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Mexico’s archaeological sites are, by far, the most popular historical tourist attractions in Mexico. The history of the Maya, Olmecs, Zapotecs, Aztecs and many other pre-Hispanic tribes has long fascinated tourists from all over the world. However, many people overlook the more modern history of Mexico, the history of Mexico as a nation. The post-Hispanic history of Mexico can be as equally fascinating as the history of the pre-Hispanic tribes and to take advantage of the many museums all across Mexico is an often overlooked tourist’s delight.

Hernan Cortez, with only a small army of soldiers, sailors, slaves, and several horses and cannons, landed on the shores of modern day Mexico in 1519. He quickly founded Veracruz as a base of operations and began moving inland in search of gold. What he found was the empire of the Aztecs, the largest and strongest empire in the history of pre-Hispanic Mexico. Cortez was aided by the legend of Queztalcoatl, the feathered serpent god who was to return one day from the east as a fair-skinned bearded god. Since the Aztecs believed Cortez to be a god, he gained access to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan and using his advanced weaponry and the help of enemy tribes, Cortez laid siege to and conquered the capital of the greatest empire that had ever existed in the new world. On August 13, 1521, the Aztec empire fell.

Cortez was made governor of "New Spain" and began to build a new capital on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, which Cortez had burned to the ground. The new city was laid out in essentially the same grid pattern of the Aztec capital and all of the major plazas were established in locations that had been occupied by Aztec ceremonial centers. The first cathedral (little more than a tiny church by European standards) was built in 1525, and the teaching of Christianity to the native tribes began. In 1552 King Philip II ordered the building of a larger cathedral the construction of which would eventually begin after the turn of the century.

Cortez’s lust for power and wealth was one of the keys to his success, but would eventually prove to be his downfall. The Spanish crown, fearing it was losing its sovereignty over New Spain, revoked Cortez title of governor in 1527 and replaced him with a five person ruling council. Eventually, power was placed back into the hands of a single viceroy who would ensure efficient administration of the new colony.

The seventeenth century saw the spread of Christianity, the spread of Spanish influence and sadly, the uncontrolled spread of European diseases across the New World. Eventually diseases, primarily smallpox, would reduce the native populations by almost 80 percent. Despite efforts of the Spanish to reduce deaths among the native tribes, the Indian populations quickly declined and many of the pre-Hispanic cultures were lost forever.

The seventeenth century also saw the establishment of widespread trade between Europe and New Spain. In addition to the trade routes between the Mexican continent, the Caribbean islands, and Spain, trade routes opened on Mexico West coast which allowed trade with China and Japan. The port city of Acapulco was a center for trade with the orient and in 1616 Fort San Diego was established to protect the port. Spain had become the greatest economic power in the world due primarily to the trade opportunities that the conquest of the New World had provided for them. Consequently, the Spanish merchant class grew to be among the most powerful in the new colony.

Spain quickly spread across the continent, establishing cities on locations already occupied by native cities. Oaxaca, Manzanillo, Queretaro, Taxco, and various cities on the Yucatan Peninsula were conquered and subsequently settled by the Spanish. In addition, new cities were established in areas of strategic or economic importance, the most influential of which is Guadalajara. Spanish influence and settlement quickly spread northward and the regions that are modern day Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California were settled.

Christianity spread across the New World as quickly as Spanish influence did, in every city the town cathedral was among the first structures built. The new cathedral in Mexico city was begun in 1616 and was constructed in several phases, the last of which was completed in 1813 with the addition of its baroque style dome. Unfortunately, along with the spread of Christianity came the spread of the Spanish enforcement of Christian ideals in the form of the Inquisition. The Inquisition would inevitably remove any people troublesome to the spread of Christianity. Though the natives were supposed to be exempt of the Inquisition, any native that posed a particular threat to Christianity’s spread would often find themselves at the Inquisition’s mercy.

The eighteenth century proved to be the most stable period in Mexico’s post-Hispanic history. The Spanish monarchy sold titles and power to the newly wealthy businessmen (primarily merchants) in Mexico. The titles cost a fortune and led to conflicts of interest within the ruling elite of Mexico, but provided Spain with both money and influence over the colony’s ruling class. It also contributed to the growth of the empire. The wealthy nobility of Mexico built elaborate palaces, cathedrals, and plazas in their cities, most of which still exist today. Most of the Catholic churches and government buildings in Mexico were built during this period.

After the relative calm of the eighteenth century, the nineteenth century quickly proved to be the most turbulent century since Cortez’s conquest. Since its establishment as a colony, Mexico had been under the tight control of the Spanish crown. All high-ranking officials in Mexico were sent from Spain to rule the colony. The creollos, Mexican born descendants of Spanish settlers, had grown wealthy in the booming economy of the 18th century, but were unable to hold political positions higher than the city councils. Industry was prohibited in all but the largest cities, and all industrial goods had to be purchased from Spain. With growing dissent among those with power in Mexico as well deep-seeded resentment of Spanish rule by the natives and peasants, Spain’s power over its colony was in question. When Spain was defeated in battle by the British at Trafalgar, it’s military dominance in Europe was compromised and eventually Napolean seated a puppet government in control of the much in-debt Spain. The time was ripe for Mexican Independence.

In 1810, a parish priest named Miguel Hidalgo, inspired by the success of the American and French revolutions, urged an uprising by peasants and Indians in the small village of Dolores. The impoverished peasants fought valiantly and scored unbelievable victories against the ruling classes. Eventually Hidalgo marched on Mexico City with an army of 80,000 peasants and supporters. The revolt was suppressed by Spanish troops, and eventually Hidalgo was captured and executed. His cause was taken up by one of his students, Father Morelos, who led another revolt in 1813. This revolt likewise failed at establishing Mexico as an independent state, primarily because the creollos were unwilling to give up their power over the peasant classes. Despite the failure of the peasant revolts, the separation from Spain was enacted by the creollos and the ruling Spaniards, and the Spanish crown was too weak to prevent the separation. Mexico was declared independent in 1821.

Mexico’s early history as an independent nation was extremely turbulent. The military leader Augustin Iturbide was named Mexico’s first "emperor," a title he would only hold for ten months before being ousted in a revolt by Santa Anna. This marked the beginning of a true democratic republic in Mexico, based roughly on the constitution of the newly founded United States, ensuring freedom and equality for all.

Santa Anna quickly established himself as the leader of the new Mexican republic. Under Santa Anna, whose dictatorial policies advanced his personal wealth at the expense of public coffers, Mexico’s infrastructure fell into a state of disrepair and began turning the populace of Mexico against him. The most crucial mistake of Santa Anna was the slaughter of Anglo-Saxon insurgents in the state of Texas at the now-famous mission The Alamo. This gave the United States an excuse to invade the weakened country and annex the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The Mexican people have never forgotten this invasion and to this day there is a certain amount of hatred of American "gringos."

The war with the United States greatly weakened Mexico. The new Mexican president, Benito Juarez, a Zapotec Indian orphan from Oaxaca was elected. Juarez enacted the now famous Juarez reforms that took political power from the Catholic church, secularized schools, and took away property owned by the Roman Catholic church. Juarez was also forced to postpone payment of Mexico’s large foreign debt which prompted an invasion by French forces in 1861. On May 5, 1862, Mexican armies defeated the French at Puebla in the first conflict of the war, prompting a national holiday: Cinco de Mayo. Eventually however, the French would defeat the Mexican army and the French emperor Maximillian of the Hapsburg family was placed in control of Mexico. A hated and misunderstood leader, Maximillian would eventually be executed by firing squad when Napolean refused to send more military support to Mexico and Mexican patriots regained control of the country. With the ousting of the French, Juarez regained the presidency.

The final three decades of the nineteenth century were relatively calm and saw improvements of infrastructure, industry, and the Mexican economy. The dictator Porfirio Diaz maintained the peace, but under his administration, land holdings came under the power of only a few and stratification developed between the wealthy and poor classes. Despite the great economic growth of the late 1800s, troubled times were ahead for Mexico.

In 1910, Diaz celebrated Mexico’s centennial celebration. His administration had seen explosive growth of the Mexican economy and a trade surplus had developed. The nation was flourishing. Unfortunately, only a few benefited from the gains. By 1910, land holdings were controlled by a ruling elite. One percent of the Mexican population held ninety percent of the land holdings. An incredible 97 percent of peasants owned no land at all. Despite the immense gains that Mexico as a nation had achieved, the success merely made the rich richer and the poor poorer. When Diaz faced defeat in the national elections in 1910 at the hands of Francisco Madero, he had Madero arrested and rigged the election. From exile in Texas, Madero began a new Mexican revolution on November 20, 1910. With the help of peasant leaders such as Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa, Madero forced Diaz into exile and was elected president.

Madero soon developed trouble with his revolutionary allies. Zapata and Villa refused to stop fighting until all land was redistributed among the populace. The idealistic Madero refused such liberal redistribution in favor of letting democracy and fair play decide the future. Dismissed as a dreamer, Madero was soon overthrown and executed. The next decade was spent in a state of anarchy with many shifts of power, assassinations, and over 1 million casualties. Revolutionary heroes were written into the history books and names such as Madero, Villa, Zapata, Obregon, and Carranza are often celebrated and sometimes hated national figures. At the end of the fighting, every revolutionary leader had been murdered, and Mexico’s bloodiest struggle came to a close.

From the ashes of the revolution came the presidency of Lazaro Cardenas who redistributed the large land holdings to the peasants and nationalized Mexico’s oil industry. The Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI) was established as Mexico’s primary political party and still retains the majority in Mexico’s government. However, new political parties are continually gaining ground as the move toward greater democratization continues. With the negotiation with the United States and Canada of the North American Free Trade Agreements, Mexico’s economy seems poised to undergo dramatic growth in the next century. Only time will tell what the future holds for this great nation.

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