The Zapotec and Mixtec peoples settled in the Oaxaca valley thousands of years before the Spanish arrived. I will talk more about them in the next blog and video when I discuss the importance of Monte Albán, Yagul, and Mitla. All of these settlements form a World Heritage Site with the colonial town itself.
The first Spanish expedition to Oaxaca arrived in 1521, because the Aztecs said their gold came from there (the best way to get the Spanish to go anywhere, haha). The Spanish expedition began building a Spanish city nearby to the local settlements. The original settlers had to continuously have the king step in to force the local governor to leave them alone.
After Mexico gained independence in 1821, the city changed it name to Oaxaca from Antequera. Benito Juárez, one of the first and most important Mexican presidents, was born in Oaxaca and began his legal and political career here. He was the president of Mexico from 1858 until to his death in 1872.
Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to my channel and hit the BELL icon on YouTube, because I am putting together travel videos about our entire road trip through Mexico and the above video will be featured in the third Mexican travel video we are calling Colonial & Nature. It will have lots of info plus be lots of fun as you watch Lily and I interact around Mexico!!!!
In the mean time you can click the link to watch the first week in Mexico called Beaches & Islands, which features from Cancun to Playa del Carmen. Make sure you FOLLOW me on your preferred social media platform ( Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter) so you do not miss one bit of our travels through Lily’s country of Mexico.
