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Tlalpan |
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| In the Aztec language of Nahuatl, Tlalpan means “the place of terra firma.” Regional civilizations first prospered in this southern part of the Valley of Mexico beginning about 1200 BC. A settlement of 20,000 inhabitants developed in Cuicuilco from 800 to 100 BC; it later dispersed due to volcanic eruptions in the Ajusco mountains in the 1st and 2nd centuries BC and was completely abandoned by the 4th century AD. In the 16th century it formed part of the lands belonging to the Marquesado del Valle de Oaxaca, property of Hernán Cortés, and in the 17th century it was considered an autonomous township, with a governor and ten administrators. In 1645 it was given the name Villa de San Agustín de las Cuevas, since the town seal was issued on the feast of St. Augustine and as well because of nearby caves, geological features that were revealed by the eruption of the Xitle volcano. From the end of the 16th century the neighborhood was a recreational area for city dwellers. Wealthy families built country houses, many of which still stand. In 1815, during the Wars of Independence, revolutionary hero José María Morelos y Pavón was kept prisoner here, in Santa Inés tower. With the establishment of the independent Mexican Republic, San Agustín de las Cuevas was incorporated into Mexico State and in 1827 became its capital, known as the city of Tlalpan. The national mint was here for two years, from 1828 to 1830, at which time the city ceased being the state capital. It was annexed as part of the Federal District in 1855 and is currently Mexico City’s largest borough. |
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