The target in Michoacán was to move most of the native Indians to newly built or reconstructed towns. Catholic missionaries prepared the land so it could officially be made into a town. On October 4, 1598, a special ceremony was held for the birth of the town of Tuxpan, Michoacán. All sorts of people attended the ceremony, including the Indian chief of the land, government officials, men who had already purchased a large area of land, and the many Indians who already lived on the land.