It is located in South-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of México to the north-east and north-west, Puebla to the east and Guerrero to the southwest. Morelos is the second-smallest state in the nation, just after Tlaxcala. It was part of the very large province then State of Mexico until 1869, when Benito Juárez decreed that its territory would be separated and named in honor of José María Morelos y Pavón, who defended the city of Cuautla from royalist forces during the Mexican War of Independence. Most of the state enjoys a warm climate year-round, which is good for the raising of sugar cane and other crops. Morelos has attracted visitors from the Valley of Mexico since Aztec times. Today, many people from Mexico City spend weekends in the state or own second homes there, especially in the Cuernavaca area.