Querétaro was inhabited by the Otomí and Tarascos, the latter being the ruling people. There was also a small presence of nomadic tribes, called Chichimecas. There are some archeological sites dating from this era, such as the pyramid in Corregidora, and the sites of Ranas and Toluquilla in the Sierra Gorda. The Spaniards reached the area in 1531, and they allied themselves with an Otomí chieftain called Conín. Legend has it that an agreement was reached, under which local Indians would accept Spanish rule and embrace the Catholic faith if they were defeated in a weapon free battle. The Spanish conquerors were about to lose, when suddenly, the sky went dark and out of it came Saint James the Great and a fiery Holy Cross. The local Indians immediately accepted defeat, and so the city of Santiago (Saint James) de Querétaro was founded on July 25th. Following the Spanish conquest, the area was recognized as being of strategic importance since it connected rich mining regions of Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas with Mexico City. Expeditions that aimed to conquer the north of the country and to convert local people to the Catholic faith left from the city of Querétaro. This is the main reason why the downtown area boasts so many religious buildings dating from this era. Catholic missionary Junípero Serra departed from Querétaro towards Alta California, where he was responsible for the founding of what became major California cities (such as San Francisco).
Between 1726 and 1738 the greatest work of civil engineering in the state was built. The aqueduct that provided water to the city of Querétaro from nearby springs was possible thanks to the donations of Juan Antonio de Urrutia y Arana, a Spanish nobleman. Legend has it that he was in love with a nun from the Convent of the Holy Cross, reason why the aqueduct ended in a fountain in the Convent's orchard.
The city of Querétaro became so important during Spanish rule that it was dubbed "the third city of the kingdom" (after Mexico City and Puebla).
Querétaro is considered to be the cradle of Mexican Independence, since the rebellion was planned here. However, on September 13, 1810, the plot was discovered by the Viceroyal government. Therefore, one of the leaders of the movement, the Corregidora (who was the wife of the highest local authority) was locked in her room, while the rest of the plotters could be captured. Legend has it that she had to make noise with her heels in order to draw attention from Ignacio Pérez, who rode his horse all the way to San Miguel el Grande (now San Miguel de Allende) to warn other conspirators. This ignited the war. In 1824, the new Constitution included Querétaro as a State. There was a lot of arguing on this matter, since Querétaro was not a province or intendencia as the rest of the states during the Colonial period, but a corregimiento de letras, which was a sort of Special Administrative Region. The robust economy of Querétaro, and hence its capacity to generate enough revenues, was what finally convinced the deputies to grant statehood. The city of Santiago de Querétaro was proclaimed capital of Mexico in 1847, when the American troops invaded Mexico City. On May 30, 1848 the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed here, by which Mexico ceded half of its territory to the United States.
Maximilian of Habsburg chose Querétaro in 1867 to confront and defeat the Republican troops of Juárez, who where coming from the North. The Imperial troops arrived on February 19, 1867, commanded by Emperor Maximilian. They were surrounded by Republican troops, however, and the siege of Querétaro began on March 5, 1867. On May 14, the Imperial army attempted to escape to Mexico City, but they were betrayed by a colonel, marking the end of the Second Mexican Empire.
Following the Mexican Revolution, the victorious forces assembled themselves in Santiago de Querétaro, where they drafted on February 5, 1917 the Constitution that remains in force to the present. Santiago de Querétaro was a host city for the 1986 World Cup. The state then suffered of stagnation, until the 1970s, when industry was attracted. The state is a quite calm place, with no civil unrest, low crime and a high standard of living. This has attracted many immigrants from other parts of Mexico (particularly the Federal District, the state of Mexico and Guanajuato), as well as investments from abroad (notably the U.S., South Korea and European countries).
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Origins and Viceroyal Era