Mexico - at the crossroads

Olmec society

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