Chiapa de Corzo

History

People have lived here since at least 1400 BCE. The archaeological site beside the town, built by ancestors of the Zoque, flourished between about 700 BCE and 200 CE and produced the oldest Long Count calendar date yet found in Mesoamerica, carved in 36 BCE. The old city was slowly abandoned, and later the Chiapanecas, a warrior people who arrived around the 14th century, settled the river plain and made it their capital. They held off the Aztecs and resisted several Spanish expeditions.

On March 1, 1528, Diego de Mazariegos founded Villa Real de Chiapa here, the first Spanish town in what is now Chiapas. Most of the Spaniards soon moved to the cooler highlands, to what became San Cristóbal de las Casas, and left Chiapa to the Indigenous population and a group of Dominican friars. For that reason it was long called Chiapa de los Indios. The Dominicans built the Santo Domingo church and monastery in the second half of the 16th century, and the La Pila fountain dates from 1562.

The "de Corzo" in the name honors Ángel Albino Corzo, a Liberal leader born in the town. Today Chiapa de Corzo is one of the most visited places in the state.