Tuxpan, Michoacán

Tuxpan is a small village in between Zitácuaro and Ciudad Hidalgo in the Mexican state of Michoacán. It is located 118 km (73 mi) from Morelia.

Tuxpan is distinguished for its fantastic church dedicated to James, son of Zebedee, St. James the Apostle (Santiago Apostol), in which a majestic painting by Cristóbal de Villalpando is exhibited.

The town was born with the name of "Tuspa," which was given by the Otomi people some centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ. It was changed by the Aztecs in 1225 to Tochpan; in Nahua, tochtli means "rabbit" and an means "place". The name can be interpreted as "place of rabbits".

Catholic settlers registered Tuxpan as Santiago Tuxpan, in honor of one of the 12 apostles of Christ. This name continued until the birth of the first Republic of Mexico, when it was changed to "Tuxpan".

The first occupiers of the land of Tuxpan was the indigenous group of the Otomi. The only evidence found of when the Otomi people lived in Tuxpan are some archaeological artifacts that can be traced back to some centuries BC.

In 1200 AD the Otomi of Tuxpan formed part of a 340 town strong Purépecha Empire. The Aztecs were never able to conquer this land due to the great power of the Purépecha Alliance. This relationshipgave Tuxpan over 250 years of peace.

In 1464, the Aztec king Axayacatl started to invade the Purépechaterritories. As part of the Purépecha Alliance,the 300 men strong Tuxpan fought against the thousands of Aztec soldiers. Defeat was inevitable, and the town was destroyed and burned down. The battle was considered an incredible act of heroism by the Aztecs and Purépecha people. In 1466, the Purépecha Empire swore to protect Tuxpan from any other battle to come.

The target in Michoacán was to move most of the native Indians to newly built or reconstructed towns. Catholic missionaries prepared the land so it could officially be made into a town. On October 4, 1598, a special ceremony was held for the birth of the town of Tuxpan, Michoacán. All sorts of people attended the ceremony, including the Indian chief of the land, government officials, men who had already purchased a large area of land, and the many Indians who already lived on the land.

...
Wikipedia