Queretaro

QUERETARO, a city of Mexico, capital of the State of Queretaro, 167 miles by railway N.W. of the national capital. Pop. (1930) 32,585, including a large Indian element. Queretaro is served by the Mexican Central railway. The city stands on a plain at the foot of the Cerro de las Campanas, 6,168 ft. above sea-level. Among the important buildings are the cathedral (said to have been built originally about 1535, and subsequently re stored at various times), the Iturbide theatre (in which occurred the trial of Maximilian), the Government offices, the Federal palace and the churches of Santa Rosa, Santa Clara and San Augustin. The Federal palace and the church of Santa Rosa are examples of the work of the celebrated Mexican architect, Fran cisco Eduardo de Tresguerras (1765-1833), who restored the church of Santa Clara also. The water-supply is brought over a fine aqueduct 5 m. long, dating from the 18th century. Among manufactures are cottons, woollens, pottery and ironwares. The city has one of the oldest and largest cotton factories in Mexico.

Queretaro occupies the site of an Otomie Indian town dating from about 1400. It was captured by the Spaniards in 1531 and was raised to the rank of a city in 1655. It was the scene of a revolutionary outbreak against Spain in 181o. In 1848 a Mexican congress met here to ratify the treaty of peace with the United States, and in 1867 Queretaro was the scene of Maximilian's last stand against the Republicans (under Escobedo) which resulted in his capture and execution on the Cerro de las Campanas north of the city. Queretaro was the seat of the convention which

adopted the Constitution of 1917.

a central State of Mexic

o, area, 4,433 square miles. The population for 1910 and 193o was 244,663 and 234,058, respectively. The State belongs to the ele vated plateau region, with its semi-arid conditions. The northern part is traversed from east to west by the wooded Sierra Gorda, whose spurs reach southward to the central districts. The central and southern parts are covered by plains, broken by low hills. The rivers are small and flow chiefly to the San Juan, a part of the Pa.nuco drainage basin. There are some small lakes and swamps, and a number of mineral springs. Indian corn, beans and considerable quantities of wheat are grown. Silver, gold, copper, mercury, lead, tin, antimony, precious stones and semi-precious stones like opals are found, in some cases in very rich deposits.

The Mexican Central and Mexican National railways cross the south end of the State and afford transportation facilities for the agricultural districts, but the mining districts of the north are still dependent upon old methods. The capital of the State is the his toric city of Queretaro (q.v.) with a population of 32,585 in 1930.