Mo o ti

Mo o ti is remembered as an Otomi name associated with the country around Guanajuato. The settlement that grew in its steep ravines became one of the great silver centres of New Spain. Its mines drew workers and merchants into a difficult mountain landscape, where buildings rose along narrow, winding streets.

Silver discoveries in the mid-sixteenth century led to the development of mines including Rayas and Mellado and the great Veta Madre. Santiago de Marfil was founded in 1556 as one of the outposts protecting the mining settlement. Mining brought wealth but also depended on arduous underground labour. By the eighteenth century the Valenciana mine was among the most important workings in the district, and its owner received the title of Count of Valenciana in 1780.

The later city of Guanajuato lies here.