Querétaro (redirected from Querétaro, México)

Querétaro, city, Mexico

Querétaro (kārā`tärō), officially Santiago de Querétaro, city (1990 pop. 385,503) and capital of Querétaro de Arteaga state, central Mexico. It is a distribution center with industries producing machinery and farm implements; the city's cotton mills are among the most important in Mexico. Querétaro is also a popular tourist center. An Aztec city, Querétaro was conquered by the Spanish in 1531. The conspiracy (1810) under Hidalgo y Costilla and Allende that led to the revolution against Spain was planned there. The city was the temporary capital of Mexico when the United States invaded (1847) during the Mexican War. In 1867, Emperor Maximilian and his generals Miguel Miramon and Tomás Mejia were forced to surrender and then taken out and shot on a hill outside the city. In 1917 the Mexican Constitution was written in Querétaro, which retains numerous colonial landmarks and is famous for its 18th-century aqueduct.

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Querétaro

State (pop., 2000: 1,404,306), central Mexico. It has an area of 4,420 sq mi (11,449 sq km), and its capital is Querétaro city. Situated on the central plateau, it is almost evenly divided between mountainous areas in the north and plains and valleys in the south that form part of Mexico's Bajío region. In 1531 the area was conquered by Spain, which began colonization in the 1550s. It was administered with Guanajuato before it became a state in 1824. Chief mineral products are opals and mercury. Medicinal plants, sweet potatoes, fruits, and grains are among the many crops cultivated.

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Querétaro

City (pop., 2000: 536,463), capital of Querétaro state, Mexico. Situated on the Mexican Plateau about 6,100 ft (1,860 m) above sea level, it is an excellent example of a Spanish colonial city. Founded by the Otomi Indians, it was incorporated into the Aztec empire in 1446. Brought under Spanish control in 1531, it became an important supply centre for the rich mining districts of Guanajuato and Zacatecas. Emperor Maximilian was executed there in 1867 after his defeat by the forces of Benito Juárez. The Mexican Constitution of 1917 was written in Querétaro. It is the site of one of Mexico's oldest and largest cotton factories; textiles and pottery are also produced there.