History

A brief Historical overview

It's believed the first inhabitants to populate this area were the Toltecs, who arrived around 400 B.C. The arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors in 1525 spelled the end of an era of native rule in the kingdom of Xalisco.

A storey is told, of a Captain Francisco Cortes de San Buenaventura that, while exploring the coastline along the Pacific with 100 of his men, was dazzled by the beauty of the landscape and decided to land on shore. They were quickly confronted by 18,000 native warriors, ready to fight. The officers attempted to talk the natives into submission, but they refused. At the risk of such poor odds, Francisco Cortés still resolved to fight, but first requested his men to pray to the Virgin Mary for help. A monk named Juan de Villadiego was carrying a flag emblazoned with the Holy Cross and inscribed "In this I defeated, and the one that carries me, it will defeat." On the other side of the flag were the words "Mary, Mary, pray for us." As the Captain ready for battle, a brilliant ray of light shone down from the heavens and illuminated the flag of the Holy Cross. Native and Spaniards alike, realized they had witnessed a miracle and made a truce.
Puerto Vallarta was discovered in 1541 by Don Pedro de Alvarado and was visited frequently by ships sailing the Pacific. The bay offered safety form storms but harbored pirates who would prey on the unsuspecting Spanish Galleons.
There exist ships' logs and documents from the 1700s detailing the paths of whaling ships and fishing boats harboring in the bay. Banderas Bay was also known as Humpback Bay--Bahía de los Jorobados due to the migratory Humpback Whales that visite the area in large numbers.

On May 31, 1918, by Congressional decree, Puerto Vallarta was officially named in honor of Don Ignacio Luis Vallarta who was governor of the state of Jalisco during the Mexican Revolution (1910 - 1917) and an author of the Mexican Constitution.

Due to the purchase of 70,000 acres of land by the Montgomery Fruit Company in 1925 and the great increase in jobs, Puerto Vallarta experienced considerable growth. Railways were connected and export agreements made. Around 1930, the first vacationers discovered Puerto Vallarta and her surrounding coast line.

In 1963, the making of the film 'Night of the Iguana', caught the attention of the world and a landslide of tourism began.