New Mexico has a long history. I would say this because people came to this state over 12,000 years ago. In the early 1500s New Mexico got its name. New Mexico's original name was Nuevo Mexico; given to the land north of Mexico. In 1540 a Spanish explorer named Francisco Vazquez de Coronado came to the area to search for gold that was rumored to exist. He didn't locate the treasure, but over the next century the Spanish occupied the land. Then in 1821 New Mexico proclaimed its independence from Spain, while the area became apart of Mexico. However after the U.S. won the Mexican-American war in 1848, New Mexico became a U.S. territory. In 1912, it was announced as the 47th state.