New Kingdom of León

The New Kingdom of León was an administrative territory of the Spanish Empire within the Viceroyalty of New Spain, occupying roughly the area of the present-day Mexican state of Nuevo León. It was founded in 1582, when Philip II authorized Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva to settle and govern the region and gave the new realm the name of the old Kingdom of León in Spain. The territory was remote from Mexico City and functioned with considerable autonomy; in 1776 it was attached to the Commandancy General of the Internal Provinces, and from 1786 it formed part of the Eastern Internal Provinces together with Coahuila, Texas and Nuevo Santander. The capital was Monterrey, founded in 1596 by Diego de Montemayor after earlier settlements had been abandoned. Settlement remained slow, and the economy rested on ranching, mining and trade along routes linking the interior to the Gulf coast. In 1821, with Mexican independence, the kingdom became the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León.