History of Oaxaca

Pre-historic and pre-Hispanic period

Most of what is known about

The Zapotecs were the earliest to gain dominance over the Central Valleys region.[2] The first major dominion was centered in Monte Albán, which flourished from 500 BC until 750 AD.^[3] At its height, Monte Albán was home to some 25,000 people and was the capital city of the Zapotec nation.^[2] It remained a secondary center of power for the Zapotecs until the Mixtecs overran it in 1325.^[4] The site contains a number of notable features including the Danzantes, a set of stone reliefs and the finding of fine quality ceramics.^[1]

Starting from 750 AD large urban centers such as Monte Albán fell across the Oaxaca area and smaller dominions grew and evolved until the

While the Zapotec remained dominant in many parts of the Central Valleys and into the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the Mixtec were pushing into Zapotec territory, taking Monte Albán. In areas they conquered, they became prolific builders, leaving behind numerous and still unexplored sites. However, the conquest of the Central Valleys was never completed with pressure coming from the Aztecs in Tenochtitlan in the 14th and 15th centuries. The Zapotecs and Mixtecs both allied themselves and fought among themselves as they tried to maintain their lands and valuable trade routes between the high central plains of Mexico and Central America.[2]^[4]

The first Aztecs arrived to the Oaxaca area in 1250, but true expansion into the region began in the 15th century. In 1457, Moctezuma I invaded the Tlaxiaco and Coixtlahuaca areas, gaining control, demanding tribute and establishing military outposts.^[3] These were Mixtec lands at first, pushing these people even further into Zapotec territory.^[1] Under Axayacatl and Tizoc, the Aztec began to take control of trade routes in the area and part of the Pacific Coast. By this time, the Zapotec were led by Cosijoeza with the government in Zaachila in the latter 15th century. Under Ahuitzotl, the Aztecs temporarily pushed the Zapotecs into Tehuantepec and established a permanent military base at Huaxyacac (Oaxaca city). The Aztecs were stopped only by the Spanish Conquest.^[1] These conquests would change most of the place names in parts of Oaxaca to those from the Nahuatl language.^[3] In 1486 the Aztecs established a fort on the hill of Huaxyácac (now called El Fortín), overlooking the present city of Oaxaca. This was the major Aztec military base charged with the enforcement of tribute collection and control of trade routes.^[2]

However, Aztec rule in Oaxaca would last only a little more than thirty years.^[2]

Colonial period

Very soon after the fall of

The valley Zapotecs, the Mixtecs of the Upper Mixteca, the Mazatecas and the Cuicatecas, for the most part, chose not to fight the newcomers, instead negotiating to keep most of the old hierarchy but with ultimate authority to the Spanish.^[1][2] Resistance to the new order was sporadic and confined to the Pacific coastal plain, the Zapotec Sierra, the Mixe region and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The Mixes put up the most resistance to intrusions on their lands. They not only resisted during the first decade or so of Spanish occupation, like other groups, but through the rest of the 16th century. The last major Mixe rebellion came in 1570, when they burned and looted Zapotec communities and threatened to annihilate the Spanish presidio of Villa Alta. However, this rebellion was put down by the Spanish, in alliance with about 2,000 Mixtecs and Aztecs. From this point, the Mixe people retreated to isolated parts of the Sierra Norte mountain range where they still live today.^[2]

The first priest in the territory was

For much of the colonial period, the state (then an intendencia or province) was relatively isolated with few roads and other forms of communication. Most politics and social issues were strictly on the local level. Despite Spanish domination, the indigenous peoples of Oaxaca maintained much of their culture and identity, more so than most other places in Mexico. Part of this is due to the geography of the land, making many communities isolated.[3]

Independence

By 1810, the city of Oaxaca had 18,000 inhabitants, most of whom were

The state was a department after the war ended in 1821, but after the fall of emperor Agustín de Iturbide, it became a state in 1824 with Jose Maria Murguia named as its first governor.^[1]

During the 19th century, Oaxaca and the rest of Mexico was split between liberal (federalist) and conservative (centralist) factions. The political and military struggles between the factions resulted in wars and intrigues. Vicente Guerrero, a liberal, was executed by firing squad in Cuilapam in 1831. Liberal Manuel Gomez Pedraza became governor in 1832 but was opposed by General Estaban Moctezuma. He and commandant Luis Quintanar persecuted liberals in the state, including Benito Juárez. The constant warfare had a negative effect on the state's economy and those in the Tehuantepec area supported a separatist movement which was partially successful in the 1850s.^[1]

Two Oaxacans, Benito Juarez and

During Díaz's rule, called the Porfiriato, a number of modernization efforts were undertaken in the state such as public lighting, first with gas then with electricity, railroad lines, new agriculture techniques and the revitalization of commerce. However, most of the benefits of these advances went to national and international corporations and workers and indigenous farmers organized against the regime.[1]

After the Mexican Revolution broke out, Díaz was soon ousted and the rest of the war was among the various factions that had power in different parts of the country. Various leaders such as Francisco I. Madero, Victoriano Huerta and Venustiano Carranza came to the state during this time. However the most important force in the area was the Liberation Army of the South under Emiliano Zapata. This army fought against the previous leaders, especially Venustiano Carranza,^[1] and held various portions of the state until 1920.^[2] At the end of the Revolution, a new state constitution was written and accepted in 1922.^[1]

A series of major disasters occurred in the state from the 1920s to the 1940s. In 1928, a series of earthquakes destroyed many of the buildings in the capital. A much larger earthquake in 1931 was the largest in the state's history, devastating a number of cities along the coast. The 1930s brought the Great Depression, which along with the disasters, prompted wide-scale migration to Mexico City. In 1944, torrential rains caused massive flooding in the Tuxtepec region, causing hundreds of deaths.^[7] Oaxaca suffered more large earthquakes in 1980, 1999, 2017, and 2020, as well as one in 2018, which caused a deadly helicopter crash.

In the 1940s and 1950s, new infrastructure projects were begun. These included the Izúcar-Tehuantepec section of the

From the Mexican Revolution until the 2000s, the ruling