The location of Apaseo el Grande – probably along with other towns in the region such as Izcuinapan (San Miguel Viejo, near
San Miguel de Allende) and Tlachco (the present city of
Querétaro) – was inhabited by various indigenous groups of
Nahuatl,
Otomi and
Guamar peoples from ancient times and as a place of refuge following the
Spanish conquest of Mexico.
Spanish colonization The territory was conquered by
Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán 1530, but its formal incorporation into the Spanish empire did not occur until 1538, by act of congregation of Indian villages issued by Viceroy
Antonio de Mendoza. In 1537, Don Hernán Pérez de Bocanegra began buying properties from Don Fernando P. Motoci, lord of Xuaxo, and on October 11, 1564,
entailed these under the system so the properties would be passed down in his family via
primogeniture. This area became eastern
Bajío, the name by which Spaniards, Creoles, Mestizos, Indians, blacks and
mulattos called the property belonging to the principal landowner of the region. By 1571, Apaseo had 50 Spanish families, 200 blacks, 150 mulattos, and 240 Otomi Indians who also spoke Nahuatl. In 1547, silver deposits discovered in Zacatecas resulted in a steady stream of migration to the region, seen by the semi-nomadic
Chichimecas as intrusions on their ancestral lands. Underpaid Spanish soldiers raided native villages to acquire slaves for the mines, and the Chichimicas made attacks against herders and traders on the border. Led by Bocanegra, the village of Apaseo defended itself against the Chichimecas, and the nearby town of
Celaya was founded to bolster the region's defence. As the costly
Chichimeca War entered its fourth decade, the colonial authorities reversed their aggressive treatment of the Chichimeca and introduced the "peace by purchase" policy, countering the insurgency by rewarding peaceful behavior while taking steps to settle them in villages and assimilate them.
Viceroyalty (the Royal Road) During the 1640s, Apaseo embarked upon a period of economic expansion through ranching in Ixtla, el Peñón and Apaseo el Alto, and fabric manufacturing in Ixtla. The village was inhabited mostly by Indians, especially Otomi, who were already in the process of assimilating. Many had adopted Spanish surnames such as Valencia, Arrieta, Esparragoza, Sánchez, and González; others translated names like Águila (Eagle) or Conejo (Rabbit). Blacks and mulattos were employed as servants on farms centered around the village of Ixtla. In 1690, Apaseo's baptistery was expanded to a parish church with its existing architectural form as the town's main building. These were times of economic prosperity for Apaseo that united traditional grain and fruit farmers with cattle and sheep farmers. Sheep produced meat and wool, which was especially valued to create garments woven in Obraje de San Diego de Ixtla and Obrajuelo. Wool supplies fueled wholesale and retail markets in Zacatecas, Guadalajara, Mexico City and the Bajío zone through the
Camino Real (Royal Road). By 1748, Apaseo was the fourth-largest city in what would be the state of
Guanajuato. The indigenous people of Apaseo started to build a temple on the Camino Real, which was completed c.1824 and was dedicated to the Divina Pastora, better known today as the Pastorcita. In December 1786, the village of Apaseo and its jurisdiction were incorporated into the Municipality of Guanajuato, along with the city of Celaya. Problems soon arose over land distribution and legal funds, and Apaseo clashed with the Mayorazgo over water rights.
War of Independence The leaders of the Hidalgo Revolt, theologian
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and military officer
Ignacio Allende, were known and esteemed in Apaseo – Allende's sister was married to the village's
Síndico Procurador (city attorney), Don Domingo Busce. When the uprising approached Celaya in September 1810, a panic broke out in the city. Starting on 22 September, Spaniards fled to refuge at Querétaro. On September 26, in perhaps the first offensive action, colonial troops attacked Apaseo to arrest Busce, who was accused of complicity with the insurgents. During mid-November, 7,000 men under command of
Don Felix Maria Calleja stayed overnight in Apaseo, while preparing to engage Allende's rebels. On September 9, 1812, the rebel Colonel Don Antonio Velasco attacked Apaseo, defeating the village's small colonial garrison. The following year, Apaseo established additional colonial garrisons at the haciendas El Tunal and Obrajuelo.
Agustin de Iturbide began a relentless war against the insurgents in Bajio, working with Apaseo Parish Priest Don Manuel María Rodeles and families of the village. In late 1815, the insurgents were active near Apaseo and on December 19 they killed three soldiers form the El Tunal garrison. Using tactics of damaging the economic base, insurgents attacked the Hacienda de Ameche on April 25, 1818. On July 9, 1818, safeguards were ordered so merchants and artisans from Celaya could attend to business in Apaseo with minimal risk. On December 30, 1819, Pablo Esquivel, leader of the Picacho rebels, was captured and beheaded by the Apaseo garrison. On January 6, 1820, insurgent José Trinidad Aguado was captured and executed, and it seemed there was victory of the royal arms over the insurgency in Apaseo. After Iturbide and
Vicente Guerrero agreed to end the conflict in 1821, the Spanish garrison left Apaseo. By November 1821, independence was recognized across the country. Apaseo retained its municipal status under the new government, and on April 14, 1826, elected its first constitutional mayor, Don José Pablo Gomez. In 1830, Apaseo's textile mills failed, as did others across the country due to the impact of British textile imports. This brought economic hardship, and the same year a severe cholera epidemic killed 680 people.
Reform Era (1855–1876) In 1856, Don Octaviano Muñoz Ledo purchased the Mayorazgo Hacienda and the adjoining haciendas of San Jose and San Cristobal, solidifying his family's long-standing relationship with Apaseo. During the
Reform War (1857–1860), Apaseo saw much action due to its strategic location to access the Bajio region. In the
Battle of Celaya (1858), General Luis G. Osollo's army, in combination with Casanova and General
Tomás Mejía, attacked General Don Anastasio Parrodi; Osollo chased Parrodi into Salamanca and
defeated the Liberal forces. Meanwhile, Apaseo witnessed an act of chivalry from General
Miguel Miramón who – knowing that General Don Santiago Tapia was seriously injured and taking refuge in Apaseo – promised not to disturb the wounded and also sent his doctor to treat them. The eventual Liberal victory meant full implementation of the
1857 Constitution and the
reform laws, mainly the Confiscation (Disentailment) Act, which affected the church and community assets. In Apaseo, substantial church properties were expropriated, including several farms. During the second
French intervention in Mexico (1861–1867), when the capital was captured, President Juarez withdrew through Apaseo on June 5, 1863, taking the treasury to the interior. Liberal Apasean citizens received him and invited him to refreshment in Don Marcos Corona's house. The resistance crumbled to Franco-Mexican forces and on November 29, 1863, Apaseo and Celaya signed the accession instrument to the
Second Mexican Empire in the presence of Mejía. French troops appeared in Apaseo and Celaya on December 3.
Maximilian I took the throne, and toured the Bajío in August 1864. He was warmly received in Apaseo, though Liberals including Don Canuto Gómez hid the temple bell clappers, forcing improvisation using hammers to ring the bells for the Emperor's party. Marshal
François Achille Bazaine married on June 26, 1865, and Maximilian provided a dowry of two farms in Apaseo. The new government had seized and redistributed more than half of the old part of Apaseo: most properties had belonged to Liberals but the Mayorazgo Hacienda had belonged to Muñoz Ledo, a Conservative. Among those who rose to defend the Republic and attack Franco-Mexican garrisons along the old Camino Real (then called the National Road) was a female bandit captain called "La Carambada". Her main point of assault was
cerca pinta near Caleras de Ameche. With discontent throughout the country and the withdrawal of French support, Maximilian withdrew to Querétaro. On February 22 and 23, 1867, General Mendez's Imperial Brigade of 3,000 men stayed in Apaseo on their way to join Maximilian. Behind them, the Republican army of 17,000 men passed through on March 4 and 8. On June 30, 1870, the town of Apaseo received the title of Villa. On May 18, 1874, Muñoz Ledo died at 68 years old. He had been a senator, minister, and governor of Guanajuato and Querétaro, and introduced the telegraph to the state. At end of his life, he had many difficulties recovering his properties.
Porfirism (1876–1910) During the 35-year regime of
Porfirio Díaz, peace allowed for the creation of much-delayed public works in Apaseo, particularly in the current Plaza Hidalgo, that was the court of the first parish church and cemetery. By 1880, Apaseo had constructed an embankment, culverts and railway station. On March 31, 1882, the first passenger train came to Apaseo. The proximity to Querétaro and Celaya prompted Apaseo to become a metropolis of an agricultural area, where activities take place outside the village, at the haciendas and ranches. In 1904, the population of the town was 4,123 and the district was 27,587.
Mexican Revolution Little local data exists on these years, but it can be inferred that Don Vicente A. Ruiz won the mayoral elections at the triumph of the
Revolution Maderista, and continued his post as Political Chief until the Battle of Celaya. Ruiz managed to take several progressive measures, notably the introducing electricity, drilling for a water supply and organizing civil defenses.
Pancho Villa and
Venustiano Carranza disagreed on how to reorganize the country and reached their breaking point on October 10, 1914. Apaseo witnessed fighting between the two sides in the
Battle of Celaya (April 6–15, 1915). General Cesareo Castro's cavalry emerged from the forests of the La Labor Hacienda, and played a decisive role in the victory over Villa's army. Ruiz disappeared in the battle, along with many young Apaseenses who fought for Villa under his command. They may have formed the
bandidos (outlaw group) "Los del Cerro de la Rosa", whose uprising led to the abandonment of several haciendas and the village of San Miguel de Ixtla. In 1917, the entrance of the United States in World War I, caused the price of garlic to rise rapidly, increasing the revenue of Apaseo and bringing considerable profits to speculators. In 1918, the Spanish influenza epidemic took 1,500 victims in a month. The current town hall was completed in 1924, and on November 26 Apaseo received the title of city. The administration of President
Plutarco Elías Calles felt its revolutionary initiatives were challenged by the Catholic Church, and instituted anti-clerical laws leading to the
Cristero War (1926–1929). On July 31, 1926, the Mexican Episcopate declared suspension of Catholic worship. The priests of the parish decided to hide in Apaseo, and the Apaseenses
Cristeros faced federal army troops on January 4, 1927, at the Cerro del Capulin (now in the municipality of Apaseo el Alto). There were about 100 casualties on both sides. Cristero General Don Manuel Frías began to operate north of the town. Meanwhile, Catholic youths organized activities to raise funds for arms and ammunition. On April 1, 1927, Frías unexpectedly surrounded the Plaza Hidalgo with his troops and arrested City Treasurer Ranulfo Molina, forcing him to deliver the public funds. Frías then robbed the railway station and telegraph office. They used some of the money to buy food for the Cristeros
guerrillas and departed. When diplomacy brought an agreement between the bishops and the Mexican government, the conflict effectively ended, and church bells were rung for the first time in almost three years. Public worship resumed in the Parish Church of Apaseo on July 12, 1929.
Modern era In 1939, the
Pan-American Highway was plotted through Querétaro on the route Apaseo el Alto – Celaya, which was completed in 1942. In 1947, the District was broken into two municipalities: Apaseo and Apaseo el Alto. In 1948, a cinema opened on Plaza Hidalgo. On October 7, 1955, a prank involving exploding gunpowder caused a stampede in the cinema which left four dead and several injured. In early 1956, Dr. Salvador Martínez Silva proposed that the city of Apaseo adopt the adjective "El Grande". José Estrella Vazquez sent a memorandum to Congress requesting
el grande (English: 'the great') as a nickname for the county. The XLIII State Legislature memorandum responded with Decree No. 64 of February 22, 1957, by which the city and municipality of Apaseo were collectively changed to the title of Apaseo el Grande. In 1957, an earthquake occurred that closely marked the start of a slow and gradual drying of the spring El Nacimiento, bringing an end to cheap water and large-density irrigation in the municipality. The loss of arable land was estimated at 105 caballerías or , leading to Apaseo's descent into poverty. This would be partially alleviated decades later, after the establishment of factories in the city. In 1958, the construction of the Superhighway Querétaro–Irapuato began. On December 11, 1961, Apaseo City improved its services sector with the opening of a branch of the Bank of Commerce SA. On December 11, 1964, a branch of Banco Nacional de Mexico (Banamex) was founded on the north side of the parish. On October 12, 1979, the first stone was laid for the municipal market, Antonio Plaza. On August 3, 1980, tax incentives were granted to attract industry to the town in what would become known as the Bajío Industrial Corridor. The first major move was the relocation of a
Procter & Gamble factory. In October 1996, a new state hospital opened. As of March 29, 2021, Apaseo el Grande reported 1,354 confirmed cases and 139 deaths due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico. Alejandro Galicia Juárez
PRD,
candidate for alderman, was murdered on March 31, 2021. Mayor Juan Ignacio de la Cruz Ávila was seriously injured. == Government and politics ==