Monterrey History, Mexico

Monterrey in Mexico is a huge industrial city for its country, yet 500 years ago it was nearly vacant.  During the Spanish conquest, the land where the modern day city of Monterrey stands was poorly populated due to its distance from the main cities and it was nearly unconquerable until 1577.  A town was established in the Extremadura Valley yet lost a great deal of its population to other more popular cities in Mexico.  The territory was nearly abandoned until an explorer by the name of Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva established a new colony under King Philip II blessing in 1580.

Nevertheless, due to Caravajal y de la Cueva’s arrest by the Spanish inquisition, Monterrey’s land was once again abandoned.  Then on the third exploration of the land, twelve families founded the Metropolitan City of Our Lady of Monterrey; the third time must be a charm.  Although throughout the years, the population fluctuated between dozens and hundreds but it remained populated.

Monterrey was first recognized as an industrial city after the Mexican Independence War as it was a prime trading location in the area because it connected Mexico with the United States’ San Antonio and the British and French colonies to the north of Monterrey.  Monterrey even became capital of the Nuevo León State in 1824 and this led to its industrial success.  During the late 1840s, part of the Mexican American War took place in Monterrey and the battle was respectfully named after the city.

After the war was over and headed into the 20th century, Monterrey had access to railways, which gave it an industrial boom.  It created secular hospitals and colleges as well as a steel company. 

Since then, Monterrey has been increasing and holds many international conferences and briefings related to finance, industrial and social development and cultural forums.  It was also the host of the 1986 FIFA World Cup among other sporting events.

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  I arrived in Mexico yesterday. The trip was not much fun. I had slept only 2-3 hours before leaving Ravensburg and I had to drive to the airport early (5am) as I wanted to get the VAT back for my notebook. Anyhow, that didn't work (Bummer). The flight took forever. I had to fly into Atlanta...

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