Desarrollo de la economía mercantil y construcción de los caminos México-Veracruz en el siglo XVI

Abstract

The essay analyzes the construction during the late sixteenth century of the two main roads connecting the cities of Mexico and Puebla with the port of Veracruz. The road heading north from the city of Veracruz , passing through the Sierra Madre Oriental, was used mainly for the transport of imported goods from Europe. The road for mule traffic as well as that of wagons pulled by oxen was promoted by the Mexico City cogernment (Cabildo) , using the forced labor of thousands of Indians. As a result of the commercial expansion generated by the new silver mining industries, the road became an active route for exports and imports. The road through Orizaba that went south of the Sierra Madre, not only connected the cities of Mexico and Puebla with the port of San Juan de Ulúa but also allowed for connections with roads and mule trails that went to the eastern, southern and southeastern regions of New Spain and even to Guatemala. At the end of the sixteenth century, the Spanish crown favored the improvement of the latter route which became known as the new royal road (“el camino nuevo”), broadening it to allow for carts pulled by oxen. In the process sommunications with the bay of Ulúa was improved, substituting the old city of Veracruz (La antigua Veracruz), as the only port of New Spain facing the Atlantic.