Aztec Empire

1345-1521
Tenochtitlan Market
Diego Rivera
► Tenochtitlan built on Lake Texococo at
site of vision of eagle on a cactus
eating a snake
► Advanced city by 1500 – capital of a
large empire
► Aztecs are an aggressive war-like
“colonial” power
Spanish Conquest of the Aztecs
1521
 Conquest
Jose Orozco
► Cortes arrives in 1519
► The Aztecs believe he is the God
Quetzlcoatl
► Through disease, superior weapons,
and horses he conquers the Aztecs.
Creation of the
Mestizos
1500’s
Absorption of the Indian
Jose Orozco
► European settlers intermarry with
natives create Mestizos
► First union between Malinche’ (traitor)
and Cortes is mythical
► Spaniards (Peninsulares) mistreat the
Mestizo
Spanish Treatment of Indians
1500’s – 1800’s
Colonial Domination
Diego Rivera
► Catholic church and state colonize
Latin America
► Land grants, encomiendas, in which
Spaniards control all resources on land
– including people.
Mexican Independence
1810-1821
Fight for Liberty
Jose Orozco
► Rank: Indians, Mestizos, Criollos, then
Peninsulares
► Peninsulares have all the religious and
political power in Mexico
► Father Miguel Hidalgo leads a
revolution against the Spanish
government
► Eventually Criollos come to the
political front and take political control
and declare independence from Spain
forming an indepedent Mexico
Dictatorship of Porfiro Diaz
1876-1910
Revolution against Porfirian
Dictatorship
David Alforo Siqueiros
► Porifiro Diaz comes to power with
Mexico riddled with problems
► Dictator for 34 years
► Wants Mexico to be European style
industrial nation
► All efforts go to industrialization and
peasant (campesinos) Indians and
Mestizos suffer
► Wealthy prosper – poor suffer –
average peasant life expectancy under
Diaz is 30 years
The Mexican Revolution
1910-1920
The Trench
Jose Orozco
► Francisco Madero is jailed for
challenging the policies of Diaz
► From jail plans a revolt of the
campesinos in Mexico
► They overthrow Diaz but this sets off a
10 year civil war between various
groups
► Institutional Party International (PRI)
takes power in 1920 and rules for 8
decades
The Legacy of the Mexican
Revolution
1920 and beyond
Land Distribution
Diego Rivera
► New constitution which called for
campesinos to own land
a. 1910 – 2% of Mexicans own land by
1940 – 30% own land
 Mexico establishes Mexican identity
rather than looking to Spain
 Criollos dominate Mexican politics for
many years