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Colonial Mexico City

Type Object Region Mexico Time 1521–1600

Colonial Mexico City was built on the ruins of Aztec Tenochtitlan and served as the administrative, religious and commercial center of Spain's Vicero…

Timeline

  1. 1521–1550Mexico City · MexicoAfter the 1521 conquest the Spanish established a viceroy's palace and church in the central plaza area of Tenochtitlan, reusing the Aztec canal and causeway network, gradually replacing Indian settlements with stone buildings and establishing New Spain's political center.
  2. c. 1570–1590Central district, Mexico City · Mexico CityFrom the 1570s stone structures such as the metropolitan cathedral and Jesuit and Franciscan monasteries were completed; around the main plaza (Zócalo) a colonial urban core of clergy, officials and merchants took shape, linking to the Acapulco silver trade route.
  3. 1591–1600Mexico City · Mexico CityBetween 1591 and 1600 Mexico City's population exceeded 100,000, making it one of the largest cities in the Americas; rising Lake Texcoco levels caused repeated floods, and the colonial authorities launched drainage canal and dike projects, as the city continued consolidating its metropolitan role for New Spain amid expansion and water crises.

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