The Estado Libre y Soberano de Nuevo León (Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León) was first colonized in the 16th century by immigrants from the Iberian Peninsula. The majority of these were conversos, ethnic Jews converted to Roman Catholicism. Later the state received more arrivals of other Europeans, some Asians and those from North America settled down in the 19th century. Cross-migration of local Mexicans to or from Texas creates strong cultural bonds with the neighboring U.S. The province eventually became a state of Mexico. Today it is one of the most industrialized regions of Latin America and the greater city area of its capital, Monterrey has over 5 million residents.
Origins
The earliest known human inhabitants of the region now known as Nuevo León were a small number of Native American nomads. They left no written records, so the recorded history of the region begins with the arrival of European colonists towards the end of the 16th century. The first Europeans to explore what is now Nuevo León, were those of the expedition led by Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, they made an expedition through the Spanish Florida (La Florida) to the Pacific sea. After several failed attempts, a group of settlers, among them several families of converted Jews, arrived on the Mexican coast aboard the Santa Catarina. The Jewish imprint in this colony was mild due to acculturation of conversos to Christianity, but, through the passing of tradition, some Jewish customs are still seen today, such as food preparation and holiday observances. Led by the Portuguese Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva they settled in what is now the city of Monterrey in fulfillment of a commitment made by King Philip II of Spain: the establishment of the New Kingdom of León (Nuevo Reino de León). Carvajal and his followers, which consisted of more than sixty soldiers and outlaws, were reputed to have made a fortune capturing and selling Indian slaves.
The first years of the colony were difficult for those who were beleaguered by the Spanish Inquisition, indigenous tribes, and by several floods. The previous settlement founded by Carvajal remained sparsely inhabited and was eventually depopulated. The definitive foundation of Monterrey occurred on September 20, 1596 when Spanish captain Diego de Montemayor, founded the city of Our Lady of Monterrey, "Along with a great mountain and the Santa Lucia water springs", which had been the name of the village previously founded by Carvajal.
New Kingdom of León
From the outset, the greater portion of the population remained concentrated in what was to be formally designated in 1596 as the city of Monterrey. However, arrival of settlers from all over Spain were present in upcoming years. As the case of Bernabé de las Casas, a Spanish-Canarian explorer from Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, who after his victorious expedition with Juan de Oñate and fighting against Acoma Indians in New Mexico, came to the region with Spanish and Canarians families to found several settlements and mining camps in a then unsettled region of the New Kingdom of León, later known as Valle de las Salinas (Salinas Valley), in the subsequent years many villages were founded by his descendants, and the Salinas Valley was declared an 'alcaldía mayor'.
The establishment of Spanish settlements in Northern Nuevo León, was often slowed down by attacks of Native Americans, of Coahuiltecan origin such as Alazapas, Cuanales, and Gualeguas, among others. The attacks were prompted by, or in response to, Spanish slave raids on the Indians. Spanish Captain Alonso de León wrote a description of many assaults and atrocities against the Spaniards in the New Kingdom of León, he also stated that the indigenous population of the New Kingdom of León, was different in all aspects from that of other provinces of New Spain.
Mestizaje, a characteristic of many provinces in New Spain, was difficult on this province, the natives resisted to accept Christianity imposed by Spaniards, and they did not want to be incorporated into Spanish / Criollo society. This feeling of racial segregation was reciprocated among many Spanish and Spanish-born Reineros of the New Kingdom of León towards the indigenous people, who were frequently at war with them, the indigenous population had no permanent establishment.