Surrounding agrarian communities have traditionally supplied the city of Guadalajara with a large variety of goods: grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton and wool fabrics, fish, pork, wood and charcoal. In the 20th century the communities ceased to be suppliers of agrarian goods. Their highly productive land was transformed into agriculturally sterile real estate neighborhoods. The abundant water in the hydrologic basin, that used to irrigate crops, now floods houses and streets. We illustrate these changes in the municipality of Tlajomulco by comparing 19th Century geographical and statistical descriptions with recent aerial photographs and satellite images.

The role of the indian villages in Mexico in the supply of goods to the city
Guadalajara and its indian belt 16th – 19th Centuries

Edith Jiménez        María de la Luz       Ayala and Heriberto Cruz

Universidad de Guadalajara

Indian villages have played an important role in the history of the city of Guadalajara, providing essential goods and workers. In the 16th century the newly founded city was strategically located between three indian villages. As the city grew, other villages became part of the supply network. The successive rings that supplied goods to the growing city will be visually and graphically reconstructed through the use of geographical descriptions and statistical records. The case of Tonalá, one of the Indian belt villages, will be used to show the role played by the indigenous villages in the construction of the city.