The textiles of Mexico have a long history. The making of fibers, cloth and other textile goods has existed in the country since at least 1400 BCE. Fibers used during the pre-Hispanic period included those from the yucca, palm and maguey plants as well as the use of cotton in the hot lowlands of the south. After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, the Spanish introduced new fibers such as silk and wool as well as the European foot treadle loom. Clothing styles also changed radically. Fabric was produced exclusively in workshops or in the home until the era of Porfirio Díaz (1880s to 1910), when the mechanization of weaving was introduced, mostly by the French. Today, fabric, clothes and other textiles are both made by craftsmen and in factories. Handcrafted goods include pre-Hispanic clothing such as huipils and sarapes, which are often embroidered. Clothing, rugs and more are made with natural and naturally dyed fibers. Most handcrafts are produced by indigenous people, whose communities are concentrated in the center and south of the country in states such as Mexico State, Oaxaca and Chiapas. The textile industry remains important to the economy of Mexico although it has suffered a setback due to competition by cheaper goods produced in countries such as China, India and Vietnam.
History
Pre-Hispanic period
The oldest known fabric fragments in Mexico have been found in the arid north of the country in states such as Coahuila, Chihuahua and Durango and date to approximately between 1800 and 1400 BCE. In pre-Hispanic times, the most common woven fibers in dry areas were from the yucca and palm trees, with cotton grown in the hot humid areas near the coast. It was unknown to the Aztecs until they conquered cotton growing areas and began demanding it as tribute. Then, only the upper classes were permitted to wear it. Given the important status cotton cloth had, it is often used as money. For some ceremonial garments, amate or bark paper was used.
Each of the sedentary Mesoamerican cultures had a god of weaving. Women were often buried with woven items they had made. Cortés mentions the Aztecs' skill in weaving in one of this letters to the king of Spain, in very favorable terms.
Colonial era
After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, the production of cloth and the wearing of clothes in Mesoamerica changed drastically. Most pre-Hispanic forms of dress and body adornment were banned by the Spanish as "uncivilized." Indigenous, European and Asian fabrics influenced Mexican cloth production by the mid colonial period. The Spanish did not favor the native cotton, nor did they find the material produced on traditional backstrap looms wide enough. New techniques and materials were introduced. Spanish modes of dress, itself a mixture of European, Asia Minor and Egyptian influences, were introduced as well. At first wool and silk fabric was imported, then sheep and silkworms as well as European foot pedal looms all by the late 1530s. By 1580, Mexico had become one of the most productive areas for wool and silk cloth. Most of the production was concentrated in the present day states of Oaxaca, Tlaxcala and Puebla. At first Spanish weavers dominated production, but they were soon replaced by native weavers who were making material cheaper. Instead of prohibiting Indian made fabric, European weavers decided instead to hire them, creating workshops. While the indigenous weavers were not paid much, the Spanish owners did make money. These workshops eventually produced enough fabric for both internal consumption and for export to Spain, the Philippines, Central America and Peru. Silk cloth production was particularly dominant from 1540 to 1580; However, the end of this period, the yearly Manila Galleon was regularly bringing cheaper silk from Asia.
While cotton cloth was not favored by the Europeans, it was still made and offered as tribute to Spanish overlords. Commercializing the fiber was difficult as the plant grows in the lowlands near the oceans and not near the manufacturing areas in the highlands, and transportation costs were high. Large cotton weaving workshops were not founded until the second half of the 17th century. Eventually, the production of this fabric as well as wool fabric filled the gap left by the disappearance of Mexican silk fabric production. Wool fabric remained important because it was favored by the upper tiers of colonial society, and because sheep could be raised near major weaving areas, such as Puebla, Querétaro, Valladolid, Acámbaro, and San Miguel de Allende.