PUEBLA

in full Puebla De Zaragoza, city, capital of Puebla state, central Mexico. Founded as Puebla de los Angeles in 1532, the city lies on a broad plain 7,093 ft (2,162 m) above sea level in the Sierra Madre Oriental foothills. Since viceregal days, Puebla, because of its strategic position on the route between Mexico City, 80 mi (130 km) northwest, and the Gulf of Mexico port of Veracruz, 140 mi (225 km) east, has been considered a military key to Mexico. It was occupied in 1847 by United States forces during the Mexican War. In 1862 the French were repulsed at Puebla by Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza; thereafter the city was renamed Puebla de Zaragoza. The following year the French captured Puebla, occupying it until 1867, when Porfirio Daz recaptured it. Puebla is characteristically Spanish, with noteworthy architecture similar to that of Toledo, Spain's great fortress city. The sumptuous cathedral, the interior of which is rich with onyx, marble, and gold, was made a bishopric in 1550, an archbishopric in 1903. The church of Santo Domingo, with its gold-leafed Chapel of the Rosary, dates from 15961659; the Casa del Alfeique, now a museum, from the 17th century; and the Teatro Principal from 1790. The city houses the Autonomous University of Puebla (1937). The centre of an important agricultural and industrial region, Puebla is known for its onyx working, glazed ceramic tiles, cotton and woollen textiles, glass, and pottery. A plant for the assembly of Volkswagon automobiles was built in 1970. The city can be reached by railroad, highway, and air. In August 1973 it was badly damaged by a massive earthquake that rocked central Mexico. Pop. (1980) 771,000. inland state, east central Mexico. It is bounded on the east by Veracruz; on the south by Oaxaca; on the west by Guerrero, Morelos, and the Federal District; and on the northwest by Tlaxcala and Hidalgo. Its northeast tip reaches into the Gulf lowlands between Veracruz on the east and Tlaxcala and Hidalgo on the west and north. Its 13,090-sq-mi (33,902-sq-km) territory occupies the southeastern corner of the Anhuac Plateau. It varies in elevation from 5,000 to 8,000 ft (1,500 to 2,400 m), with numerous fertile valleys formed by the Sierra Madre Oriental. The region has long been densely populated. Pre-Columbian Nahuatl-speaking peoples had a highly developed civilization, as the innumerable archaeological sites attest. In turn, the Spaniards made Puebla a focus of economic and religious activity. Since the 19th century Puebla has developed as an agriculturalindustrial area in the important Mexico CityVeracruz corridor. Coffee, sugarcane, fibres, corn (maize), and cereals are its principal crops, and onyx, gold, and other metals occur in its richly veined mountains. Highways and railroads traverse the state, passing through Puebla (q.v.) city, the capital. Towns and villages include Cholula, Atlixco, and Tehuacn Pop. (1980) 3,347,685.