Mexico: Political History and Notable Figures

1521 - 1526 / 1531 - Hernan Cortes (All Facts)

• Founder and First Governor of Mexico (New Spain)

  • He and his forces ultimately conquered the Aztec Empire

  • He brought large portions of modern-day Mexico under the rule of the Kingdom of Castile

  • He received letters from King Charles (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) promoting the namesake to captain-general and governor of Mexico (New Spain)

  • During his reign, he also established Mexico City, the intended capital of Mexico (New Spain); on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the former Aztec Empire

• He and his Spanish expeditionary forces defeated the peoples and lands of and ultimately conquered the Aztec Empire, colonizing much of modern-day Mexico

• He defeated Panfilo de Narvaez, who was sent to punish the namesake for insubordination

• He was then driven from Tenochtitlan by Cuauhtémoc, Moctezuma II’s successor, where he and his expeditionary forces retreated to Tlaxcala

• He then besieged Tenochtitlan a second time

  • Since the first siege of Tenochtitlan, Moctezuma II died in captivity and he returned to lift the siege

  • As he led his people out, they were ambushed and many were killed

  • On their way out to the coast they wiped out another Aztec village and left an epidemic of smallpox

  • He returned to Mexico, after being away for some time, with official Spanish blessing

    • This time, however, there was tougher resistance from the Aztecs, who exchanged formal war procedures for guerrilla tactics

  • He and his forces and the Aztecs fought in boats across lakes and canals, and ashore among city streets

    • The Aztecs beheaded Spanish prisoners and Spanish horses, displaying the heads of both on the same racks

  • He had Tenochtitlan deprived of drinking water and forced Cuauhtémoc and the Aztecs to surrender their capital a second time to him

• He then worked to convert the surviving Aztecs to Christianity and enforce the Encomienda System in Mexico (New Spain)

  • He requested for an evangelistic team of Franciscan friars to evangelize to the natives

  • He ended up overseeing the sending of “The Twelve Apostles of Mexico”

• He launched a series of expeditions to quell further opposition in the Aztec Empire, which he and Spain now controlled, including resistance amongst the Zapotecs, the highlanders in the isthmus of Tehuantepec

• When he had his power withdrawn as Viceroy / General of Mexico (New Spain), he went to Spain to plead his cause

  • In response, a defense fleet was organized for the Indies

  • He eventually returned to Mexico (New Spain) as “captain-general” since he was removed from the governorship there two years prior

• He then worked to convert the surviving Aztecs to Christianity and enforce the Encomienda System in Mexico (New Spain)

  • He requested for an evangelistic team of Franciscan friars to evangelize to the natives

  • He ended up overseeing the sending of “The Twelve Apostles of Mexico”

• He launched a series of expeditions to quell further opposition in the Aztec Empire, which he and Spain now controlled, including resistance amongst the Zapotecs, the highlanders in the isthmus of Tehuantepec

• By the end of his rule in Mexico, Dominican monks had arrived there

1535 - 1550 - Antonio de Mendoza (All Facts)

• First Viceroy of Mexico (New Spain)

  • He assumed power in place of the governor and “audienca” of Mexico

• During his reign,

  • He established the territorial limits of the estates distributed to the Spanish Conquistadores in the region

  • He established the first printing press in Mexico City and in the New World

• Under his reign,

  • Augustinian and Franciscan provinces were created in Mexico (New Spain) to embark on a campaign against the exploitation of Native Americans and Mexicans

  • Bartolome de las Casas was appointed as Bishop of Chiapas in Mexico (New Spain)

  • The first extractions were made from the silver mine(s) of Zacatecas in Mexico (New Spain)

1550 - 1595 - Gaspar Castaño de Sosa (All Facts)

• Portuguese Colonist who (illegally) founded mining towns in New Mexico with 150 settlers, having set out from Nueva Leon

• He was arrested in New Mexico and brought back to Mexico (New Spain) to face disobedience charges

1590 - 1595 - Luis de Velasco (All Facts)

• He was the 8th Viceroy of Mexico (New Spain)

1545 - 1600s - Gaspar Yanga (All Facts)

• Central African Maroon Leader of a Mexican Community

  • He lived there for 30 years

• He and his forces outwit Mexican (New Spanish) government troops who tried and failed to storm his maroon settlement in the mountains

  • He thus forces the government of Mexico (New Spain) to treat him, letting him and his community remain free, and having sworn to cause no more trouble and to help to turn in other maroons

• He was named “a national hero of Mexico” in the 1800s