$Unique_ID{COW02410} $Pretitle{279} $Title{Mexico Note on the History of Mexico} $Subtitle{} $Author{Embassy of Mexico, Washington DC} $Affiliation{Embassy of Mexico, Washington DC} $Subject{mexico new social political spain independence later called constitutional years} $Date{1990} $Log{} Country: Mexico Book: Mexico an Overview Author: Embassy of Mexico, Washington DC Affiliation: Embassy of Mexico, Washington DC Date: 1990 Note on the History of Mexico Introduction Mexico is both an old and a young nation: young in the sense that it did not become an independent State until the early 19th century and old in that it encompasses the ancient Indian culture that flourished before the arrival of the Spaniards, and the Spanish one that prevailed for three centuries. The history of Mexico involves the achievement of the native pre-columbian population, the accomplishments of the colonial society and the effort of many generations thereafter, to consolidate an independent country. The Prehispanic Era Mexico is the site of one of the six oldest civilizations in the history of mankind. When the Spaniards arrived in the land that is now Mexico, they found a mosaic of peoples that had evolved from a primitive stage to a high degree of civilization. Each one of those native cultures had an identity of its own, but over the course of centuries they influenced one another; this condition has led modern anthropologists and archaeologists (1943) to coin the concepts of "Mesoamerica" or Middle-America for the area of developed or highly civilized population and Arido-America for the northern area of Mexico covering part of what later become annexed to the United States (1848). Social scientists have established four periods of upward evolution of those cultures. The Archaic Period Comprises the time between the arrival of the first nomadic tribes of hunters to the area and the discovering of agriculture. The excavations in Tlapacoya, near Mexico City, show that the first human settlers arrived some 21,000 years ago. By 3,500 B.C. the primitive tribes began to farm, plant and harvest, living in rudimentary villages and producing objects related to agriculture, such as baskets and "metates" (a slightly concave grinding slab used with a long pestle). The Preclassical Period started around 2,000 B.C., during which the agrarian economy was fully consolidated, and complex forms of social and political organization were developed. The Olmecs in the South and the Preclassical cultures of the Valley of Mexico were the two major representatives of that period. The Olmecs is considered the "mother culture of Mesoamerica", because it fostered the great civilizations that, during the Classical Period (200 B.C. 900 A.D.), built the magnificent cities of Teotihuacan, Monte Alban, Uxmal, Bonampak, etc. The Mayans in the Yucatan peninsula, and Central America, and the Teotihuacans in the Central Plateau and the Zapotecs of Monte-Alban were the three leading cultures of the Classical Period. Around 900 A.D. new waves of northern warlike tribes entered Mesoamerica and conquered the civilized communities already established. The invaders, however, assimilated the culture of their victims shortly after they conquered them. With this a new era began, called the Postclassical Period. The Toltecs were the first to develop this new type of society. Meanwhile, the Chichimecas moved down to the Central Plateau and progressively occupied the shores of the lake located in the Valley of Mexico. The last of those groups to arrive were the Mexicas, who came in the early 14th century. They asserted their hegemony over their neighbors in the Valley, and from there they extended their rule to large areas of North America and almost the whole of Mesoamerica. The name of Mexico derives from them. By 1516, when the Spaniards were making the first incursions on the coast of Yucatan, the Mexica Empire was at its zenith. It capital, Mexico-Tenochtitlan, symbolized their accomplishments. Built in two tiny islands, it was an example of ingenuity, advanced engineering and urban design. The central plaza, with its temples, palaces, schools, museums and markets, showed not only the artistic sensibility of these peoples, but it was also an expression of a civilized society with an advanced political organization and a complex religion. It was, in short, an example of the grandeur of the Prehispanic cultures in Mesoamerica. New Spain: Conquest and Colonial Rule The Spanish expansion into the New World was given impetus by the circumstances that prevailed in the Iberian Peninsula at the end of the 15th century, which were a mixture of religious zeal and social, economical pressures. Hernan Cortes reached the shores of Veracruz in 1519 and two years later completed the conquest of the Mexicas [later called Aztecs] after the siege and capture of Mexico-Tenochtitlan. At the beginning, he encountered little opposition in his venture, but after having occupied the metropolis they were expelled again. A massacre ordered by Pedro de Alvarado incensed the Mexicas into revolt. The Mexicas and Tlatelolcas put up a fierce resistance before the Spaniards finally re-conquered the city. Once the military conquest was completed, a second stage of the Spanish enterprise began; it was what has been called the "spiritual conquest", and was carried out by missionaries of the major monastic orders: Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians and Jesuits. Mercantilism was the framework of the economic organization. The metropolis tried to exert an almost absolute monopoly over commercial activity as well as a strict control over every activity in the colonies, but it was not successful in many areas. Mining, especially silver and other precious metals, was the main source of income in New Spain. By the 18th century, it produced more than half of the world's production, and it was the richest kingdom of the Spanish Empire. The society of New Spain had a unique cast and very particular problems. Indians and Spaniards legally had the same status but in reality there were remarkable differences. Immediately after the conquest, some natives were subjected to the control of the conquistadores under the institution of the "encomienda" (distribution of indian among the conquistadores) until they were converted to Catholicism and baptized; during that period they had to work for their master and accept his absolute authority. Later, even though the Crown issued several laws protecting them and provided communal lands to be cultivated by Indian communities, the Indians were still in an inferior position. The Spanish were, among themselves, divided into two groups: the Europeans or "Peninsulares", and the Creoles or "Americanos", the former generally came to occupy the higher ranks in political and military positions; the latter were permanent settlers and their descendants were landowners, miners, businessmen, and also held secondary positions in the army and controlled the municipal posts. The Creoles were proud of being Americans and resented the political preeminence and privileges of the Europeans, mainly because they conceived themselves as the backbone of the colony. At the bottom of society were the "Mestizos" an offspring of the interracial contacts between Spaniards and Indians, as well as other racial combinations called "castas". The War of Independence. Mexico won her political independence from Spain in 1821, after eleven years of painful struggle. It was an outcome rooted at the core of the 18th century thinking and social conditions and precipitated by the Napoleonic invasion of Spain in 1808. When Charles IV and his son Ferdinand VII were forced to abdicate in favor of Napoleon's brother Joseph, and were kept prisoners in the city of Bayona, the Spanish people refused to recognize the imposed king and rebelled. In the absence of the legal monarch, the sovereignty fell under the representative medieval bodies called "Cortes". New Spain, however, did not have this institution, but since the only tie with the metropolis was the king, it was assumed that there were legal grounds to establish a provisional autonomous government or Junta until the legal successor to the throne was able to return. This movement was led by the members of Mexico City's Ayuntamiento - most of whom belonged to the Creole group - and received the support of Viceroy Jose de Iturrigaray. The "Peninsulares", afraid of losing their privileges, organized a conspiracy, took the leaders by surprise, overthrew the Viceroy and installed a puppet government that immediately recognized the authority of the authorities in Spain. Two years later, on September 16, 1810, an insurrection led by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla broke out in the town of Dolores. This was promoted by a group of Creoles aiming to restore the legal autonomy of New Spain; yet, it was the beginning of a social revolution. Hidalgo's movement was short-lived and by 1811 his forces were defeated and his followers executed. The insurrection, however, did not end. In the South, another priest, Jose Maria Morelos, was not only fighting for independence but also searching for new means of social justice. He called for a Constitutional Convention that convened first in Chilpancingo, and later in Apatzingan; this body issued the Declaration of Independence and promulgated a Constitution in 1814. When Morelos was captured shortly thereafter, the cause suffered a setback and six years later it was only defended by small, isolated guerrillas. In 1820, Spain underwent a liberal insurrection; Ferdinand VII was forced to accept the Cadiz Constitution, that had been decreed in 1812, but had been repudiated by him after his return to Spain in 1814. The effect of this outcome in New Spain was that the creole elite, the popular leaders, former royalists and insurgents alike came together in one plan to obtain independence. With Agustin de Iturbide as their leader, they joined forces with the most important guerilla fighter, Vicente Guerrero, and together proclaimed the Plan of Iguala. Independence was then assured. A few months later, when the last Viceroy arrived and found that there was no way in which Spanish Metropolitan rule could be maintained, the Treaty of Cordoba was signed. On September 27, 1821, the Army of the Three Guarantees -Religion, Union and Independence-entered Mexico City, marking the beginning of Mexico's existence. The National Consolidation Although Mexicans were optimistic when they achieved their political independence, the conditions under which the new nation existed could not have been worse. Spain refused to recognize its independence, and since there was an anti-liberal sentiment in Europe after the Napoleonic era, embodied in the Holy Alliance, no country was willing to give official recognition to Mexico. Britain and the United States were the only exceptions. Domestically, the economy was in ruins, the society divided, and there was no consensus about how the country should be organized politically. Two ideological tendencies developed throughout the first decade after independence. The "liberals" wanted to start everything afresh; they repudiated the colonial past because they thought that those centuries had been a kind of "Dark Age". Hence, they asked for the creation of a Democratic Federal Republic and for complete social reform in which all privileges were to be dismantled. The "conservatives", conversely, thought that Spanish rule had been positive, and that historical continuity must be preserved; neither society nor the political structure should be changed. They favored a constitutional monarchy as in Great Britain or France, and if possible, the king should belong to one of the Catholic European royal families. The first attempt of organization was under the conservative principles. A short-lived monarchy was set up, with Agustin de Iturbide, as Emperor, in 1822. Two years later, however, the republicans tried their own programs. After the abdication of Agustin I, a constitutional convention was convened; the country became a Federal Republic and within a few years a program of reforms was launched. This, in turn, antagonized many sectors of Mexican society and consequently in 1835, the Constitution was repealed. Mexico's domestic struggle was further complicated by external pressures. Like the rest of Ibero America, Mexico was a field of competition for the commercial and financial interests of the European powers and the United States: In fact, they were the basic reasons that progressively caused those nations to give official recognition to its independence. Those interests, combined with political unrest and a weak economy, led to the French invasion in 1838, and to the war with the United States in 1846. The latter, which was also promoted by the expansionists tendencies of the United States, ended in the occupation by the United States of almost the whole of Mexico, including Mexico City. The results of the war with the United States were that, on one hand, Mexico was forced to give up a great deal of its territory, restricting its possibilities of future demographic and economic growth; on the other, it awakened the sense of urgency needed to solve the internal problems and strengthen the national consciousness. Between 1847 and 1857, what had been loose ideological tendencies became well-organized political parties. In 1854, the Liberal Party launched a movement against the rule of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who had been a sort of maverick and after overthrowing him a new constitutional convention was called. Three years later, the new Constitution was drafted and adopted, but the Conservative Party refused to accept it, rebelled against the legal order and established a government of its own. In defense of legality, there was a group of brilliant young intellectuals and lawyers, among whom Benito Juarez distinguished himself. He assumed the leadership of the party and carried out the defense of constitutional order during three years of civil war, in which not only the conservatives were fought but further social reform was enacted. When this civil war the "war of Reform" ended, the country ad to face a new ordeal. This was originally created by the need to put some order in the national economy, but it gave the Conservative Party the opportunity to launch its last monarchical venture. In 1861, only months after the return of Juarez to Mexico City, his administration had to decree a moratorium on the foreign debt payments. France, England and Spain then agreed to send their armies in order to secure resumption of payments as well as satisfaction for other grievances. Spain and England withdrew their forces after receiving assurances to their demands but France decided to support the Conservatives mainly because of its desire to have a stronghold in America [The French coined the idea of a "Latin" America, to support their wish of becoming the center of Latin civilizations.] This led to the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 in which the Mexican Army defeated the French Army. However the following year the French Army were victorious and in 1864, Maximilian of Hapsburg became Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico, at the same time that Benito Juarez maintained he was the Constitutional President of Mexico. The Social Revolution Between 1862 and 1910, Mexico went through a period in which political stability was not significantly threatened. After the death of Juarez, Porfirio Diaz rose to prominence and conducted a program which basically called for a strong Federal government, efficient administration and economic soundness, goals that were accomplished by sacrificing social programs as well as political democracy. The Mexican Revolution of 1910 was a movement caused by continuous deterioration of the social conditions in the rural areas and the growing dissatisfaction among the urban proletarian and middle class; in short, it was aimed at correcting those aspirations that, for the sake of political stability and economic growth, had been left behind. The demands set forth during the first phase, under the leadership of Francisco I. Madero, were essentially political, but they were soon transformed, by other leaders such as Emiliano Zapata, into a call for structural changes of a social nature. Madero's cause was successful in having Porfirio Diaz resign but it was unable to maintain itself in power. In February 1913, both Madero and Vice-President Jose Maria Pino Suarez were assassinated and replaced by an unpopular regime. This led to new outbreaks all over the country. Venustiano Carranza, Governor of the state of Coahuila, rose up calling for the restoration of Constitutional order and was followed by other revolutionary groups that had been active since the beginning of the Revolution. The Constitutional phase, which originally called only for the overthrow of the military dictatorship regime and for a reform of the Constitution of 1857, ended in the call for a constitutional convention and the proclamation of a new Magna Carta. The Constitution of 1917, which presently governs Mexico, summed up the ideals behind the Revolution of 1910. To the traditional individual rights were added the principles of ancient "social rights" which served as a foundation for the structural economic and social changes that were to be pursued by future administrations. The phase of military struggle lasted up to 1920. From then to the present, Mexico has experienced a steady progress. Political stability has been regained and it has allowed the country to concentrate on other goals such as education, land reform, rational use of natural resources and social welfare programs. Mexicans must assimilate the experience of their history which has given them a solid foundation to continue building up the modern nation that their ancestors began centuries ago. Many problems remain to be solved and new ones have arisen but the search for solutions which is the dynamic core of history, continues at a steady and sure pace.