Santa Fe de Nuevo México (English: Holy Faith of New Mexico; shortened as Nuevo México or Nuevo Méjico, and translated as New Mexico in English) is a Kingdom of the Spanish Empire and New Spain, and later a territory of independent Mexico.
The first capital is San Juan de los Caballeros (at San Gabriel de Yungue-Ouinge) from 1598 until 1610, and from 1610 onward the capital is La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís.
The name of "New Mexico", the capital in Santa Fe, the gubernatorial office at the Palace of the Governors, vecino citizen-soldiers, and rule of law will be retained as the New Mexico Territory and later state of New Mexico become part of the United States.
The New Mexican citizenry, primarily consisting of Hispano, Pueblo, Navajo, Apache, and Comanche peoples, become citizens of the United States as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Nuevo México, often incorrectly believed to have taken its name from the nation of Mexico, was named by Spanish explorers who believed the area contained wealthy Amerindian cultures similar to those of the Aztec Empire (centered in the Valley of Mexico), and called the land the "Santa Fe de Nuevo México".
