History
Pre-Hispanic Colima was remote from the major ancient cultures of Mexico. Seaborne contacts with more distant lands might have been more important: legend says one king of Colima, Ix, had regular treasure-bearing visitors from China. Eventually, northern tribes moved in. The Otomi settled here from about AD 250 to 750, followed by the Toltecs, who flourished between 900 and 1154 and the Chichimecs from 1154 to 1428.
All of them left behind exceptional pottery, which has been found in over 250 sites, mainly tombs, dating from about 200 BC to AD 800. The pottery includes a variety of comical and expressive figures. The most famous are the plump, hairless dogs, known as xoloitzcuintles.
Two Spanish expeditions were defeated and turned back by the Colimans before Gonzalo de Sandoval, one of Cortés’ lieutenants, conquered them in 1523. That year he founded the town of Colima, the third Spanish settlement in Nueva España, after Veracruz and Mexico City. In 1527 the town moved to its present site from its original lowland location near Tecomán.
Inland Colima State
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