Amanalco
Encyclopedia
Amanalco is a town and municipality
, in Mexico State
in Mexico
. The municipality covers an area of 219.49 km².
As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 20,343.
The original name was N’dabi, which in Otomi
means “place where tree trunks float” or “where there is much water.” The current name is from Nahuatl
and means “near a lake” or “an extension of water.” The municipality has both an Aztec glyph
as well as a coat of arms.
around 3,500 BCE, but suffered attacks by neighboring Tarascos. By the pre-classic period, society had developed into stratified tribes and by 200 BCE a tributary system has been developed. On the site of the town of Amanalco was found a 7,000 year old human footprint in volcanic rock belonging to someone now called the “man of Amanalco.” The Aztec
s conquered this area along with the rest of the Valley del Matlatzinco (today Toluca Valley
) in 1476 under the rule of Axayacatl
. Amanalco came under the jurisdiction of Metepec
.
After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Gonzalo de Sandoval
took control of the valley with ease, as the native Matzalincas saw the Spaniards as a way to protect themselves from the Tarascans. The valley then became part of the lands awarded to Hernán Cortés
when he was named the Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca by the Spanish king. Under Spanish rule in the early colonial period, Amanalco remained subject to Metepec. A village was founded in the middle of the 16th century by several medicinal herb collectors, according to oral tradition. Franciscans came to the village and named it San Jerónimo Amanalco. By 1600, the Mexica
s had abandoned the area and groups of Otomi
came to settle. In 1604, Amanalco was made a governing center for the area. The Amanalco area was the encomendero of Juan de Sámano, whose Hacienda en Zinacantepec, La Gavia, claimed lands in Amanalco. However, the natives of the area managed to reclaim this land. In 1613.
The village’s church was constructed in the 16th century. The church became a parish in 1768 as a dependency of the parish of San Francisco del Valle, now Valle del Bravo. The population of the town joined with the insurgency in 1810 and many fought against royalist general Juan Bautista de la Torre as part of Miguel Hidalgo’s army. In return, the village asked for legal title to the land on which it sits, as the La Gavia Hacienda still made claims here.
The first Spanish families moved here only in the early 19th century. At this time the village was also known as Amanalco de las Cucharas (spoons) as it was noted to the manufacture of spoons. The village and surrounding area became a municipality in 1826. The village supported the Play de Ayutla in 1854. In 1858, liberal General Felipe Berriozábal
came through here on his way to Mexico City, fighting against conservative guerrilla forces.
The village was declared a town in 1875 and added “de Becerra” to the name after José María Becerra. Becerra was a parish priest here in the mid 19th century. He worked here for over twenty years, instructing natives on carpetry, introduced potable water and building houses which were donated to families in the municipality. He died in 1868 in what is now Valle de Bravo
, but his remains were brought back to Amanalco and buried in the parish church. He is considered to be a protector of the community.
During the Porfirio Díaz
period (1880s to 1910), the La Gavia Hacienda again made claims on the land of the municipality and eventually took over the economic life of the town, with almost all the inhabitants working for the hacienda for little pay. For this reason, the residents joined the forces of Andrés Fabila during the Mexican Revolution
, who were aligned with the Zapatistas
. However, the town was destroyed by Zapatista forces under Carmen Esquivel during the war. This left the municipality without a local government for several years. By 1919, steps had been taken to reconstruct the municipal seat under the direction of Alfonso Fabila, with the first post war municipal president being José Avila. However, the war had the effect of returning lands seized by the La Gavia Hacienda back to the indigenous and mestizo
peoples of the municipality and the formation of ejidos. Reconstruction of the seat would continue until the mid 20th century. La Gavia was dispossessed under the government of Lázaro Cárdenas
in the 1930s.
Municipalities of Jalisco
The Mexican state of Jalisco is divided into125 municipalities...
, in Mexico State
Mexico (state)
México , officially: Estado Libre y Soberano de México is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of the United Mexican States. It is divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Toluca de Lerdo....
in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The municipality covers an area of 219.49 km².
As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 20,343.
The original name was N’dabi, which in Otomi
Otomi language
Otomi is an Oto-Manguean language and one of the indigenous languages of Mexico, spoken by approximately 240,000 indigenous Otomi people in the central altiplano region of Mexico. The language is spoken in many different dialects, some of which are not mutually intelligible, therefore it is in...
means “place where tree trunks float” or “where there is much water.” The current name is from Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
and means “near a lake” or “an extension of water.” The municipality has both an Aztec glyph
Glyph
A glyph is an element of writing: an individual mark on a written medium that contributes to the meaning of what is written. A glyph is made up of one or more graphemes....
as well as a coat of arms.
History
This area became to be populated 15,000 to 20,000 years ago when nomads entered this valley in search of mammoths. Between 7,000 and 12,000 years ago, the people of this area gradually became sedentary, forming villages, and initiating agriculture based on corn, beans, squash and chili peppers. One o f first known tribes to dominate this area was the MatlatzincaMatlatzinca
Matlatzinca is a name used to refer to different indigenous ethnic groups in the Toluca Valley in the state of México, located in the central highlands of Mexico. The term is applied to the ethnic group inhabiting the valley of Toluca and to their language, Matlatzinca.When used as an ethnonym,...
around 3,500 BCE, but suffered attacks by neighboring Tarascos. By the pre-classic period, society had developed into stratified tribes and by 200 BCE a tributary system has been developed. On the site of the town of Amanalco was found a 7,000 year old human footprint in volcanic rock belonging to someone now called the “man of Amanalco.” The Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
s conquered this area along with the rest of the Valley del Matlatzinco (today Toluca Valley
Toluca Valley
Toluca Valley is a valley located approximately 75 km southwest Mexico City. The modern city of Toluca is located there. Other municipalities within valley and part of the Toluca metropolitan area include Metepec, Calimaya, Almoloya de Juárez, San Mateo Atenco, Lerma, Lago, Temoaya, Otzolotepec and...
) in 1476 under the rule of Axayacatl
Axayacatl
Axayacatl was the sixth Aztec Emperor, a ruler of the Postclassic Mesoamerican Aztec Empire and city of Tenochtitlan, who reigned from 1469 to 1481.He is chiefly remembered for subjugating Tlatelolco, Tenochtitlan's sister city, in 1473....
. Amanalco came under the jurisdiction of Metepec
Metepec
Metepec is a city and municipality in the State of Mexico in Mexico and is located directly to the east of the state capital, Toluca, at an altitude of 2,635 metres above sea level. The centre of Mexico City lies some 50 km further to the east. The name Metepec comes from Náhuatl meaning hill of...
.
After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Gonzalo de Sandoval
Gonzalo de Sandoval
Gonzalo de Sandoval was a Spanish conquistador in New Spain and briefly co-governor of the colony while Hernan Cortés was away from the capital .-Arrival in New Spain:Sandoval was the youngest of the lieutenants of Cortés. They arrived together in New Spain in 1519...
took control of the valley with ease, as the native Matzalincas saw the Spaniards as a way to protect themselves from the Tarascans. The valley then became part of the lands awarded to Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
when he was named the Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca by the Spanish king. Under Spanish rule in the early colonial period, Amanalco remained subject to Metepec. A village was founded in the middle of the 16th century by several medicinal herb collectors, according to oral tradition. Franciscans came to the village and named it San Jerónimo Amanalco. By 1600, the Mexica
Mexica
The Mexica were a pre-Columbian people of central Mexico.Mexica may also refer to:*Mexica , a board game designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling*Mexica , a 2005 novel by Norman Spinrad...
s had abandoned the area and groups of Otomi
Otomi people
The Otomi people . Smaller Otomi populations exist in the states of Puebla, Mexico, Tlaxcala, Michoacán and Guanajuato. The Otomi language belonging to the Oto-Pamean branch of the Oto-Manguean language family is spoken in many different varieties some of which are not mutually intelligible.One of...
came to settle. In 1604, Amanalco was made a governing center for the area. The Amanalco area was the encomendero of Juan de Sámano, whose Hacienda en Zinacantepec, La Gavia, claimed lands in Amanalco. However, the natives of the area managed to reclaim this land. In 1613.
The village’s church was constructed in the 16th century. The church became a parish in 1768 as a dependency of the parish of San Francisco del Valle, now Valle del Bravo. The population of the town joined with the insurgency in 1810 and many fought against royalist general Juan Bautista de la Torre as part of Miguel Hidalgo’s army. In return, the village asked for legal title to the land on which it sits, as the La Gavia Hacienda still made claims here.
The first Spanish families moved here only in the early 19th century. At this time the village was also known as Amanalco de las Cucharas (spoons) as it was noted to the manufacture of spoons. The village and surrounding area became a municipality in 1826. The village supported the Play de Ayutla in 1854. In 1858, liberal General Felipe Berriozábal
Felipe Berriozábal
Felipe Berriozábal was a Mexican politician, engineer and military leader. He participated in the Reform War and in the fight against French Intervention in Mexico...
came through here on his way to Mexico City, fighting against conservative guerrilla forces.
The village was declared a town in 1875 and added “de Becerra” to the name after José María Becerra. Becerra was a parish priest here in the mid 19th century. He worked here for over twenty years, instructing natives on carpetry, introduced potable water and building houses which were donated to families in the municipality. He died in 1868 in what is now Valle de Bravo
Valle de Bravo
Valle de Bravo is a town and municipality located in Mexico State, Mexico. It is located on the shore of Lake Avándaro, approximately 156 km southwest of Mexico City and west of Toluca on highways 15, 134 or 1...
, but his remains were brought back to Amanalco and buried in the parish church. He is considered to be a protector of the community.
During the Porfirio Díaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
period (1880s to 1910), the La Gavia Hacienda again made claims on the land of the municipality and eventually took over the economic life of the town, with almost all the inhabitants working for the hacienda for little pay. For this reason, the residents joined the forces of Andrés Fabila during the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
, who were aligned with the Zapatistas
Liberation Army of the South
The Liberation Army of the South was an armed group formed and led by Emiliano Zapata that took part in the Mexican Revolution. The force was commonly known as the Zapatistas....
. However, the town was destroyed by Zapatista forces under Carmen Esquivel during the war. This left the municipality without a local government for several years. By 1919, steps had been taken to reconstruct the municipal seat under the direction of Alfonso Fabila, with the first post war municipal president being José Avila. However, the war had the effect of returning lands seized by the La Gavia Hacienda back to the indigenous and mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
peoples of the municipality and the formation of ejidos. Reconstruction of the seat would continue until the mid 20th century. La Gavia was dispossessed under the government of Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas del Río was President of Mexico from 1934 to 1940.-Early life:Lázaro Cárdenas was born on May 21, 1895 in a lower-middle class family in the village of Jiquilpan, Michoacán. He supported his family from age 16 after the death of his father...
in the 1930s.