Ayotlán Municipality is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

, in

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal ...

in central-western

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. The municipality covers an area of 518.57 km. As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 35,150.

Place Names

Ayotlán comes from "Ayotl" (its former name) and means "place of turtles" or "squashes"

History

In 1583 the Spaniards called it "and Ayo el Chico" to distinguish it from large town that was near San Pedro Piedra Gorda, in the now state of

Guanajuato Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...

. In the year 620 and 623 came the Aztecs found the place already populated by indigenous groups. About 10 km south of the town is a hill called "Old Town" which was the first seat of the population. Before the conquest had approximately 15,000 Indians living scattered throughout the Valley Coin. Manor depended Coin, whose capital was Tototlan. Worshiped "Ixtlacateolt", highly revered deity in the contours of Chapala lake. The natives had erected shrines or "cues" on the hill of the Villas. Olidsent by

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...

in the conquest of

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...

in 1521, and registered as a resident grabbed the Ayotl natural. Valley Coin was given instructed to Juan de Villaseñor the Elder, who ruled 9 years. When

Nuño de Guzmán Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán (c. 14901558) was a Spanish conquistador and colonial administrator in New Spain. He was the governor of the province of Pánuco from 1525 to 1533 and of Nueva Galicia from 1529 to 1534, and president of the first Ro ...

arrived in the population, the 16 February 1530, ignored the rights of Villaseñor. Ayotl was then under the jurisdiction of the

Nueva Galicia Nuevo Reino de Galicia (''New Kingdom of Galicia'', gl, Reino de Nova Galicia) or simply Nueva Galicia (''New Galicia'', ''Nova Galicia'') was an autonomous kingdom of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was named after Galicia in Spain. Nueva ...

. The people of Ayotl participated in the war Miztán in 1541 then was encomendero Verdugo Fco. They burned the church and their houses and went back to Peñoles Coin. The number of natives amounted to 12,000 rebels. On October 26 the same year, personally Viceroy

Antonio de Mendoza Antonio de Mendoza y Pacheco (, ; 1495 – 21 July 1552) was a Spanish colonial administrator who was the first Viceroy of New Spain, serving from 14 November 1535 to 25 November 1550, and the third Viceroy of Peru, from 23 September 1551 ...

besieged El Penol with a powerful army and gave them so fierce battle that nearly ended with them. The town dates from October 8, 1884.

Geographical description

Location

Ayotlán is located at coordinates 20 ° 20 '05 "to 20 ° 37' 30" north latitude and 102 ° 15 '00 "102 ° 39' 40" west longitude at an altitude of 1.630 meters above sea level. The town is bordered on the north by the municipalities of the

Atotonilco El Alto Atotonilco El Alto is a town and municipality, in Jalisco in Los Altos (Jalisco) region in central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 638.15 km. Atotonilco (pronounced ah-toh-toh-NEAL-co) means "place of hot waters", in Náhua ...

, Arandas and Jesús María, on the east by the municipalities of Jesús María,

Degollado Degollado () is a small town and municipality located in the Mexican state of Jalisco, in the cultural region of Ciénega, just south of Los Altos. The municipality encompasses Huascato, Los Ranchitos, La Vibora, Buenos Aires, Las Limas, Altamir ...

the south by the municipality of Yurécuaro the west by the municipalities of La Barca and

Localities

has over 100 towns of Acahuales la colonia de villafuerte, La Isla, El Palo Blanco, la ladera grande, la ladera chica. (San Miguel de Acahuales), Agua Blanca, Ayotlán, Betania, Cañada de San Ignacio, Carboneras, Carretas, Colonia Lázaro Cárdenas (El Sicuicho), El Bajío (Bajío de Tejas), El Caracol, El Chaveño, El Edén, El Fraile, El Jaral, El Ojo de Agua, El Rosario, Granja Ballesteros, Granja la Gaby, La Concepción, Las Higueras, El Venado, El Guayabo, Mirandillas, El Volantin, La Raya, La Nopalera and La Esperanza.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayotlan Municipalities of Jalisco Populated places established in 1884 1884 establishments in Mexico