MEXICAN HISTORY

La Historia de Mexicana

Latin American Colonial Society

Latin American society was rooted in a tiered system of haves and have-nots

Peninsulares(Spanish born)

Can hold top jobs in gov’t and church

Creoles(Both parents of European descendant)

Owned haciendas, ranches, mines; resented 2nd class status

Mestizos(One parent of Native American and European descent)

Angry at being denied status, wealth, power available to whites

Mullatoes(One parent of African and European descent)

Angry at being denied status, wealth, power available to whites

Problems of the Past

Native Americans suffered economic misery under the Spanish; the Spanish conquered the lands of their ancestors

In the Caribbean and parts of South America, many Africans were enslaved on plantations

One of the only common threads between the classes was their dissatisfaction with Spanish rule

They worked together vs. the SpanishOnce independence was gained, the creoles

dominated the gov’t

Creolin’ Right Along…

The Creoles took the lead in Latin American revolts

They spread the viewpoints of Enlightenment thinkers throughout Latin America

They watched colonists in N. America throw out the British

The Creoles even had the Declaration of Independence and Constitution translated to their language

Unlike revolutions throughout much of the rest of the world, many women had an active role in Latin American revolutions

The Spanish and French are No More!

Mexico was originally conquered by the Spanish and named Nueva Espana in the late 1700s

Napoleon Bonaparte came to power in France in the early 1800s and quickly looked to expand his empire, both in Europe and overseas

In 1808, Napoleon overran Spain and occupied the country for the French empire

With French occupation, Spain’s government could not do whatever it wanted to…and because most of the concern of the Spanish was in their home country of Spain, their colonies were of secondary importance

This opened the door for revolution!

Revolution! Take 1…Action!

It’s always ironic to me when religious people start wars

However, this revolution was viewed by the native population as being freed from their oppressors, so it was fighting for a moral cause

On September 16, 1810 local priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla issued a call for rebellion against the colonizers

It lasted only 1 year, as the Spanish captured and executed Hidalgo in 1811 and his army was broken up

So the revolution movement is over…right?...

Revolution! Take 2…Action!

…Not exactly…Another priest, Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon

(awesome name!) assumed leadership of the rebels and fought for independence, land reform, and the end of slavery

Like I said, the revolution was about freedom and morals

Upper class Mexican creoles feared Morelos, however they remained loyal to Spain

Morelos was captured and executed by Spanish authorities in 1815

So the revolution movement is over…right?...

Revolution! Take 3…Action!

…Not exactly… In 1820, liberals in Spain stripped the king of some of his powers,

leading upper-class Mexican creoles to fear that the Spanish government would also make changes in the colonies

In response to what was happening in Spain, the creoles staged an independence movement of their own

Vincente Guerrero and Augustin de Iturbide combined to lead an army of Indian peasants against their Spanish colonizers

Together, the revolution is successful Guerrero and Iturbide gain independence from Spain in 1821 and

created a constitution together Iturbide was once a royalist general for the Spanish who defected, at

least in part, because of the opportunity to increase his power This was evident a year after Mexican independence, when Iturbide

gained full power over the new country So the revolution movement is over…right?...

Revolution!...Take 4…Action!

…Not exactly…Iturbide proclaimed himself Emperor Agustin I and ruled as

a dictatorHowever, his rule lasted only one yearIturbide was overthrown by Mexican generals (led by

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna) in 1823 and Mexico became a republic with 19 states and 4 territories

Santa Anna drew up a new constitution and served as president from 1823-1836 and stopped Texas’ attempt at independence in 1836 in the Battle of the Alamo (that’s why Texans remember the Alamo—they got annihilated)

Santa Anna was ultimately forced into exile in 1855 when he was defeated by American forced in the Mexican-American War, but he was revered as Mexico’s first president