Mexican State
The small Pacific coast state of Colima borders on Jalisco in the north and north-west and Michoacán in the east. Most of the state is covered by a flat coastal plain, merging in the north-east into the foothills of the Sierra Madre where the rock is of tectonic origin. The Islas Revilla Gigedo (Sorocco, San Benedicto, Roca Partida and Clarión) are also part of Colima. The population includes Nahua Indians as well as descendents of the Spanish and mestizos.
Archaeological Sites
The archaeological sites in Colima are principally burial grounds, the most interesting of which are El Chanal; La Campana, Los Ortices and Periquillos.
History
Little or nothing is known about the early peoples to whom Colima and neighbouring regions are indebted for their Old Indian art. Until more is discovered about their true identity, they are simply referred to as the Teca. They were most probably Nahua tribes who settled the area at various times during the Late and post-Classic period.
On the basis of numerous grave finds, including well-preserved examples of the unusually naturalistic and attractive ceramic art of the region, historians have tentatively proposed a chronology of cultural phases. Of these, the Classic era, known as the Los Ortices/Las Ánimas (about AD 200 to 850), was, artistically speaking, the most fertile, developing in parallel with the corresponding phase in Teotihuacán. The next phase, called the Armería/Colima, lasted from about ad 850 to 1250. It thus overlaps with the early post-Classic period and is marked by Toltec influence. The final, or Periquillo, phase (AD 1250-1521) coincided with the so-called Chimalhuacán Alliance to which four cultural groups, including the indigenous Colimán (Náhuatl: "conquered by our grandfathers"), belonged. This confederation came under attack from the Purépecha (Tarascans) in the second half of the 15th c. Cajitlán (Náhuatl: "place where pottery is made"), believed to have been founded in the 11th c. and which later became an important city in the region, probably stood on the site now occupied by Tecomán.
Just a year after the collapse of Tenochtitlán (1521), the first Spanish invaders arrived in the area of present-day Colima led by Gonzalo de Sandoval and Juan Àlvarez Chico. It was left however to Francisco Cortés de San Buenaventura, a nephew of Hernán Cortés, to complete the initial conquest. During the colonial period Colima was part of the province of Nueva Galicia, administered from Guadalajara. In 1792 Miguel Hidalgo, father of Mexican Independence, was priest in charge of the parish of Colima. For a time Colima was part of Michoacán State, then an independent territory, before becoming a federal state in its own right in 1867.
Economy
Sugar cane, rice, maize, copra and coffee are the main crops, with livestock farming widely practised in higher-lying areas. Mineral extraction is chiefly of copper, lead, iron and salt. Forestry, fishing and tourism are also important. The Revilla Gigedos islands produce sulphur, guano, timber, fruit, sheep and fish.
Sites
Apart from the capital Colima and the port cum holiday resort of Manzanillo, the only fairly large towns of note are Armería (near Manzanillo) and Tecomán (80 m (262 ft); population: 53,000; fiestas: 2 February, Día de la Candelaria, 12 December, Día de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe).
