Melchor Ocampo, State of Mexico

Melchor Ocampo is a town and municipality in State of Mexico, Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 32.48 km².

Melchor Ocampo
Municipality and town
Flag
Melchor Ocampo
Location in Mexico
Coordinates: 19°42′30″N 99°8′40″W
Country Mexico
StateMexico (state)
Area
 • Total32.48 km2 (12.54 sq mi)
Population
 (2005)
 • Total37,706
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central Standard Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (Central Daylight Time)

As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 37,706.[1]

Name

From its founding until 1894, the municipality was known as Tlacomulco and then San Miguel Tlaxomulco; the latter portion comes from the Nahuatl words tlalli (earth); xomolli (corner or small place) and co of coztic (in), that is to say, "In some corner of the earth" or "a little corner of ground".

In 1894, the legislature of the State of Mexico decreed that the place would be called "Ocampo".[2] Currently it is known as Melchor Ocampo in honor of the deceased reformist politician and philosopher of that name.

YearEvent
1435Return of the Xaltomecas and possible establishment of Tlacomulco.
1821Establishment of the municipality of Tultepec, May 3. Included San Miguel, Visitación and Tenopalco, among others.
1854Establishment of the municipality of San Miguel Tlaxomulco, October 24. Included Visitación and Tenopalco.
1894Change name to Ocampo, October 12.
1899Combined with Tultepec again.
1917Melchor Ocampo established by act of the State Legislature of Mexico State, November 27.

The symbol on the town flag (an "L" with the top ending in a fluer-de-lis, with a rectangle leaning against its inside) is intended to represent the Náhuatl form of the town's old name.

Origin and Conquest

While the general area between Cuautitlán, Zumpango and Tepotzotlán was probably under human influence from the Toltec period at the latest, and perhaps as early as 2500 B.C., there is no record of a settlement at the exact site of the current municipality until after the Spanish conquest. In 1519 the area was under the tlatoani of Cuautitlán ("Guautitlan" in contemporary records). In 1521 it came under Spanish rule, when Cortez's forces "occupied it without resistance".[3]

After the conquest, the town of Cuautitlán and everything that pertained to it, including Tlaxomulco, was given as an encomienda to Alonso de Ávila, one of Cortez's captains.

Culture

The most notable monument in the municipality is the principal church, dedicated to the Archangel Michael (San Miguel). It is built of black volcanic rock (tezontle) and has a façade in baroque style. It was built in the seventeenth century.

Population History
YearTotalIndigenousBirths in PeriodDeaths in PeriodComments
200537706290--"II Conteo de Población y Vivienda"
200037724---General Census; 49% male
199533456
1991–1995--750/year130/year-
199026154372--Of which: 154 otomí, 75 náhuatl, 36 mazateco.
1980-1990--570/year-
198017990
19304124 [4]---Of which: 2254 in the Melchor Ocampo pueblo, 1016 in Visitación, 844 in Tenopalco
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References
  1. "Melchor Ocampo". Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México. Instituto Nacional para el Federalismo y el Desarrollo Municipal. Archived from the original on May 25, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2009.
  2. "H. AYUNTAMIENTO DE MELCHOR OCAMPO" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  3. Gerhard, Peter (1972). A Guide to the Historical Geography of New Spain. Cambridge U P. p. 127. ISBN 0 521 08073 8.
  4. "Mélchor Ocampo". Mexico Census, 1930. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
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