Cerralvo, sometimes known as Ceralvo, is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
situated in the
Mexican state
A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...
of
Nuevo León
Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...
. Cerralvo is located in the northeastern region of Nuevo León, in the
Gulf Coastal Plain
The Gulf Coastal Plain extends around the Gulf of Mexico in the Southern United States and eastern Mexico.
This coastal plain reaches from the Florida Panhandle, southwest Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, the southern two-thirds of Alabama, over m ...
and in the northeastern agricultural and ranching economic zone that also includes the municipalities of
Agualeguas,
General Treviño
General Treviño is a municipality in northern Mexico.
General Treviño originated from a ranch named “El Puntiagudo” that was given to Don Juan Baptista Chapa on 14 January 1688. Don Francisco Chapa made the foundation in 1705. Its erectio ...
,
Melchor Ocampo, and
Parás. It borders the municipality of
Agualeguas to the north, the municipality of
Higueras to the west, the municipality of
Doctor González to the southwest, the municipality of
Los Ramones to the south, and the municipalities of
Los Herreras,
Melchor Ocampo, and
General Treviño
General Treviño is a municipality in northern Mexico.
General Treviño originated from a ranch named “El Puntiagudo” that was given to Don Juan Baptista Chapa on 14 January 1688. Don Francisco Chapa made the foundation in 1705. Its erectio ...
to the east.
[Cerralvo]
, ''Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México''. Accessed on line March 20, 2008.
The municipal seat of Cerralvo, Ciudad Cerralvo, is located at 26° 5' N, 99° 36' W, and is 345 meters above sea level.
History
In 1577,
José Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva founded the village of
Saltillo
Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and high ...
; in the same year, he also founded Santa Lucía, now called
Monterrey
Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...
, and discovered the mines of San Gregorio, located in what is now called Cerralvo. On May 31, 1579, Luis Carvajal signed an agreement with
King Philip II of Spain to pacify the region and to establish the state of
Nuevo León
Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...
; the contract authorized him to do this in an area that did not exceed 200 leagues on a side.
The first Spanish settlement in Nuevo León took place in 1582 in Cerralvo, which thus included the first capital of the state. In 1630, this settlement was renamed ''Villa de San Gregorio de Cerralvo'', after the fifteenth Viceroy of
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...
,
Rodrigo Pacheco y Osorio, marqués de Cerralvo.
The municipality was settled in order to exploit mineral resources, including lead, and to sell Indians to the Spanish.
Cerralvo is home to the national park ''El Sabinal'', which, with an area of 8
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
s, is the smallest national park in Mexico.
Timeline
* 1577—
José Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva discovers the mines of San Gregorio (Cerralvo).
* 1582—First Spanish settlement in Nuevo León is founded in Cerralvo.
* 1630—Settlement receives the name of Villa de San Gregorio de Cerralvo.
* 1949—
Gruma is founded as Molinos Azteca, SA, in Cerralvo.
Historia
, Acerca de GRUMA, Gruma web site, accessed on line March 20, 2008.
See also
* Los Ángeles, Nuevo León
References
External links
Cerralvo
official government web site.
{{Nuevo León
Municipalities of Nuevo León