Editing Chapultepec (section)

==History==
{{Update section|date=September 2018}}
[[File:Chapultepec Hill WDL6745.png|thumbnail|left|Chapultepec Hill as depicted in the [[Tovar Codex]]. The scene shows the Aztec [[tlatoani]] [[Huitzilihuitl]] and [[Tepanec]]s (right) about to be defeated by the warriors of [[Xochimilco (altepetl)|Xochimilco]] and [[Chalco (altépetl)|Chalco]] (left).{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}]]
According to studies, there has been human presence in the area since at least the pre-Classic period. The first identified culture archaeologists have evidence for is the Toltecs. The Toltecs named the area "grasshopper hill", which would later become [[Nahuatl]] "Chapoltepēc" ("at the grasshopper hill"). Remains of a Toltec altar have been found on the hill's summit. In the Classic Period, the area was occupied by people of the Teotihuacan culture. When the Mexicans, or Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Mexico, it was inhabited by a people called the [[Tepaneca]]s of [[Azcapotzalco (altepetl)|Azcapotzalco]].<ref name="historiaorg"/><ref name="microcosm"/>

When the Aztecs took over the Valley of Mexico, they considered the hill as both a sacred and strategic site. They began to use the area as a repository for the ashes of their rulers, and the area's springs became an important source of fresh water for the capital of Tenochtitlan.<ref name="historiaorg"/><ref name="microcosm"/> Eventually, the area became a retreat strictly limited to the ruling and religious elite. In the 1420s, ruler Nezahualcoyotl was the first to build a palace in the area.<ref name="microcosm"/><ref name="indaabin"/> [[Moctezuma II]] built reservoirs to raise exotic fish and to store water. He also had trees and plants from various parts of the Aztec Empire planted here. In 1465, [[Moctezuma I]] ordered his portrait carved into a rock at the foot of the hill and constructed the Tlaxpana aqueduct, which measured three km.<ref name="historiaorg"/><ref name="nocturno"/>

[[File:Folding screen. Sarao in a garden of Chapultepec. 18th century. Museo Nacional de Historia. Castle of Chapultepec (cropped).png|thumb|300px|[[Byōbu|Biombo]]. ''Sarao'' [party] ''in a garden of Chapultepec'', anonymous painter, {{circa|1780}}–1790, Mexico City. [[Museo Nacional de Historia|National Museum of History]] of [[Chapultepec Castle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mediateca.inah.gob.mx/islandora_74/islandora/object/objetohistorico%3A2286|title=Biombo. Sarao en un jardín de Chapultepec|website=Multimedia Library of the [[Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.tierradeideas.com/centro/local/chapultepec/doc_07.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030120321/http://www.tierradeideas.com/centro/local/chapultepec/doc_07.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-10-30|pages=45|title=Los jardines de Chapultepec y sus reflejos novohispanos|trans-title=The Chapultepec Gardens and its New Spanish reflections|author=Victor Manuel Ruiz Naupal|year=2002|publisher=[[Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia]]|volume=10|issn=0188-8218|magazine=Arqueología mexicana}}</ref>]]

During the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, one of the last battles between the Spanish and ruler [[Cuauhtémoc]] occurred at Chapultepec Hill in 1521.<ref name="historiaorg"/><ref name="microcosm"/> Shortly thereafter, the [[Franciscans]] built a small hermitage over the indigenous altar on Chapultepec Hill.<ref name="indaabin"/> [[Hernán Cortés]] appropriated Chapultepec and granted the northern portion to Captain Juan Jaramillo, who would become the husband of [[La Malinche]]. However, in 1530, [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] decreed the area as the property of Mexico City and opened it to the public.<ref name="historiaorg"/> The Spanish continued to use the Aztec aqueduct, but in 1771, another one was deemed necessary for the growing population of Mexico City. The [[Chapultepec aqueduct]] led water from the springs of the forest to an area in what was the south of the city, called Salto del Agua. It flowed over 904 arches and 3,908 meters.<ref name="historiaorg"/> In 1785, the Franciscan hermitage was demolished to make way for the Chapultepec Castle, converting the hill and the forest around it into a summer retreat for colonial viceroys. The area was walled off from the general public and was the scene of elegant parties.<ref name="indaabin"/><ref name="pulmonverde"/>

[[File:Ahuehuetes en Chapultepec.jpg|thumb|left|An 1875 painting, ''Ahuehuetes en Chapultepec'', by [[José María Velasco Gómez]] depicting the [[ahuehuete]]s by the lake in Chapultepec. It is possible this is a view from Chapultepec Castle.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ahuehuetes en Chapultepec - José María Velasco |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/ahuehuetes-de-chapultepec-jos%C3%A9-mar%C3%ADa-velasco/CAENGG6FnkJSeQ?hl=en&avm=4 |website=Google Arts & Culture |access-date=10 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref> ]]
After Mexico achieved independence in 1821, the Castle became the official residence of the head of state. A number of these, especially Emperor Maximilian I and his wife, embellished and expanded the castle as well as the forest area around it.<ref name="indaabin"/> 

The Hill was also the site of the [[Battle of Chapultepec]] in 1847, [[Mexican–American War|between Mexican and U.S.]] troops led by General [[Winfield Scott]]. Once the overwhelming attack was imminent, a band of cadets was ordered to retreat by their superiors, but they chose to stay and defend the castle. Six of them died in the battle, leading them to be known as [[Niños Héroes|"los Niños Héroes,"]] and their story is celebrated in Mexico as an example of exemplary patriotism. Many myths have been woven around the story of "los Niños Héroes," the most famous being that of Juan Escutia, who allegedly jumped to his death wrapped in the Mexican flag rather than surrendering to the American troops. Although this is the most commonly known version of the story, many historians believe it wasn't possible. The six cadets are honored by a monument near where the alleged remains of the cadets were found. A hundred years after the war, it is believed that Mexico's president, [[Miguel Alemán Valdés|Miguel Alemán]], planted the remains. This was to give more relevance to the patriotic story after a visit from then-president [[Harry S. Truman|Harry Truman]] to honor the fallen 100 years after the war wasn't well received.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Los mitos sobre los Niños Héroes que murieron en la guerra contra EE.UU. por la que México perdió la mitad de su territorio |url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-62857252 |access-date=2024-05-29 |work=BBC News Mundo |language=es}}</ref>  

The castle remained the official residence of Mexican presidents until 1940, when this function was moved to the Los Pinos residence, and the Castle was converted into a museum.<ref name="microcosm"/>

Since then, the park has been expanded twice, adding the second section in 1964<ref name="2seccion"/> and the third section ten years later.<ref name="3seccion"/> Since then, the focus has been on the maintenance of the area. By 1998, the paths of the park, especially in the first section, were saturated with over 3,000 peddlers with few regulations or norms.<ref name="satura">{{cite news |title= Satura Chapultepec a avance de ambulentes |author= Blanca Estela Botello |newspaper=Reforma |location=Mexico City |date=May 22, 1998 |page=3 |language=es |trans-title=Chapultepec is saturated with peddlers }}</ref> In 2005, the first section of the park was closed for renovations, effectively evicting all vendors from the area. When it reopened months later, permits for selling were strictly limited, and police began to crack down on vendors in the park. However, some vendors continue to operate illegally and exchange information on the police's steps with radio communication equipment.<ref name="acceso">{{cite news |title= Vigilan acceso a bosque |author= Mariel Ibarra |newspaper=Reforma |location=Mexico City |date=July 22, 2007 |page=2 |language=es |trans-title=Watching access to the forest }}</ref> At the entrances to the park, where the vendor restrictions are not in place, some vendors sometimes block the entrances and cover signs so that visitors are forced to pass through their stands.<ref name="laberinto">{{cite news |title= Laberinto en el bosque |author= Mariel Ibarra |newspaper=Reforma |location=Mexico City |date=July 15, 2007 |page=2 |language=es |trans-title=Labyrinth in the forest }}</ref>

Maintenance issues have closed parts of the park from time to time. In 1985, the park was closed to exterminate rats and other pests.<ref name="microcosm"/> In 2005, the park was filled with trees in poor condition, had scum in the lakes, and had trash piles in several locations, including fountains.<ref name="breathe"/> From that year until 2010, the park was closed section by section for restoration and rehabilitation projects. The first section was closed for eight months in 2005, for work that included dredging lakes, pruning and removing trees, picking up tons of debris, and expelling hundreds of vendors.<ref name="breathe"/> Shortly thereafter, projects on the second and third sections of the park began, mostly to control or eliminate rats, feral dogs and cats, pigeons, and other introduced species.<ref name="entrara"/> In 2005, migratory birds began to make a comeback at the park with the eradication and relocation of introduced species such as geese and ducks, which were aggressive to other species. The park hosts more than 100 species of this kind of bird, with some reproducing here for the first time in decades. Other native mammals returned in 2005, including the [[Virginia opossum]] and the [[cacomistle]].<ref name="fauna">{{cite news |title= Recuperan fauna de Chapultepec |author= Ivan Sosa |newspaper=Reforma |location=Mexico City |date=June 9, 2005 |page=2 |language=es |trans-title=Fauna recuperates in Chapultepec }}</ref>

In 2010, projects included renovating jogging tracks, and planting more than 800 trees, including [[Senegalia afra|acacia café]], pino azul, pino peñonero, holm oak, pino moctezuma, pino prieto and grevilia, as well as the removal of dead or severely infected trees. These rehabilitation efforts of the 2000s were funded by a combination of government and private funds from groups like Probosque.<ref name="saneamiento" />