Hispanic and Latino Arizonans are residents of the state of Arizona who are of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 30% of the state's population.
History
After the Marcos de Niza expedition in south-eastern Arizona in 1539, Coronado also explored several regions of the present state in 1540–1542, while searching for Cíbola. In 1604, Juan de Oñate travelled to the Colorado River from New Mexico. The Oñate expedition traveled by way of Zuñi and Hopi territories, and the Bill Williams River to the Colorado River. Arizona was incorporated into New Spain. Northern Arizona belonged to Las Californias, the Southwest belonged to Sonora, particularly Pimería Alta, and the southeast belonged to Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico. However, only a small settler community formed in Arizona. Father Kino's expedition to Arizona established a mission in Tumacacori, located in modern-day Santa Cruz County, Arizona, in 1687. Ten Spaniards members of the expeditionary team settled in the region, although the mission did not prosper. However, this was the first place to have Hispanic occupation in present-day Arizona. The next Hispanic settlements were at San Xavier del Bac and Guevavi. A total of 100 Spanish people may have settled in both areas combined. In 1736 silver mines were discovered in the region, prompting the arrival of possibly 100 traders and miners. However, in 1741, the Viceroy of New Spain prohibited the exploitation of the silver mines, which were being depleted. In 1750, the population may have grown to 1,000 people.
The settler community in Arizona dwindled in 1751 because of the problems it faced: Arizona's main economic source, the silver mines, ran out, so settlers lost interest in the territory. In addition, the Pima people frequently attacked the Spanish communities, causing riots and murders (100 settlers were murdered), as well as many other problems – they burned the settlers' land, poisoned the wells, etc. All this made life in Arizona untenable for the settlers, so most of them left Arizona. So only a small settler community remained in Arizona, including the farmer José Romo de Vivar. In 1752 Tubac was founded by 300 Spanish (mostly soldiers). In 1779 a garrison was established at Tubac. The garrison was occupied by 80 soldiers and possibly their families. In that year the Arizona population grew to 1,120 people, although from 1779 to 1821 the population remained at zero growth.
After the New Spain independence from Spain in 1821, Southern Arizona was incorporated into the Mexican state of Sonora in 1822, although the Hispanic population remained small. Sonora became in the Estado de Occidente in 1824.
Arizona was thinly colonized by Mexico in the 1840s, with little protection from much larger Amerindian population. The U.S. won the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and Mexico ceded to the U.S. the northern 70% of modern-day Arizona through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848). On June 8, 1854 the United States bought 29,670-square-mile of land from Mexico. This purchase, called Gadsden Purchase, consisted of the present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Since the second half of the 19th century, thousands of Mexicans have migrated to Arizona.
Arizona's first decades as part of the US (1850–1870) were characterised by the fact that most of its immigrants were Mexican. From 1870 to 1900 Arizona's population grew to 122,000 from just 10,000. Part of this growth was due to Mexican migration. Mexicans accounted for one out of every three immigrants in Arizona in that period.
Demographics
Hispanics made up 32% of Arizona's population. The largest ancestry group in Arizona is Mexican (26%). The southern and central parts of the state are predominantly Mexican American, especially in Santa Cruz County and Yuma County near the Mexican border. In addition, there are an estimated 45,000 people residing in Arizona who are natives of Puerto Rico or of Puerto Rican descent.