The name comes from the Nahuatl phrase �Tapachollan� which means� between the waters.� The official name of the city was changed to Tapachula de C�rdova y Ord��ezin 1997 to honor a Brother Mat�as de C�rdova y Ord��ez.
The first people to settle in the area migrated from the south in Central America and most likely are the ancestors of today�s Mame people. The Olmecs conquered the area, driving many Mames to migrate back south. The Toltecs arrived next but never completely subjugated the native peoples. However, these conquests resulted in the Mames never developing major civilization.The city of Tapachula was founded as a tribute collection center for the Aztecs in1486 by a military leader named Tiltototl, sent by Ahuziotl to conquer the Soconusco.
After the Spanish conquest, Tapachula was part of the Soconusco region, known for its then production of cacao. This region was larger than it is today, with the very south of the old extension now part of Guatemala. As such, Tapachula became a border area, first among the Spanish colonial authorities of New Spain, Chiapas and the Captaincy General of Guatemala. For example, when the Diocese of Chiapas was created in 1539, it included the Tapachula area. However, the Soconusco region had political differences with all of these authorities at one time or another. Tapachula became the capital of Soconusco region in 1794, replacing Escuintla. In 1809, shortly before the start of the Mexican War of Independence, Tapachula protested the high rate of taxation to Spanish authorities to no avail. During the war, it was officially declared a town in 1813, and a parish in 1818, with the San Agust�n parish church established in 1819. At the end of the war, Tapachula, as capital of the Soconusco, declared its own independence from Spain and Guatemala in 1821 and away from Mexico in 1824. However, for most of the rest of the 19th century, the Soconusco would be disputed territory between Mexico (as part of Chiapas) and
