THE BAJIO IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

Thanks to its fertile soil and the rapid growth of its urban centers, the Bajio region soon acquired great fame throughout New Spain. During the seventeenth century, agriculture and mining flourished, attracting ever-greater numbers of colonists.

Also during this period, the predominantly Indian-Spanish population, increasingly more urbanized, began to set up industrial enterprises. Between 50 and 60 percent of the people worked in the countryside, 18 percent in industry (including mining), with some three percent of the population owning a business of some kind.

San Miguel el Grande, for example was popular for its woolen cloth; Celaya and Salamanca were producers of cotton materials and Leon made leather goods. Guanajuato, for its part, was notable for the production of silver. Together, the combination of agriculture, industry and the prosperity of the mines made Guanajuato stand out not only in New Spain, but in all Hispano-America.

With this affluence lies the explanation for the dramatic growth of Guanajuato's population. Proof of this is the fact that in New Spain as a whole, the population grew 33.5 percent between 1742 and 1793, while Guanajuato in the same period witnessed an increase of 55 percent.

A third of the population was concentrated in the urban areas, numbering more than 5,000 persons. The ethnic makeup of the population was, according to records from 1793, 26.1% Spanish, 44.25% native, 16.2% mulatto and 11.5% other racial mixes.

Despite the region's fertility, Guanajuato still had its share of crop failures. When the harvest was bad, the first move was to suspend work, then raise prices, with the inevitable consequence that the poor would starve to death. An example is the situation that occurred from 1785 to 86, when 19,000 people died in the area around the Guanajuato Royal Mines, 3,356 in San Miguel el Grande, 4049 in Celaya and 3,794 in Leon.

These deaths notwithstanding, the province managed to emerge victorious from the agricultural crisis and preserve its economic growth. For their part, the Spanish authorities set about improving the taxation system, establishing collection offices and instituting the tobacco monopoly. Better records of the non-ethnic Spanish were also established in order to stamp out tax evasion.

The next significant political step was to establish the Guanajuato administrative council and to raise the town to the position of capital of the new division that included the area's oldest settlements - Leon, Guanajuato, Celaya, San Miguel and San Luis de la Paz. The creation of the council brought significant benefits to Guanajuato. One of the first council leaders was Juan Antonio de Riaño (1792 - 1810), one of whose first acts was the suppression of the restrictions and regulations imposed on workers by the guilds, declaring that anyone could work at whatsoever they chose and buy and sell whatever product they wished without restriction. He divided the city into districts and designated a bailiff to keep order in each and he gave the streets names and numbered the houses. De Riaño also kept the peace and maintained civil discipline. Though he refrained from interfering with the local power structure, consisting chiefly of rule by a minority of Spaniards, he did not neglect the Criollos (ethnic Spaniards born in Mexico), as he might want their support at some point.

THE ARTS

The architecture the Spaniards brought with them was that of Renaissance Europe. From working on the civil and religious buildings the Conquistadors initially constructed, the native population learned new techniques and began to construct new types of buildings. Excellent examples of early colonial architecture can be seen at the convent and church in Yuriria, which date from 1550, and various sections of the Hospital de Naturales in Acambaro, probably begun in 1532. The crucifix in the atrium of the hospital of Our Lady of the Conception in Guanajuato, the first parish church here, is another example with the signs of the passion sculpted on its arms. Finally, there are the military posts, placed at strategic points throughout Guanajuato along the Mexico City-Zacatecas road.

From the seventeenth century, the Baroque style began to make itself felt, primarily in Church and official buildings. Outstanding examples are the Guanajuato parish church, constructed in 1671-76, the Carmelite church in Celaya, and the parish church in San Miguel el Grande. From the eighteenth century there are works such as the Franciscan College in Celaya, the monastery founded by the same order in Acambaro, the temple of Saint Augustine in Salamanca, the parish churches of Dolores Hidalgo and Irapuato, and the Church of the Angels in Leon.