Colonial Cities

The dual economic motors of silver mining and commercial agriculture and ranching drove the rapid population growth of the Mexican north throughout the eighteenth century, an expansion notably greater than the healthy growth experienced by the larger colony in that era. Guadalajara grew sixfold in the eighteenth century to a city of roughly 35,000 in 1805. As cities, Durango and Chihuahua were largely creations of the eighteenth century, each reaching a size of about 10,000 by 1800. New mining centers, such as Parral, emerged as well.

Even in the south Antequera grew rapidly in the second half of the eighteenth century. A city of a mere 6,000 or so in 1700, it had tripled its population by the late 1770s. Previously an administrative center, Antequera at this time became a commercial and manufacturing center, shipping a local dye northward to Mexico City and Veracruz in massive amounts for subsequent shipment to Europe , and weaving silk and cotton goods for sale mostly in the center and north of the colony.

Cities of any size served as administrative and marketing centers for substantial regions. All governmental and ecclesiastical hierarchies were invariably based in cities. No administrator or cleric located in the countryside could claim any status at all. And the cities had their own ranked order. Overall, any movement to a bigger city or to the capital constituted a promotion. All social welfare institutions in the colony—hospitals, orphanages, and asylums, most of which were operated by agencies of the Catholic Church—were urban based. Secondary schools (colegios) and religious seminaries always were located in a major provincial center, and the only university was situated in Mexico City.

Virtually all of the economic and social elite of colonial Mexico resided in great urban houses, including those who made their fortunes in commercial agriculture. Few hacienda complexes contained luxurious houses, for the owners would reside on these estates only for delimited periods as their businesses demanded. Most of their business could be conducted better in the cities, where deals were made and markets developed, and the social and cultural opportunities were vastly superior. Professional administrators could operate the hacienda or mine on a day-to-day basis. These elite families, along with those of commercial wholesalers, whose enterprises invariably were centered in the major cities, constructed great houses for their extended families and armies of retainers and servants as close to the city center as they could. These beautiful mansions, designed by architects, and often highly ornate, commonly occupied a quarter or even a half of an entire city block. They were not segregated from the commercial and productive segments of the city, however. Instead they were surrounded by stores and artisan shops of all types, and the mansions might themselves include self-contained stores on the street level.