The 350,000 Aztecs who ruled an empire
The history behind Mexico is interesting. First, Pre-Columbian Mexico was the beginning of what people now call Mexico. One early civilization in Mexico was the Olmecs, during 1500 BCE, near the Gulf Coast. The Olmec culture spread throughout the country to Chiapas, Oaxaca and the Valley of Mexico.
During the period of the Maya and Zapotec civilizations, the Mesoamerican writing systems were later spread to the Epi-Olmec culture. The Teotihuacan formed a military and an empire. Teotihuacan, with a population that had more than 150,000 people, made some of the largest pyramids during that time.
The Teotihuacan collapsed around 600 CE which caused competition between many political centers in Mexico. Second, Juan de Grijalva, the Spanish leader, learned of Mexico during the expedition of 1518. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire started in February 1519. After he took control of the city, he moved to the Aztec capital. When the Spaniards arrived, Moctezuma II who was the ruler of the Aztec empire was killed. His successor and brother Cuitlahuac took control and they ruled during the smallpox epidemic, but he was one of the first to get it. This disease was spread throughout Mesoamerica in the 1520s.
The Aztecs lost half of their population. 350,000 Aztecs who ruled an empire of 5 million or 10 million were affected by the loss of the population. Cortes, who was the leader of the Spaniards, heard that the Aztecs were severely weakened, he knew that this was the perfect time to attack.
Cortes got help from the Tlaxcala with a population that was estimated to 300,000 people. The smallpox, a deadly disease, killed many Aztecs but the Spaniards, who as Europeans, they had already been exposed to this back in their cities for so many centuries. The Aztecs believed that this was a punishment from an angry god, but then they accepted their fate and did not oppose to the Spanish rule. The Aztec empire was now ruled by the Spanish Empire and renamed to New Spain. Third, the War of Independence was also an important part of history to the growth of Mexico. A loyalist had started a rebellion against the ruling of Junta.
The very first insurgent group was formed by Hidalgo who was a Spanish viceregal army captain. Hidalgo and his troops were captured and executed by the firing squad of Chihuahua, on July 31, 1811. Once he died, priest Jose Maria Morelos took control and occupied important southern cities. In 1813 the Congress of Chilpancingo were brought together in a meeting and, November 6, they signed the “Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America”. One month later, Morelos was captured and executed. In 1820, the insurgency was about to collapse but Viceroy Juan Ruiz de Apodaca sent an army that was under the control general of Agustin de Iturbide. They had left to attack the troops of Vicente Guerrero but Iturbide arrived and proposed to Guerrero if they wanted to join forces. On August 24, 1821 the Representative of the Spanish Crown and Iturbide signed the “Treaty of Cordoba” and “Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire” and this meant that Mexico was going to be independent.
In conclusion, all of this has brought Mexico to what it is now. Economy is another important thing to learn about Mexico. First, the telecommunication industry is mainly controlled by Telmex. By 2006, Telmex expanded its company to Colombia, Perú, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Other industries like Axtel and Maxcom are also important to the communication. The Mexican satellite system is domestic and operates 120 earth stations. Extensive microwave radio relay network and considerable use of fiber-optic and coaxial cable. These satellites are controlled by Satelites Mexicanos (Satmex).
Second, there is lot’s of tourism in Mexico. Mexico is among the most visited countries in the world according to the World Tourism Organization. One famous place to visit in Mexico is the Mesoamerican ruins. Coastlines of Mexico harbor many stretches of beaches that are full by sunbathers and other visitors.
One of the most popular beaches is Cancun, on the Yucatan peninsula. This is a place where university students go during their spring break. Another very famous place is Acapulco which is located on the Pacific coast. This was once the destination for the rich and famous. Now the beaches are crowded and the shores are now home to multi-story hotels and many vendors. Third, water is very important for everyone and sanitation is key to being healthy. In 1990 and 2010, the increase in access to pipe water supply in urban areas was 88% to 93% and rural areas was 50% to 74%.
To function national system to finance water and sanitation infrastructure with the National Water Commission as the top institution. In conclusion, the economy in Mexico has increased. The demographics has increased a lot in Mexico. First, the majority of Mexicans have historically been classified as “Mestizos”.
In modern Mexico, the term mestizo is more of a cultural identity rather than the racial identity. The term carries a variety of different socio-cultural, economic, racial, and biological meanings. It was considered too imprecise to be used for ethnic classification, and then it was abandoned by the government, now it is not used in Mexican society but it’s often used in literature. There is also the Afro-Mexican ethnic group which is made up of the descendants of Colonial-era slaves and immigrants of sub-Saharan African descent. Mexico had a huge slave trade during the colonial period and it’s estimated that 200,000 Africans were taken there. Second, Mexico has the largest Spanish-speaking population in the whole entire world. 99.
3% is the estimated population that speaks Spanish in Mexico and 5.4% still speak an indigenous language. The people that speak Nahuatl is approximately 1.45 million, Yukatek Maya spoken by 750,000 and the Mixtec and Zapotec languages spoken by more than 400,000 people. The Law of Indigenous Linguistic Right had passed out a law saying that these indigenous languages are national languages. There are also immigrants that speak different languages such as 80,000 German-speaking, 5,000 speakers of Chipilo dialect and Arabic is the most common spoken foreign language in Mexico. Third, 2010 the Roman Catholicism is the most common religion in Mexico. The Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia (National Institute of Statistics and Geography) gave the Roman Catholicism as the main religion with an 83% of the population.
10% belong to other Christian religions which include Evangelicals (5%); Pentecostals (1.6%); Protestant or Reformed (0.7%); Jehovah’s Witnesses (1.
4%); Seventh-day Adventists (0.6%) and 4.7% have declared no religion and 2.7% not sure if they have a religion. All in all, the population in Mexico will keep increasing. Culture involved sports, music, media, etc., but let’s talk about three. First of all, visual art is not just regular art but art that expressed someone’s feelings or mood.
One famous artist is Diego Rivera, a well-known figure of Mexican murals. He painted the Man at the Crossroad at Rockefeller Center in New York City, which was later destroyed due to a portrait of a Russian communist leader. Most of Rivera’s murals are displayed at the Mexican National Palace and the Palace of Fine Arts. Mesoamerican architecture is mostly pointed out for its pyramids which are some pyramids that were larger then the structure outside of Ancient Egypt. In addition, the food now is based on the pre-Columbian traditions, including Aztec and Maya. The conquistadores eventually emerged their imported diet of rice, beef, pork, chicken, wine, garlic, and onions with native pre-Columbian food.
Food varies by region due to the climate and geography and ethnic differences. The north of Mexico is known for its beef, goat, and ostrich and meat dishes, in particular the very well-known Arrachera cut. The center of Mexico is made up of influences from the rest of the country but have their unique food like barbacoa, pozole, menudo, tamales, and carnitas.
The southeastern of Mexico is known for its spicy vegetable and chicken-based dishes. Seafood is prepared in the states that border the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. Lastly, sports are common in every country but in Mexico they are different.
The most popular sport in Mexico is Futbol (soccer or football). It is believed that football was introduced by Cornish miners. Mexico’s top clubs are America with 12 championships, Guadalajara with 11, and Toluca with 10. Mexico have also hosted the FIFA World Cup twice, in 1970 and 1986.
Bullfighting is another common sport in Mexico. Plaza Mexico in Mexico City, is the largest bullring in the world. This place can hold up to 55,000 people. To sum up, culture in Mexico is more different than ours here in the United States.
