Nogales is a city in the mountainous western region of the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of Nogales. It is situated at , at an altitude of 1280 m. In the 2005 INEGI Census, the city reported a total population of 21,113. The name "Nogales" is the Spanish for walnut trees.

History

This part of the future state of Veracruz was brought under

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

sway in or around 1450 under Emperor

Moctezuma I Moctezuma I (–1469), also known as Montezuma I, Moteuczomatzin Ilhuicamina ( ) or Huehuemoteuczoma ( ), was the second Tlatoani, Aztec emperor and fifth king of Tenochtitlan. During his reign, the Aztec Empire was consolidated, major expansion ...

lhuicamina. Following the

Spanish conquest of Mexico The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was a pivotal event in the history of the Americas, marked by the collision of the Aztec Triple Alliance and the Spanish Empire. Taking place between 1519 and 1521, this event saw the Spanish conquistad ...

, the area was awarded to the

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

Ojeda el Tuerto. Ojeda introduced

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

into the area, and the San Juan Bautista Nogales sugar mill – one of the earliest, if not the very first on the American continent – was later established there. In 1627, Rodrigo de Vivero y Aberrucia, owner of the sugar mill at the time, was named the First Count of the Valley of Orizaba by

Philip III of Spain Philip III (; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain and King of Portugal, Portugal (where he is known as Philip II of Portugal) during the Iberian Union. His reign lasted from 1598 until his death in 1621. He held dominion over the S ...

. On 27 October 1812, during the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

, the sugar mill was taken by surprise by General

José María Morelos José María Teclo Morelos Pérez y Pavón () (30 September 1765 – 22 December 1815) was a Mexican Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest, statesman and military leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming it ...

, who used it as a staging post for his attack on the royalist forces in

Orizaba Orizaba (, Otomi: ) is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located 20 km west of its sister city Córdoba, and is adjacent to Río Blanco and Ixtaczoquitlán, on Federal Highways 180 and 190. The city had a ...

the next day. On 14 June 1862, with the invading

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

stationed in Orizaba, General

Ignacio Zaragoza Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín (March 24, 1829 – September 8, 1862) was a Mexican Army officer and politician. He is best known for leading a Mexican army of 3,791 men which defeated a 5,730-strong force of French troops at the battle of Puebla ...

set up his headquarters in Nogales. On 7 January 1907, in the years of tension leading up to the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

, Nogales textile workers protesting their treatment by French textile-mill owners were massacred by the federal troops of President

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

. In 1910, Nogales was awarded the status of a town (''villa'') and, in 1971, city status (''ciudad'').

Notable people

Heriberto Jara Corona General Heriberto Jara Corona (July 10, 1879 – April 17, 1968) was a Mexican revolutionary, naval officer and politician. He served in a number of positions, including as ambassador to Cuba, as Governor of Tabasco, as Governor of Veracruz, a ...

(1879–1968),

Governor of Veracruz The governor, according to the Political Constitution of the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave in Mexico, the Executive Power is invested in one individual, called "''Constitutional Governor of the Free and Sov ...

from 1924 to 1927, recipient of the Senate's

Belisario Domínguez Medal ''Belisario'' (''Belisarius'') is a ''tragedia lirica'' (tragic opera) in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto after Luigi Marchionni's adaptation of play, ''Belisarius'', first staged in Munich in 182 ...

References

External links

Municipality of Nogales
{{Authority control Populated places in Veracruz