Editing Monterrey (section)

===Foundation===
[[File:Plano de la ciudad de Monterrey, 1791.jpg|thumb|left|Map of Monterrey 1791]]

In the 16th century, the valley in which Monterrey sits was known as the [[Extremadura Valley]], an area largely unexplored by the Spanish colonizers. The first expeditions and colonization attempts were led by conquistador [[Alberto del Canto]], who named the city '''Santa Lucia''', but they were unsuccessful because the Spanish were attacked by the natives and fled. The Spanish expeditionary [[Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva]] negotiated with [[Philip II of Spain|King Philip II]] of Spain to establish a territory in northern [[New Spain]] that would be called [[Nuevo León]], the "[[New Kingdom of León]]". In 1580, he arrived in the newly granted lands but it was not until 1582 that he established a settlement called '''San Luis Rey de Francia''' (named for [[Louis IX|Saint Louis IX of France]]) within present-day Monterrey. The New Kingdom of León extended westward from the port of [[Tampico]] to the limits of [[Nueva Vizcaya, New Spain|Nueva Vizcaya]] ("New Biscay", now State of [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]]), and around 1,000&nbsp;kilometers northward. For eight years Nuevo León was abandoned and uninhabited, until a third expedition of 13 families led by conquistador [[Diego de Montemayor]] founded the ''Ciudad Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Monterrey'' ("Metropolitan City of Our Lady of Monterrey") on September 20, 1596, next to a water spring called ''Ojos de Agua de Santa Lucia'', where the Museum of Mexican History and [[Santa Lucía riverwalk]] are now.

During the years of Spanish rule, Monterrey remained a small city, and its population varied from a few hundred to only dozens. The city facilitated trade between [[San Antonio]] (now in Texas), [[Tampico]] and from [[Saltillo]] to the center of the country. Tampico's port brought many products from Europe, while Saltillo concentrated the Northern Territories' trade with the capital, [[Mexico City]]. San Antonio was the key trade point with the northern foreign colonies (British and French).{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}