2009 and 2010, the poor economy forced the closing of dozens of small businesses in the city center alone. History The original name of the settlement and the area was Taximaroa. The origin of this name is unclear. Some sources claim some variation of this had been the name since Toltec times, but this form is from the Purépecha language. The meaning is similarly unclear. It may mean “altar of the god’s put on the road” in reference to a place where the Purépecha defeated the Aztecs. Another source says it means “place of carpenters,” but the Aztec name for the place Tlaximaloyan, means this and was probably given due to is similarity with the Purépecha name. Another source states that the name means “place of traitors.” This etymology stems from Conquest. Cristobal de Olid was on his way west to Tzintzuntzan when an Purépecha army was heading east to intercept him. Olid, along with a number of Purépecha from this area, tricked the army into an ambush and captured them. After the Conquest, the name changed to San José Taximaroa. Near the end of the 18th century, a hacienda was acquired here by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. This later prompted the name of the municipality to change to Villa Hidalgo Taximaroa in 1908, and then again to Ciudad Hidalgo in 1922. The first people to concentrate in this area were the Otomi, who arrived between 2,000 and 1,500 years B.C.E. They called the area “Ouesehuarape” or “place where they cut wood.” In 1401, the Purépecha conquered the area, making it the province closest to the Aztec Empire. In 1479, Axayacatl with 24,000 warriors attacked Taximaroa and burned the city. They were later expelled by the Purépecha and the town was refounded. The Aztecs attacked again under Moctezuma II in 1495 but were defeated. A ceremonial center was then erected by the Purépecha to mark the defeat of the Aztecs. In 1522, the Spanish under Cristóbal de Olid arrived here entering Purépecha lands. Olid took possession of the native settlement and had the first Mass celebrated in Purépecha territory here. Before the arrival of Nuño de Guzmán in 1529, the locals decided to abandon the settlement of Taximaroa. The Franciscans arrived to the area in 1531 to evangelize the natives and reestablished the settlement, giving it the Spanish layout it has today. In 1535, the settlement and the lands around