History of Albuquerque, New Mexico
In 1821, Mexico gained its independence from Spain following the Mexican War of Independence. While change was slow to come to the remote province of New Mexico, one major effect was the opening of the region for the first time to American trade. Beginning in the 1820s, the Santa Fe Trail brought American goods and merchants to New Mexico in ever-increasing numbers. Albuquerque's location on the Camino Real also made it a stopover for traders traveling south to the Mexican interior. The Mexican census of 1827 gives a population of 2,547, and shows a more diverse range of occupations than in 1790, including merchants, craftsmen, and a teacher.
First Mexican Republic
The First Mexican Republic, known also as the First Federal Republic (), was a federated republic and nation-state officially designated the United Mexican States (, ). "Independence transformed Mexico from Spain's largest and most prosperous colony to a sovereign nation suffering economic decline and political strife." The First Mexican Republic lasted from 1824 to 1835, when conservatives under Antonio López de Santa Anna transformed it into a centralized state, the Centralist Republic of Mexico.