Hidalgo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Hidalgo, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 84 municipalities and its capital city is Pachuca de Soto. It is located in east-central Mexico and is bordered by San Luis Potosí and Veracruz on the north, Puebla on the east, Tlaxcala and State of Mexico on the south and Querétaro on the west.
In 1869, Benito Juárez created the State of Hidalgo and made Pachuca its capital city; "de Soto" was added later in recognition of , who is considered the most important driving force in creating the state. The state was named after Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the initiator of the Mexican War of Independence.
The indigenous peoples of the state, such as the Otomi, retain much of their traditional culture. In addition to Mexicans of Spanish descent, there are also notable immigrant cultures: those of the descendants of Cornish miners from Cornwall (located in South West England) who arrived in the 19th century, a few self-proclaimed Italian descendants, and a small Jewish enclave which claims to be descended from Sephardi Jews which came to New Spain in the 16th century.
Hidalgo is known for its mountainous terrain, though part of the state is on a coastal plain. With a population of 2.858 million and an area of roughly 20,813 square km, Hidalgo is one of Mexico's smaller states. The state contains a number of ecotourism, cultural and archeological attractions including the Huasteca area, the ruins of Tula, natural hot water springs, old haciendas and mountain ranges.
History
thumb|left|Cave paintings in [[Huichapan]]
left|thumb|[[Atlantean figures|Atlantes at the Tula archeological site]]
Prehistoric artifacts have been found in the Hidalgo regions of Tepeapulco, Tulancingo, Actopan and Huichapan. Their antiquity ranges from 14,000 to 2,500 B.C.E. The oldest evidence of Hidalguense occupation has been found in Huapalcalco in the municipality of Tulancingo The first settlers of these territories were Olmec groups, who exploited deposits of jade and serpentine. Exploitation of obsidian cobbled relief, as in the deposits of the Sierra de las Navajas, developed during the Mesoamerican Preclassic period.
The modern day state of Hidalgo is located within the pre-Hispanic region of Mesoamerica. Numerous migrations of indigenous people took place through here, mostly arriving or passing through from the north, with many eventually settling in the Valley of Mexico. The Toltecs initially settled in Xochicoatlán, now the municipality of Molango, at the beginning of the 7th century. From here they dispersed to locales such as Huejutla and Tollatzingo (now called Tulancingo) where they eventually had their capital of Tollan, today known as Tula.
The Toltecs were eventually overrun by Chichimecas, who established their capital in Metztitlán. The Aztecs arrived in the 12th century, initially establishing themselves in Mixquiahuala, then founding Tizayuca later. Eventually, the Aztecs took over most of what is now the southern portion of the state, incorporating it into the Aztec Empire.
After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, the conquistadors carved out territories for themselves from Aztec lands. Hernán Cortés took possession of lands to the northeast of Mexico City extending into modern Hidalgo state. Evangelization efforts followed soon thereafter with the first Franciscans arriving in 1523. This changed the social, economic and cultural structure of the areas as the Spanish took control of natural resources — especially minerals — and the labor the Indians provided. It also led to a massive decrease in the native population, especially during the governorship of the area by Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán. By the 18th century, the economy of the Hidalgo area was dominated by mining and agricultural haciendas. Much of the agricultural production during the colonial period was centered on livestock such as sheep and pigs as well as the making of pulque from the native maguey plant. However, the mining of silver, gold and other metals in the Pachuca/Real del Monte area would prove to be the economic backbone of the area through the colonial period and into most of post Independence period. The fortunes of the mining industry would rise and fall during the colonial period; one of the most productive eras came under the control of Pedro Romero de Terreros in the 18th century.
The economic consequences to the mines of Pachuca and Real del Monte during the War of Independence were ruinous. In 1824, British mining companies were brought in to revive the sector. The British introduced steam-powered machinery and other modern techniques as well as a large quantity of Cornish miners. Many of these Cornish miners stayed and English names and foods such as pasties (called “pastes” in Spanish) help define the state, especially in the Pachuca and Real del Monte areas. These Englishmen were forced to sell their interest to Mexican capitalists in 1849, and the mining sector fell again.
In 1861, the government of the vast State of Mexico was centered in Toluca, west of Mexico City. The distance of the capital was one of the reasons why the state of Hidalgo would eventually separate. When French forces invaded central Mexico in 1862, the large territory of Mexico was divided into three military sectors for defence. The second district had its capital in Actopan and its borders were roughly commensurate with that of modern Hidalgo. The French succeeded in placing Maximilian I on the throne of Mexico, who visited Pachuca in 1865. Soon thereafter, insurgent activity against the French government intensified and after Maximilian was overthrown, the new republican government decided to make this military district the state of Hidalgo in 1869.
From the establishment of the state until the Porfirio Díaz period, the economy, especially the mining sector was erratic. In the late 1880s, a number of modern inventions, such as the telegraph, telephone and railroad helped the Hidalgo economy. It also brought in another wave of foreign investment in the mining industry. By the mid-1900s, much of the mining production in Pachuca and Real del Monte was controlled by U.S. based interests such as the United States Mining Smelting and Refining Company. Pulque haciendas, primarily selling to nearby Mexico City, were prosperous in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The prosperity of the state was best seen in the capital of Pachuca with the construction of many civic structures, but many rural areas were still quite impoverished. This situation would make the state favor the oncoming Mexican Revolution. In 1952, an automotive motor production facility called Diesel Nacional (DINA) was constructed.
One problem the extreme southern part of the state has had in the past decade is the contamination of water from the drainage of the Valley of Mexico. Mexico City pumps out excess water from the area, as the valley has no natural drainage, to the north into Mexico and Hidalgo states. This water is increasingly polluted and is causing damage to these northern zones. The state is negotiating federal and other help to treat and recycle this water so that it does not do further damage to state agriculture and environment.
At least 93 people, including eight children, were killed, and 46 were injured when a clandestine gasoline pipe exploded in Tlahuelilpan on January 19, 2019.