Valley of Mexico also moved into the region. In the late 1500s, Huichols also arrived.
Government and Independence
New Galicia became very important when silver was discovered in the northern regions. Because of this growing wealth, Guadalajara became the seat of a special court called the Audiencia in 1548. This court, known as the Audiencia of Guadalajara, was in charge of all the northern mainland provinces of the Viceroyalty.
At first, the Guadalajara Audiencia reported to the Royal Audiencia of Mexico. But in 1572, it became independent. This meant New Galicia could be ruled mostly separately from the rest of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.
In the late 1700s, as part of changes made by the Spanish government, a new type of administration called an Intendancy was set up in Guadalajara. This was part of the Bourbon Reforms aimed at making the empire more efficient.
New Galicia continued as a Spanish territory until 1824. After Mexico gained its independence from Spain, the kingdom of New Galicia was changed. It became the State of Jalisco and the Territory of Colima, which are still parts of Mexico today.
Territorial Divisions
Over time, New Galicia was divided into different areas for easier management.
Early Divisions
- Province of Nueva Galicia: This included the areas of Aguascalientes, Nayarit, and Jalisco.
- Province of Los Zacatecas: This covered the region of Zacatecas.
- Province of Colima: This was the area of Colima.
Later Divisions
Later, the divisions were changed:
- Intendancy of Guadalajara: This larger area included Aguascalientes, Nayarit, Jalisco, and Colima.
- Intendancy of Zacatecas: This covered the region of Zacatecas.
See also
In Spanish: Nueva Galicia para niños
- Real Audiencia of Guadalajara
- List of governors of New Galicia
- La Gran Chichimeca
- History of Mexico
