The History of Mexico

The History of Mexico

Before the Spanish

Mexico was occupied by a large number of Indian groups with very

different social and economic systems. In general the tribes in the north

were relatively small groups of hunters and gatherers who roamed

large areas of sparsely vegetated deserts and dry lands. These people

are often called the Chichimecs, though they were a mixture of several

cultural groups who spoke different languages.

In the rest of the country the natives were agriculturists, which helped

to support the more dense populations. Some of these tribes were the

Maya of the Yucatan, Totonac, Huastec, Otomi, Mixtecs, Zapotecs,

Tlaxcalans, Tarascans, and Aztecs. Some of these groups made

advanced civilizations with fancy buildings and temples used for

religious, political, and commercial purposes. The Mayan cities of

Chichen Itza, Uxmal, and Palenque, the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan,

Tzintzuntzan of the Tarastec, and Monte Alban of the Zapotecs are a

few examples.

By 1100 AD the Toltecs had taken over a lot of central and southern

Mexico and had built their capital at Tula in the Mesa Central. They

also built the city of Teotihuacan kind of by present-day Mexico City.

At about the same time, the Zapotecs had control of the Oaxaca

Valley and parts of the Southern Highl...

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... coruption of government in Spain, the revolution army gained strength.

Agustin de Iturbide, an officer from the Spanish, joined forces with

Guerrero and made the Plan of Iguala, which provided for Mexico's

independence under a monarchy government called the Mexican

Empire. Iturbide was crowned emperor of Mexico in July 1822, and

the newly formed empire lasted less than a year. Iturbide was exiled

from the country but returned and was executed.

General Antonio Lopez from Santa Anna then came out as the

strongest government leader for about 30 years. Santa Anna was

president of Mexico when Texas revolted and during the

Mexican-American War of 1846.