MexicoMexico

It looks like this:

Here’s the basic, short and sweet history of Mexico:

The country now known as Mexico has been populated for about 15,000 years ago.

• Complex cultures started developing around 1800 BC.

• The major civilizations are the Olmec, Maya, and Aztec

Olmecs

• Lived in the tropical areas of south-central Mexico.

• First pop up around 1100 BC

• Developed the first writing system in the western hemisphere.

• Decline around 500 BC. Not clear what happened to them.

• Influenced the succeeding cultures with their pyramid building, astronomy, math, etc.

Gigantic Olmec heads carved out of single boulders. It’s thought they represent ball players or kings.

Maya

• Had been around since about 1000 BC, but really flourishes from AD 200-900.

• Occupied the area around the Yucatan Peninsula.

• Rather advanced math. They developed the concept of zero around 357. Europeans imported it from India in the 1100’s.

• Incredibly advanced and accurate astronomy. Fixed the length of the solar year better than others, for example.

• Also had very intricate art.

• And great architecture.

Aztecs

• Existed from the 1300’s to the 1500’s.

• Based their empire in the city of Tenochtitlan – modern day Mexico City.

• It was at this location that the Aztecs supposedly saw a vision of an eagle holding a snake while perched on a prickly pear cactus. Sound familiar?

• Tenochtitlan was located in the middle of Lake Texcoco.

• This made a for nice defensive position as it was connected to the mainland by causeways and bridges that could be withdrawn.

• Was an imperial system with an emperor.

• Engaged in human sacrifice at the temples. Those sacrificed were typically prisoners of war or from subjugated people.

• One account says they once sacrificed 84,000 people in four days.

• That’s probably overstated. Most accounts come to us from the Spanish, who likely exaggerated what they saw as atrocities.

• There is plenty of evidence supporting the human sacrifice, however.

• The Aztec cities were immense, clean, and well-ordered. They were actually more impressive than the European cities at the time (most of which were, frankly, pits).

• Had tremendous architecture and arts. Especially the temples.

• The Aztecs are conquered by the Spanish in 1519-1521, specifically the conquistador Hernan Cortez.

• With the support of local tribes that the Aztecs had conquered, he took over Tenochtitlan, captured the emperor Montezuma.

• When he and his force originally landed, they were thought to be gods. One of the main Aztec gods, Quetzalcoatl, was light-skinned. This made the Aztecs interested, but wary of the new visitors.

• Once Cortez’s intentions became clear, they revolted and nearly wiped out his entire force. Cortez came back, though, and won.

• Much of the city was destroyed in the process and Mexico City was built on top of it.

The Cathedral of Mexico City is built

atop older Aztec temples.

The Spanish conquest resulted in a mixing of Spanish and native cultures (and DNA).

• The resulting culture was wholly unique and developed into the Mexican culture.

• Many modern-day Mexicans are a combination of Spanish and native blood. Can still find full-blooded peoples of both derivations and this is sometimes a root of racism.

With the fall of the Aztecs in 1521, Mexico belongs to the Spanish Empire as a colony and is known as New Spain until 1810.

• The country gains its independence in 1821 as a result of the Mexican War of Independence.

• The war lasted roughly from 1810 to 1821.

• Agustín de Iturbide then sets himself as Emperor Agustin I. He’s overthrown in 1823 by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (among others). Mexico becomes a republic.

Santa Anna

• Is President of Mexico seven different times. Decent general, but not always the best politician.

• It’s under his watch that Texas is lost in 1836.

• He’s captured by the Texans the day after the Battle of San Jacinto and is compelled to sign a treaty. He’s deposed from being president for this.

• He becomes a hero, then a goat, then is exiled.

• He comes back in 1846 to lead Mexican forces against the Americans in the Mexican-American War.

• He loses and again goes into exile. Retakes the government in 1853 and is overthrown and sent into exile again in 1854.

Dashing

By 1847, not so dashing.

There a brief French rule of Mexico until the French are defeated by the Mexicans on May 5, 1862.

Porfirio Diaz becomes president in 1876 and stays there until 1910.

• Diaz built a lot of infrastructure and his rule was generally peaceful.

• Unfortunately, he was a dictator who stamped out dissent and catered to cronies who got very rich while most people were dirt poor.

• A revolution in 1910 unseats Diaz. A new constitution is put into place in 1917. It redistributes a great deal of land to the poor.

The PRI

• The PRI is the Partido Revolucionario Institucional or the Institutional Revolutionary Party.

• It takes power in 1929.

• Helped stabilize Mexico and its economy while building it up.

• Was also, however, intolerant of other parties and engaged dishonesty and possible voter fraud in order to stay in power (sometimes referred to as the Ministry of Elections by its detractors).

• It’s finally overthrown in 2000 by Vicente Fox and his party.

Economy

• Still struggling to modernize to a full industrial economy.

• Has been traditionally agricultural.

• Has good oil reserves

• Also has a number of factories near the U.S. border called maquiladoras that manufacture goods for export.

• Economy has been helped by the implementation of NAFTA that reduces trade barriers.

Migration

• Many move to cities because that’s where economic opportunities are seen to be.

• Many more migrate to the United States, often illegally.

• This is due to poor job opportunities in Mexico and good job opportunities in the U.S.

• Often, much of the money earned in the U.S. is sent back to family members to Mexico to help support them.