Milpa Alta - History

History

The name Milpa Alta means “high cornfield.” “Alta” means high in Spanish and “milpa” is a Mexican Spanish word from Nahuatl referring to cornfields interspersed with other crops such as squash and maguey. The pre colonial name for the area was Malacachtepec-Momozco,which means “place of altars surrounded by mountains.” This name is derived from the various volcanoes in the area.

The recorded history of the area begins around 1240 when a Chichimeca group migrated into the Valley of Mexico from the north and founded the Malacachtepec Momozco dominion. They formed settlements in what is now the borough in places such as Malacatepec Momoxco, Ocotenco, Texcalapa, Tototepec, Tepetlacotanco, Huinantongo and Tlaxcomulco. In 1440, Mexica leader Hueyitlahuilli subdued these settlements and installed a leader. The capital of this dominion was centered on the town of Milpa Alta, in what are now the Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, San Mateo and Santa Martha neighborhoods with the name of Malacatepec Momoxco. The area formed a strategic point controlling the road between Tenochtitlan and Oaxtepec and Cuernavaca. At this time several lakeside docks, a ceremonial center, barracks and tribute collections centers were constructed, remnants of which remain.

The indigenous of this area, allied with the Aztecs, struggled against the Spanish for about 100 years before being subdued. This caused many of the indigenous here to abandon their lands and hide in the mountains, making incursions into Spanish held territory to plunder. In 1528, a peace pact was made with these people and the following year, Spanish authorities acknowledge their right to own land and have local governors; however, they were required to pay tribute to the Spanish and convert to Christianity. The Spanish mostly kept their promise to allow indigenous rule except for a brief period in the 17th century. Organizationally, it was considered to be a district of Xochimilco. Compared to the rest of the valley area, it had little contact with the Spanish, allowing it to retain much of its indigenous character.

The Franciscans were in charge of evangelization, naming Our Lady of the Assumption as patron. For evangelization purposes, a modest hermitage dedicated to Saint Martha was constructed with later churches constructed in Tlatatlapocoyan and San Lorenzo. In 1570, the monastery and church of the Assumption was begun, taking a century to construct.

After Independence, the area was initially part of the State of Mexico. The area’s incorporation into the Federal District of Mexico City began in 1854, when the district was expanded by Antonio López de Santa Anna expanded including part of what is now Milpa Alta. However, towns such as San Pedro Atocpan were municipalities in the State of Mexico in the 19th century. In 1903, the Federal District of Mexico City was expanded to include the rest of Milpa Alta.

During the Mexican Revolution, the area generally sympathings with the Liberation Army of the South. In 1914 this army marched to Mexico City from the state of Morelos against the regime of Victoriano Huerta. Part of that march included the occupation of the Milpa Alta area, forming a base. Here Emiliano Zapata ratified the Plan of Ayala on July 19, 1914.

Reorganization of the Federal District of Mexico City created the modern borough, with the government in Villa Milpa Alta in 1929.

While part of the Federal District, most residents still talk about Mexico City as a separate entity. However, it is part of Greater Mexico City . The pace of urbanization in the borough is slower in Milpa Alta than other outlying areas of the Federal District, but the growth of Mexico City since the mid 20th century has been affecting it. Production of corn began to decrease in the mid 20th century. In the 1970s, this process began to hasten. The two major problems associated with this is illegal settlements or squatting on common land and illegal logging. Both of these are most serious in San Salavador Cuauhtenco, where squatters who have been there for years demand regularization and services and enforcers of environmental laws are threatened by residents.