History of Mexico
Travel Mexico and get to know the most stunning history facts, they surely won't leave you indifferent. Despite provocative remains existence that imply on the fact that Mexico was inhabited some 20,000 years ago, there are no unchallenged information or evidence that first humans appeared some 15,000 BC. First their only occupation was corn planting, then learned to make pottery.
The earliest appeared civilization of Mexico was the Olmec of Mayan culture, that erected two big cities one of which Teotihuacan, the city of the Gods, still exists. The Toltecs had Tula as their capital, they were Aztec ancestors. By the fifteenth century the Aztecs had great territories many nations under control, but too heavy levies were asked, maybe it was one of the reasons why some of them supported Cortes from Cuba. The Aztecs believed that their god would come back in 1519 and here was Cortes wrongly taken for the god. The Aztecs lost the war and the life in Mexico changed greatly under the rule of Spain: no native language, Indians were used as slaves, in short New Spain would do without Indians.
In 1824 Mexico declared its independence, but in 1847 the USA conquered half of the Mexican territory. In 1861 Benito Juarez, a native Zapotec Indian, became the three-term President of the country that had lots of debts to European countries and next 30 years were the years of wars and conflicts, though there were some changes for the better: free and obligatory school attendance and a rail road from Mexico City to Veracruz.
A one-party (Institutional Revolutionary Party, PRI) country system was created in 1917, some decades later other parties emerged. Then there were oil connected crisis, tremendous loans, corruption, mismanagement and almost bankruptcy. But a good time became and Mexico started changing and reforming and joined GATT (now WTO) and NAFTA, though there were some guerrillas conflicts and drug smuggling.
There is no future without the past and Mexico has a rich history! Travel Mexico and get the taste of the past, present and future Mexico!
See Also:
Where to go and when in Mexico
Eating and drinking in Mexico
Architecture of Mexico
Art in Mexico
Festivals in Mexico |
