Mexico - at the crossroads

Olmec society

“mother civilization” - 1200 B.C.E

* known for stone monuments/fine art/ cultivation/irrigation
* created pictographs (the first written language in Western Hemisphere)

Maya Society

150 C.E - Guatamela → Central America

* known for calendar system/stone pyramids/palaces/temples
* hierarchical society (nobility → commoners → slaves
* conquered surrounding kingdoms
* extended into Yucatán Peninsula

City of Teotihuacán

Creators unknown - referred to as Teotihucanos

* religion
* Pyramid of the Sun (3rd largest in world)
* trading hub

Aztecs establishing own empire

Created city of Tenochtitlán (island city)

* complex city with government, religious bureaucracy, military, & job specialization
* forced city states they previously conquered to give tax to emperor and supply people for labor and human sacrifice

Spanish Conquest

Spanish monarchy sent groups to explore better/faster trade routes with Asia

* Set up colony called Santo Domingo
* eventually reached contact with Aztecs

Spanish advantages over Aztecs

* Hermán Cortés - leader (3rd conquest), knew what to expect
* Moctezuma (Aztec leader) didn’t know the Spaniards’ plans/intentions
* Spanish arrival altered the power structure in independently ruled city-states

Fight for Tenochtitlán

* Cortés captured Moctezuma → Spanish rule until Spaniards killed Aztecs → uproar → Spaniards flee
* Spain came back to take over again → Aztec resistance prevented this

Race in New Spain

Peninsulares (whites born in Spain) were given more opportunities/ thought higher of → Criollos (whites born in the colony)

* Indigenous people/freed Africans → few opportunities
* Slaves → no opportunities

Spanish and Indigenous groups

Spanish forced tributes/taxes upon Indigenous groups

* money
* labor

1542 - slavery of Indigenous people became illegal

New Spain’s economy

NS’s economy → based on Spain/for the benefit of Spain through trade

* export raw materials
* import European manufactured goods
* slow & expensive

Labor in New Spain

African/Indigenous people → primary laborers

* gather silver in mines
* work in “haciendas” - large homes of rich Spaniards
* carried goods/people long distances - transport
* built much of city/towns in NS
* made with recycled materials from Indigenous peoples temples/pyramids

Catholic Church in NS

* Spreading Christianity - way of justifying conquests made by Spaniards
* Wanted to replace Indigenous traditions → Catholicism (was more combined)
* only education provided in NS → primarily for white males
* owned a lot of land from numerous donations

Desire for independence in Mexico

1808 - Spain was conquered - new liberal constitution

* popular voting rights
* representative government
* NS must give more $ to Spain
* conflict btw criollos and peninsulares

Mexico’s Independence Day

September 16, 1810 - first attempt to gain independence

* Miguel Hidalgo - leader of attackers & criollos (mostly farmers) attacked peninsulares and killed hundreds

Mexico’s gain of independence

* 1814 - Spain got France out of Spain → King Ferdinand sent soldiers to Mexico to regain control and dominance
* 1820 - liberal constitution was forced upon Spain’s king → Spanish rebellion
* Conservatives in Mexico, scared for liberal changes, created an independence plan (The Plan de Iguala) - Mexico would be ruled by a monarch (peninsulares & criollos would be equal)
* 1821 - official independence in Mexico

Mexico after gaining independence

* disease
* instability
* wealthy peninsulares & colonial administrator left - took knowledge and skills wit them
* failure in basic jobs
* trade taken over
* in debt after borrowing money from other countries

The Caste War of the Yucatán

* 1847-1854
* Maya's rebellion against the new government
* Maya’s in Yucatán → temporary separation from Mexico
* Defeated by the government but highlighted weaknesses in the new government

Texas

* Mexico paid money to have more territory (central North America)
* settlers in the US went to Texas and were upset with the Mexican land rights, slavery, and taxes
* 1836 - US settlers separated Texas from Mexico (US recognized this but Mexico did not)
* 1845 - Texas officially part of US
* US wanted more territory - Mexico refused → war

North American Invasion (Mexican-American War)

* Emphasized Mexico’s weaknesses (ex. army)
* US gained control of Mexico City (took \~ 1 year)
* Mexican patriotism was strong - deep hate of US after brutal beating in war

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

1848 - signed \~ half of Mexico’s territory to US for $15 million