page_title: Durango City
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Durango City / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Francisco de Ibarra (1539? – 1575)
context_page_description: Durango City, officially Victoria de Durango is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Durango. The city, which is located in Northern Mexico has a population of 654,876 as of the 2015 census, and sits at an altitude of 1,890 metres. It is also the municipal seat of the Durango Municipality. The city's official name is Victoria de Durango. The denomination of Victoria was added in honor of the first president of Mexico, Guadalupe Victoria, who was originally from the state of Durango. In the Tepehuán language, the city is known as Korian.
  The city is located in the Valley of Guadiana and was founded on July 8, 1563, by the Spanish Basque explorer Francisco de Ibarra. During the Spanish colonial era the city was the capital of the Nueva Vizcaya province of New Spain, which consisted mostly of the present day Mexican states of Durango and Chihuahua. The foundation of the city originated due to its proximity to the Cerro del Mercado, located in the northern part of the city, which was believed to contain large amounts of silver. However with time it was discovered that it was an important iron deposit.
context_section_description: The official name is Victoria de Durango but it is also commonly referred to as the City of Durango or Durango City. The name “Durango” comes from a town in the Spanish province of Biscay, of Basque origin. It was named by Francisco de Ibarra after his hometown, as did the original name for the area, which was Nuevo Vizcaya. The official name of the city became Victoria de Durango in 1826, in honor of Guadalupe Victoria, the first president of Mexico and native of the state. The city's coat-of-arms serves as the seal for the state.
  Since the pre-historic period the area was a conduit for influences from north and south, between Aridoamerica and Mesoamerica. The first inhabitants of the area were a people called the Nahoas, nomads which came to the area from the north about 2,000 years ago. By the Post Classic period, the area became inhabited by the Zacatecans and the Tepehuanos, who migrated here from the north west.
  The modern city began as a mining town, officially founded as Villa de Durango by Francisco de Ibarra on July 8, 1563. Ibarra was sent north by Viceroy Luis de Velasco to conquer the territory and found the city. The site was chosen because of its proximity to the Cerro de Mercado, thought at the time to contain reserves of silver, but instead was found to be an important source of iron. The mountain was named for Captain Ginés Vázquez de Mercado, who discovered the valley on his expeditions in the north. The site was also chosen because it was close to the Franciscan mission at Analco, which was a source of water, wood and animals to hunt. The initial layout of the town was done by Alonso de Pacheco, bordered by what are now Madero and Constitución streets on running north-south, and by 5 de Febrero and 20 de noviembre running east-west. The historic center is still centered by the Plaza de Armas (main square) and the Cathedral Basilica.
  Due to its distance from Mexico City, the city and the surrounding communities developed relatively autonomously.  Some of the earliest missions in the north of the country are located in and around the city. It became an important stop on the road north to conquer what is now the north of Mexico and Southwest U.S. The Jesuits were also missionaries here from 1596 until their expulsion from New Spain in 1767. They founded the Colegio de Guadiana, which was the main educational institution for the north of Mexico during the colonial period.
  The town became a parish in 1620.  It was officially named a city on March 3, 1630. Difficulties forced the near-abandonment of the city of Durango in the 17th century, with the provincial capital moving to Parral, but starting in 1680, the city began to grow again. This was because the mines in Parral had started to give out and the reduction in violence as the Spanish government succeeded in subduing the native peoples. The city regained its role as the province's capital on October 10, 1738.
  Durango was at the height of its influence during the 18th century because of the mining of various minerals in the nearby Sierra Madre Occiental. The bonanza allowed for the creation of a number of grand colonial-era buildings in the city center.
  Various players in the War of Independence, including Miguel Hidalgo, were executed here on July 17, 1812. Their remains were buried at the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.
  In 1867, Benito Juarez stayed here while traveling north.
  The city became an archdiocese on June 23, 1891.
  During the late 19th and early 20th century, the city of Durango remained the political center of the state as well as a regional commercial center for agricultural and handcrafted products. Mayors of the city at this time concentrated on improving infrastructure, such as government buildings, hospitals, water supply lines and public streets. The population of the city grew during this time.
  In 1911, the city joined the Mexican Revolution under the leadership of the Arrieta brothers. Domingo Arrieta took the city, and the soldiers under the command of Victoriano Huerta rebelled against the government. The Mexican Revolut
caption: Captain Francisco de Ibarra
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