Chapter 10 Mexico

1. Chapter 10 Mexico Section 2 A Place of Three Cultures

2. A Brief History By the middle of the 1400’s, The Aztecs had built up the largest empire in Mexico. The Capital city was Tenochititlan. In the 1400’s the capital city was actually one of the largest cities in the world.

3. The Spanish Conquest • Hernan Cortes with about 600 soldiers marched into the Aztec capital city in 1519. • It took Cortes only two years to destroy the Aztec empire. • The territory in present day Mexico that was taken was declared to be New Spain.

4. New Spain • The four social classes of New Spain. • Peninsulares-the top of the social classes, born in Spain. • Criollos-people of Spainish ancestry born in the Americas. • Mestizos-people of mixed ancestry. • Indians-native people groups.

5. The Road to Democracy • Spanish colonial rule continued in Mexico until 1800’s. • In 1810 a Spanish priest named Miguel Hidalgo called for armed rebellion against Spanish rule. • In 1821 Mexico finally achieved independence. • Mexico went through a series of military dictatorships until the late 1800’s.

8. The Mexican Revolution • In 1910 Mexico underwent a second revolution. This time the peasants rose up against the government and the wealthy. • In 1920 Mexico finally had a new president that operated on the moto, “land, bread, and justice for all.”

9. Social Conditions of Mexico Today • Rural Life- most people in rural Mexico work in the field of agriculture. • Ejidos-land redistributed and owned collectiv.ely by members of a rural community. • Major cash crops- corn, sugar cane, coffee, and various forms of fruit

10. Urban Life • Most of modern Mexico’s population resides in urban cities. ¾ of the total population. • Urban life means better job opportunities. Most of the urban dwellers are urban poor with little to no education.