Birth of
–From the letters “The Fifth-Letter of Affairs,â€
signed Sept 3, 1526, by Hernan Cortes.The expedition Cortes is talking about was led by Capt. Nicolas De San Luis Montanez. He and his men fought the people of the Chichimecas village, that is today, San Miguel de Allende.
In the middle of the 16th century, there were working gold and silver mines. The gold and silver was transported by mule to Mexico City. These mule trains encountered hostile Chichimecs. To offer these mule trains protection, the Spanish government sent a Franciscan Friar by the name of Fray Juan de San Miguel in 1542 to pacify and convert the Chichimec natives. He established a mission in 1542 in the center of Chichimec territory. There is a story that Fray Juan de San Miguel had two favorite dogs which got lost and were found at the spring called El Chorro. The site was deemed much better so they moved the mission to what is now San Miguel de Allende.
Haciendas began to grow around the fort and San Miguel soon grew into a burgeoning commercial center. It was known for its machetes, woven goods, knives, spurs, and cattle. Whatever the mines and mule trains needed, San Miguel provided.
In 1779, Ignacio Allende was born in San Miguel. He believed that Mexico must establish independence from Spain. He joined with Miguel Hidalgo of Delores and they became leaders of the Queretaro uprising of 1810. They played a vital part in the capture of the city of San Miguel on September 16, 1810, imprisoning the entire Spanish population.
In 1811, Ignacio Allende and Miguel Hidalgo along with other leaders were captured in Chihuahua and were both executed.
After Mexico achieved its independence from Spain, they were immortalized as the Fathers of Independence. In 1826, the city of San Miguel changed its name to San Miguel de Allende in honor of Ignacio Allende.
The Mexican Federal government declared San Miguel de Allende a national monument in 1926.
The Escuela de Bellas Artes was founded in 1938 by David Alfaro Siqueiros to teach mural painting. This drew artists from all over Mexico and the United States. After WWII, American soldiers went to San Miguel de Allende to go to the art school on their GI bill, many never left. In 1951, the Instituto Allende opened which also attracted students from all over the world. This created the foundation for the large thriving ex-patriot community for which San Miguel de Allende is famous.
