Before Monterrey was founded as a city of New Spain, the area was populated by small groups of indigenous communities,collectively known as Chichimecas. Around Monterrey, archeological sites of these indigenous communities can be visited today, including Boca de Potrerillos, La Calzada, Puntita Negra, la Cueva del Cordel, and Villa Vieja. The remains left by these communities include arrows, spears, cave paintings and stone engravings.

Monterrey went through three trials of colonization; the first two failed due to local resistance, the harsh terrain and the persecution of the first two founders by the Inquisition. It was not until 1596 that Diego de Montemayor brought from the neighboring town of Saltillo a dozen families to the site of the current city, naming it Ciudad Metropolitana de Nuestra Senora de Monterrey after the then-viceroy of New Spain, Gaspar de Zuniga y Acevedo, Count of Monterrey. Monterrey has faced wars and invasions throughout its history, including a U.S. invasion in 1846 during the Mexican-American War, resulting in surrender at the city’s plaza.

Several generals in the Mexican War against France were from Monterrey, including Juan Zuazua, Jeronimo Trevino, and Mariano Escobedo, the famous Mexican war hero and governor of Nuevo Leon who captured Emperor Maximilian during the French invasion.

At the turn of the 20th century during the brink of the industrial revolution in Mexico, Monterrey played an important economic and commercial role for the country’s development. Linked by the railroad, Monterrey acted as an important transit point between Mexico and the U.S. and Europe, serving trading routes between San Antonio and the state’s capital, Saltillo, as well as the port city of Tampico.