page_title: Soconusco
section_title: Spanish Conquest
hierarchical_section_title: Soconusco / History / Spanish Conquest
caption_attribution_description: English: Sculpted stone cross made by indigenous hands from the Soconusco region. On display in the Regional Museum in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico
context_page_description: Soconusco is a region in the southwest corner of the state of Chiapas in Mexico along its border with Guatemala. It is a narrow strip of land wedged between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It is the southernmost part of the Chiapas coast extending south from the Ulapa River to the Suchiate River, distinguished by its history and economic production. Abundant moisture and volcanic soil has always made it rich for agriculture, contributing to the flowering of the Mokaya and Olmec cultures, that were based on Theobroma cacao and rubber of Castilla elastica.
  In the 19th century, the area was disputed between Mexico and Guatemala until a treaty signed in 1882 fixed the modern border, dividing the area's historical extension with most going to Mexico and a smaller portion east of the Suchiate to Guatemala. In 1890, Porfirio Díaz and Otto von Bismarck collaborated to take advantage of southern Mexico's agricultural potential by sending 450 German families to Soconusco near Tapachula in the southern state of Chiapas.
context_section_description: The first Spanish arrived in the area in 1522. According to chronicler Bernal Díaz del Castillo the area had a native population of about 15,000 inhabitants although other estimates have put that number as high as 75,000 in the 1520s. Pedro de Alvarado is credited with the conquest of the Soconusco as he headed down into Central America from the Spanish stronghold in southern Veracruz in 1524. The conquest caused a steady depopulation of the area with the disappearance of much of the native population either due to migration out of the area or death from the diseases the Europeans brought with them.
  Soconusco was declared a province by the Spanish Crown in 1526 with its original extension down into what is now Guatemala. Its first governor was Pedro de Montejo, Sr. as part of Chiapas. This lasted only a short time and then it was governed from Mexico City. Miguel de Cervantes, future author of Don Quixote, solicited the right to govern Soconusco from the Spanish king in the late 16th century because of its cacao.
  The first evangelists came to the area in 1545, sent by Bartolomé de las Casas from San Cristóbal de las Casas. These monks were Dominicans, who divided the area into six parishes. Soconusco was originally under the religious jurisdiction of Tlaxcala before it was moved to that to Guatemala. In 1538, the pope created the bishopric of Chiapas and Soconusco became part of that.
  In 1543, Chiapas became governed by the Audencia de los Confines (Real Audiencia of Guatemala, which included much of what is now southern Mexico and Central America, with its capital in Guatemala City. In 1564, the capital of this Audencia was moved to Panama City and governance of Soconusco switched back to Mexico City. However, in 1568, the Captaincy General of Guatemala was established and Soconusco and Chiapas was made part of it. This would remain the case until the end of the Mexican War of Independence in 1821. However, the area maintained important political and economic ties with Mexico City throughout the period. Huehuetán was established as the capital of Soconusco in 1540. It remained so until 1700 when it was moved to Escuintla. In 1794, a hurricane devastated this town, so it was moved again to Tapachula. Mistreatment by encomienda and hacienda owners also caused population loss and various uprisings such as one in 1712 by the Tzendals, which involved 32 villages centered on Cancuc. To counter the mass depopulation of the area, the Spanish Crown created two alcaldes mayores in 1760 in order to give more protection to the native population. However, this proved insufficient and by 1790 the area lost its status as a province and became part of Chiapas.
  Soconusco and highland Chiapas were one of the first areas in the Central American region to support independence from Spain. They supported the Three Guarantees of Agustín de Iturbide, but declared their own separate independence from the Spanish Crown in 1821. There was division in the state as to whether ally or unify with Mexico or the new Central American Republic when it split from Mexico in 1823. Those in the highlands preferred union with Mexico but the lowlands, including the Soconusco, preferred Central America.
caption: Sculpted stone cross made by indigenous hands from the Soconusco region. On display in the Regional Museum in Tuxtla Gutierrez
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