The Jalisco area has been occupied by…
1522 CE
The Jalisco area has been occupied by a variety of ethnic groups, including the Bapames, Caxcans, Cocas, Cuachilchils, Huichols, Cuyutecos, Otomis, Nahuas, Tecuejes, Tepehuans, Tecos, Purépecha, Pinomes, Tzaultecas and Xilotlantzingas.
Some writers have also mentioned groups such as the Pinos, Otontlatolis, Amultecas, Coras, Xiximes, Tecuares, Tecoxines and Tecualmes.
When the Spanish arrive, the main ethnic groups are the Cazcanes, who inhabit the northern regions near Teocalteche and the Lagos de Morenos and the Huichols, who also inhabit the northwest near Huejúcar and Colotlán.
Other groups include the Guachichil in the Los Altos area, the Nahuatl-speaking Cuyutecos in the west, and the Tecuexes and Cocas near what is now Guadalajara and the Guamares in the east near the Guanajuato border.
Shortly after the conquest of the Aztecs in 1521, the Spanish push west, overpowering the Purépecha in Michoacán and converting their capital of Tzintzuntzan as a base to move further west.
One reason for the push towards the Pacific is to build ships and shipping facilities in order to initiate trade with Asia.
Another draw is to find more mineral wealth, as the Purépecha have already developed copper working along with silver and gold.
In 1522, Cristóbal de Olid is sent by Hernán Cortés northwest from Mexico City into Jalisco; Other incursions had been undertaken by Alonso de Avalos and Juan Alvarez Chico in 1521, and Gonzalo de Sandoval in 1522 .