Colonial Era

Cristóbal de Olid was the first Spanish captain to set foot in Michoacán in 1522. From then on, the indigenous people were subjected to dispossession and mistreatment, causing the local population to flee to the mountains.

Tangaxoan agreed to submit to Cortés, delivering gold as tribute. However, Beltrán Nuño de Guzmán, when launching the conquest of Jalisco, devastated the Michoacán land. Due to the avarice of the bloodthirsty conqueror, Tangaxoan was tormented, sacrificed, and incinerated in February 1530 in Santiago Conguripo.

Vasco de Quiroga arrived in Michoacán in 1533. As a member of the Second Audiencia, he issued strong provisions to stop the exploitation of the Purepecha people through the encomienda system. He established his hospital-town (with a church and a school) for 200 families in Santa Fe de La Laguna de Uayameo, on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro. He introduced advanced agricultural techniques and the teaching of various industrial arts.

When the Diocese of Michoacán was established on October 18, 1536, Vasco, still a layman, was elected as its bishop. He set up his seat in Tzintzuntzan, the capital of the former Tarascan dominion, which had been evangelized by the Franciscan Martín de la Coruña. Later, he moved his seat to Pátzcuaro in 1540.

The city of Morelia was founded in 1541 as the Third City of Michoacán, following Tzintzuntzan and Pátzcuaro. Its foundation was motivated by the Spanish population's dissatisfaction, mainly located in Tzintzuntzan, over Bishop Vasco de Quiroga's decision to move the episcopal seat from that city to Pátzcuaro.

Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, annoyed by not being consulted about the transfer of the episcopal seat, authorized the founding of the new city in the Guayangareo Valley. Rivalry between the populations of Pátzcuaro and Valladolid was latent, fueled by opposing ideologies regarding how to treat the indigenous people.

Vasco de Quiroga's great respect for the Purepecha population of the region led to strong disputes with Spanish encomenderos, who used the population to exploit the territory.          

On September 30, 1765, in the city of Valladolid (now Morelia), a significant event took place when Melchor Ocampo, a prominent figure in the region, was born.

War of Independence & the 19th Century

In 1808, the citizens of Valladolid learned of the March 17 riots in Aranjuez, which led to the abdication of King Carlos IV in favor of his son Fernando VII. These events sparked the organization of the Independence movement in Valladolid, known as "La Junta o Conspiración," led by Lieutenant Mariano Michelena. A year later, on December 14, the conspirators of Valladolid were denounced by Lieutenant Agustín de Iturbide of the Provincial Infantry Regiment.

On September 18, 1810, the people of Valladolid learned about Miguel Hidalgo's uprising in Dolores, Guanajuato. Hidalgo appointed José María Anzorena, the intendant of the Cabildo of Michoacán, who published the decree ordered by Hidalgo abolishing slavery in the country.

In 1824, the Province of Michoacán became a free and sovereign state under the Federal Pact. On April 8, the Sovereign Local Congress appointed the first interim governor of the state, Francisco Manuel Sánchez de Tagle, and the vice-governor and supreme political leader, Antonio de Castro.     

On December 30, 1836, with the establishment of centralism, Michoacán became a department and annexed the territory of Colima. Ten years later, federalism was reinstated, and Michoacán regained its status as a state, but it lost the territory of Colima.

On May 17, 1861, the Local Congress decreed that from that date on, the entity would be called the "Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo," in memory of the patriot Melchor Ocampo, whom the legislature had declared "Benemérito de Michoacán." On November 20, the state was divided into twenty-one districts, seventy-one municipalities, and two hundred and thirteen tenancies, following the Law on the Economic-Political Government of the State and Territorial Division.

Modern Era

The 20th century witnessed impressive growth in Morelia. From 40,000 inhabitants in 1910, the city's population increased to nearly one million by the end of the century.

One of the early phenomena in the 20th century was the appearance of large subdivisions or neighborhoods outside the city center. In Morelia, one of the first was the Vasco de Quiroga neighborhood, followed by other subdivisions of agricultural land incorporated into the city, such as Rancho del Aguacate, which became the Cuauhtémoc neighborhood south of the forest of the same name. 

Today, Morelia is a modern city proud of its history, which can be felt in its streets and colonial monuments.