Editing Guanajuato (city) (section)

===Independence===
[[File:Spomenik El Pípila.jpg|thumb|Monument to the [[El Pípila|Pípila]], legendary hero of the Mexican War of Independence.]]
[[File:Alhóndiga de Granaditas, grabado del siglo XIX - Ciudad de Guanajuato.jpg|thumb|Guanajuato in the 19th century]]
By the end of the 18th century, the lower classes were poor and oppressed despite the great wealth coming out of the mines. One event foreshadowing the [[Mexican War of Independence]] was a revolt carried out in the city attacking the heavily militarized Caja Real (building to hold the Crown's share of mining production) to protest the high taxes. One year later there were large protests against the expulsion of the [[Jesuits]].<ref name="rincones31">Gonzalez, p. 31</ref>

The War of Independence broke out in the state of Guanajuato in the town of [[Dolores Hidalgo|Dolores]], when Father [[Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla]] shouted the “[[Grito de Dolores]]” and raised an insurgent army on September 15 and 16, 1810. This army marched to [[San Miguel de Allende|San Miguel, today San Miguel de Allende]], and then on to the city of Guanajuato. Just on the outskirts on [[Capture of Alhóndiga de Granaditas|September 28, 1810]], Hidalgo sent a warning letter to city authorities, but it was ignored.<ref name="significado"/> Instead, royalist troops and many of the elite made their stand at the [[Alhóndiga de Granaditas]] granary, an imposing building with few windows and thick walls. After entering the city unopposed, Hidalgo decided to attack the granary. This was the first battle against Spanish troops in the war and is popularly called the '[[Capture of Alhóndiga de Granaditas|Siege of the Alhondiga]]'.<ref name="significado"/><ref name="encmuc"/> The insurgents were unable to take the heavily defended building as royalist gunfire kept them from approaching the only entrance until a miner by the name of [[El Pípila|Juan José de los Reyes Martínez, better known as El Pípila]], strapped a large flat stone onto his back for protection. Crawling, he carried a flask of tar and a torch. When he reached the wooden doors of the main entrance, he smeared it with the tar and set it on fire. This allowed the insurgents to penetrate the building, defeat the Spanish royalist army and elite, and take over the heavily fortified and defended building. This action is commemorated by a colossal statue of El Pípila on a hill overlooking the city.<ref name="mexconnect">{{cite web |url= http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2798-the-beautiful-mexican-colonial-city-of-guanajuato |title= The beautiful Mexican colonial city of Guanajuato |date= February 4, 2007 |publisher=Mexconnect newsletter |access-date=November 15, 2010}}</ref>

After Independence, the province of Guanajuato was made a state, and the city was made its capital in 1824. However, fighting in the state and the rest of the country continued as Liberals, who wanted a Federalist government, fought with Conservatives, who wanted a centralized government under a monarch or dictator. Power in the city and state changed hands between the two factions during much of the 19th century, taking its toll on mining. The city was the provisional capital of the country in 1858 as Liberal president [[Benito Juárez]] fought Conservative rebels. In 1863, the French took the city during the [[Second French intervention in Mexico|French Intervention in Mexico]], receiving a visit from the installed [[Maximilian I of Mexico|Emperor Maximiliano I]] and his wife, [[Carlota of Mexico|Carlota]]. French occupation ended in early 1867. The Mexican General [[Florencio Antillón]] captured it on January 26, 1868, from the Conservatives.<ref name="significado"/><ref name="encmuc"/>

Mining reactivated around the 1870s due to foreign investments encouraged by the [[Porfirio Díaz]] government. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries this renewed economic activity spurred new era Mexican projects such as the Juárez Theater, the Esperanza Dam, the Monumento a la Paz, the Hidalgo Monument and the State Government Palace.<ref name="significado"/><ref name="encmuc"/><ref name="stampart3"/>

Flooding had been a serious problem through most of the city's history, due to the area's steep compact hillsides. In 1760 and 1780 two major floods nearly wiped it out. This spurred construction of large ditches and tunnels to contain and divert overflows during the rainy season. These eventually crisscrossed a large part of the city.<ref name="rincones104">Gonzalez, p. 104</ref> Dam construction in the 1960s brought the flooding under control,<ref name="mexconnect"/> and many of the ditches and tunnels were converted into underground roadways.<ref name="mexdesgto"/>

The first [[Festival Internacional Cervantino]] was held in 1972.<ref name="rincones34">Gonzalez, p. 34</ref> The historic city center was declared a World Heritage Site in 1988.<ref name="who482"/>