Urbanism and Urbanization: Colonial

The Spanish brought a profoundly strong urban tradition with them to Mexico. Spaniards had for centuries considered the city as the fundamental unit in government and as the arena of social and cultural progress. They held a rather negative view of rural life and of persons who dwelled and labored in the countryside. People of any stature who made their living from rural enterprises, whether ranching or agriculture, nonetheless typically resided in cities and identified strongly with them, operating their enterprises from these urban settings. In the Spanish tradition, municipal boundaries extended far into the hinterland. Hence municipios might reach the size of English counties or even of small provinces. All political, social, business, and religious organizations were centered in the city proper, and all ascent, whether social or bureaucratic, led toward the city. Members of municipal councils typically belonged to the most prominent and wealthy families in the community. This urban emphasis transferred readily to the New World, even in the initial period of exploration and conquest.

The first Spaniards in a new region characteristically organized themselves into a city complete with a formal name, often derived from their home province in Spain, and a municipal council, which would be comprised of the leaders of the expedition. Such cities as Santo Domingo in Hispaniola and Santiago in Cuba had been founded before any Spaniards reached the shores of Mexico. And in the Caribbean, where the Spaniards could construct brand-new cities in largely unoccupied, open territory, they laid out gridlike street patterns, with the city center dominated by a large plaza surrounded on each side by the cathedral, the governmental palace, the municipal government's headquarters, and (on the last side) some combination of mansions belonging to the leading families and of large merchant stores.

A municipality was governed by a cabildo, a town council consisting of a group of aldermen and magistrates. From very early in the colonial period, such positions could be purchased from the colonial government. This reinforced the traditional pattern of the council being dominated by representatives from the most prominent families in the community. Once a town was firmly established, the cabildo had considerably less of importance to attend to. Much of its attention and funds were expended in sponsoring public festivals and processions. It also attended to crime control, but quite ineffectually, as it devoted few resources or personnel to the activity. The council understandably devoted itself to the upkeep of public streets, facilities, and buildings, but here again its success was mixed at best. A cabildo had only modest resources available to it, as it relied on the rental of public lands, judicial fines, and other such meager sources for its income.