Aguascalientes

Mexican State

Area: 5486sq.km/2117sq.mi

Population: 862,700

Aguascalientes, bordered to the north, west and east by Zacatecas and to the south by Jalisco, is one of Mexico's smallest states. Averaging 1800 m (5900 ft) above sea level it forms part of the central Mexican highlands, hugging in the west the foothills of the Sierra Madre. Its numerous small rivers and one large one make it an unusually fertile region by Mexican standards. Almost all the population are of Spanish descent.

History

In pre-Columbian times Aguascalientes was the territory of the semi-nomadic Chichimecs (a disparaging name meaning "descended from dogs", used by more civilised tribes to refer to hunter-gatherers generally, rather than to any particular group or race). From the 8th c. onwards these relatively primitive peoples, whose languages were of the Náhuatl family, made repeated incursions into the central Mexican highlands. Chichimec raids were certainly responsible for the destruction in 1168 of the Toltec capital Tollan, and the Aztecs, who first made their appearance in the 13th c., were originally of Chichimec extraction. Although most invasions ended in absorbtion into the already established cultures, the area which is now Aguascalientes remained largely uninfluenced by the principal centres of civilisation in the Mexican highlands or La Quemada. The first Spaniard to arrive in the region was Pedro de Alvarado, one of Hernán Cortés' henchmen, in 1522. It took several decades for the conquest to be completed and the Indians either killed or driven into the mountains - as a result of which the Spanish had to establish their colonies and build their cities without the assistance of forced labour. During the colonial period the inhabitants, especially the people of the capital, were exceptionally active politically and culturally, hence later playing a leading role in the War of Independence (1810-21). Until 1789 Aguascalientes was part of the province of Nueva Galicia, afterwards being annexed to Zacatecas and only becoming a state of the Mexican Republic in its own right in 1857. Situated as it was in the very heart of the country, during the Mexican Revolution (1910-20) Aguascalientes was the scene of a bitter struggle between the opposing sides.

Economy

In the fertile valleys the main crops apart from cereals are maize, fruit and vegetables. Livestock is farmed extensively on the plateau (including the breeding of horses and fighting bulls). There are numerous mines producing gold, silver, copper, lead and antimony. Textiles, leather and ceramics, as well as tobacco refining provide other sources of income. Tourists are attracted to Aguascalientes mainly by the much-acclaimed thermal baths and the capital's annual spring festival (Feria de San Marcos).