“Sonora Histórico”
Sonora from early history through the end of the 19th century
Thursday, January 5, 2017
The indigenous tribes of Sonora first made contact with the Spanish in the 1530s when Nuño Beltrán de Guzman arrived in 1531, followed by the explorer Fray Marcos de Niza in 1539. Francisco Vásquez de Coronado “captured” this territory in 1540 and established a town near where Cócorit is today, although that town was destroyed by the Yaqui Indians soon after. Federico García y Alva documents Sonoran history from the Spanish intrusion through the turbulent 19th Century in a document commissioned by the government of Sonora in the late 1890s; while it is not an unbiased historical document, it provides an excellent insight into the struggles for political power in Sonora after Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1821. “Sonora Histórico” can be read in Spanish on-line at http://www.historiadehermosillo.com/htdocs/historiadesonora/sonorahistorico.htm, and the English translation will soon appear on this website.
Federico García y Alva published “Sonora Histórico” for the government of Ramón Corral (1895-1899), and the 65-page document outlined Sonora’s ancient past through the 1897 peace treaty with the Yaqui tribe. The document has been translated by Errol Zimmerman, who gave this presentation to the History Association on Nov. 3 (Part 1) and Jan. 5 (Part 2).
