y were in other parts of Mexico. These haciendas were generally owned by foreigners, such as the Inguar�n company of France or by creoles.
The town now known as Zihuatanejo was simply a very small fishing village, surrounded by large haciendas. In the second half of the 16th century, the original Spanish shipyards at Zacatula burned. Unable to reconstruct them, new ones were built at Zihuatanejo. The surrounding haciendas occasionally used the bay as a port to ship wood and minerals. The bay was visited during the colonial period by famous pirates such as Sir Francis Drake, William Dampier and Anz�n, with the later sinking the Spanish ship Caramelo here.
Independence and post-colonial era
The municipality was spared involvement in the Mexican War of Independence, except for its use by Jos� Mar�a Morelos y Pav�n as a logistic port in 1811. Morelos created the province of Tecpan, which included Zihuatanejo.
However, the municipality did suffer consequences during the Mexican Revolution. Generally, it was sympathetic to the rebel cause and many joined, such as brothers Alfredo, Leonel, Hector and Homero Lopez. Because of its sympathies, various bands associated with the different forces fighting against the Porfirio Diaz government (and each other) came through here, as well as federal forces. These led to a certain amount of sacking, pillaging and vandalism.
In 1823, with the first republic, Zihuatanejo was separated from Tecpan and became part of the district of Acapulco. When the state of Guerrero was created, Zihuatanejo was part of the municipality of La Uni�n and Petatl�n.
20th century
In 1926, a group called the "vidalistas" attacked the town which led to a secret agreement with the government to free a number of the compatriots.
In 1952, there was a strike by workers on coconut plantations from Acapulco to Zihuatanejo. Strikers blocked the highways of the town. In 1953, the town gained
