page_title: Puebla
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Puebla / History
caption_attribution_description: Olmec "baby-face" figurine.
context_page_description: Puebla, officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla, is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is the city of Puebla.
  It is located in East-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the north and east, Hidalgo, México, Tlaxcala and Morelos to the west, and Guerrero and Oaxaca to the south.
  The origins of the state lie in the city of Puebla, which was founded by the Spanish in this valley in 1531 to secure the trade route between Mexico City and the port of Veracruz.
  By the end of the 18th century, the area had become a colonial province with its own governor, which would become the State of Puebla, after the Mexican War of Independence in the early 19th century. Since that time the area, especially around the capital city, has continued to grow economically, mostly through industry, despite being the scene of a number of battles, the most notable of which being the Battle of Puebla.
caption: Olmec figurine of Las Bocas
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