Veracruz

In April 1519 Hernán Cortés founded La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz on the Gulf coast, the first Spanish town established in what is now Mexico. By creating a town with its own council (cabildo), Cortés gave his expedition legal authority that answered directly to the Spanish crown, freeing him from the governor of Cuba, Diego Velázquez. That settlement is the origin of today’s port city of Veracruz.