Why is Albuquerque nicknamed Duke city?
Posted on 02. Nov, 2010 by raiders1 in History
The history for Albuequerque goes back about 12,000 years. Ancient Puebloan Indians settled here for close to
two centuries between 1,000 and 13,000. They planted several types of beans, corn, and green and yellow squash. They built their adobe and brick homes all along the river banks of the Rio Grande River. They also established communities in the northeastern parts of New Mexico which they ended up connecting to roads.
Conquistador Francisco Vasquez de Coronado searched for the Seven mythical cities of Cibola in 1540. He did not find what he was looking for but that brought Spanish settlers to arrive in the area in search of gold. Because of the Pueblo Rebellion in 1680, that stopped settler from coming until Spanish General Don Diego deVargas arrived to the area in 1692. Several trading posts were constructed by the end of the 16th century just north of the city that is currently still around.
At that time the area that is now Albuequerque was named Bosque Grande de San Francisco Xavier. Don Francisco Cuervo Valdez was at that time the governor in 1706 and he went to the Spanish government asking for permission to establish a formal villa and name it Albuequerque which would be named after Viceroy Francisco Fernandez dez de la Cueva, who was the Duke. At first it was Alburquerque and later on the spelling changed by taking the “R” out because an influential resident could not pronounce it correctly. Still to this day the nickname that Albuequerque is well known as to the locals is “Duke” city.
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