one of the states of the republican confederacy of Mexico. See the article Mexico.

capital city of a state of the same name in the republic of Mexico. It is built on the site of the ancient Huaxycac, and bore the name of Antequera at the time of the conquest. Its situation is in a delightful valley, forty miles in length by twenty in breadth, and it lies 230 miles south of the city of Mexico. Oaxaca is built in the form of an oblong square, being nearly two miles by one and a quarter in extent, including the suburbs, which are principally occupied by gardens. It is one of the neatest, cleanest, and most regularly built towns in Mexico. The streets are wide and well paved; and there are a number of squares, the beauty of which is enhanced by the presence in all of them of handsome public fountains. The edifices are constructed of a green stone, which, preserving its colour to perpetuity, gives the city a singular appearance of freshness. The convent of San Francisco, situated in the great square, was erected above two hundred years ago, yet it still retains the appearance of a new building. There are a number of public edifices in Oaxaca, including several churches, which are solidly built, and richly decorated. The climate is considered as unsurpassed for salubrity and equability by any in the republic, the thermometer rarely falling below 65°, nor ranging higher than 78°. The markets are supplied with fruits both of the temperate and torrid zones, raised in the vicinity; and it is not uncommon thing to see trees loaded with oranges on one side of the road, and fields of wheat extending on the other. Oaxaca was formerly more populous than it is at present, having suffered a good deal during the revolutionary struggle; but the inhabitants still amount to about 20,000.