History Essay
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Mexico was the site of some of the earliest and most advanced
civilizations in the western
hemisphere. The Mayan culture, according to archaeological research,
attained its greatest
development about the 6th century AD. Another group, the Toltec,
established an empire in
the Valley of Mexico and developed a great civilization still evidenced
by the ruins of
magnificent buildings and monuments. The leading tribe, the Aztec,
built great cities and
developed an intricate social, political, and religious organization.
Their civilization
was highly developed, both intellectually and artistically. The first
European explorer to
visit Mexican territory was Francisco Fern ndez de C rdoba, who in 1517
discovered traces of
the Maya in Yucat n. In 1535, some years after the fall of the Aztec
capital, the basic
form of colonial government in Mexico was instituted with the
appointment of the first
Spanish viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza. A distinguishing characteristic
of colonial Mexico was
the exploitation of the Native Americans. Although thousands of them
were killed during the
Spanish conquest, they continued to be the great majority of
inhabitants of what was
referred to as New Spain, speaking their own languages and retaining
much of their native
culture. Inevitably they became the laboring class. Their plight was
the result of the
'encomienda' system, by which Spanish nobles, priests, and soldiers
were granted not only
large tracts of land but also jurisdiction over all Native American
residents. A second
characteristic of colonial Mexico was the position and power of the
Roman Catholic church.
Franciscan, Augustinian, Dominican, and Jesuit missionaries entered the
country with the
conquistadores. The Mexican church became enormously wealthy through
gifts and bequests that
could be held in perpetuity. Before 1859, when church holdings were
nationalized, the
church owned one-third of all property and land. A third characteristic
was the existence of
rigid social classes: the Native Americans, the mestizos, mixed Spanish
and Native American
(an increasingly large group during the colonial era), black slaves
which were brought from
Africa and the Caribbean, freed blacks and white Mexicans. The white
Mexicans were
themselves divided. Highest of all classes was that of the
peninsulares, those born in
Spain, as opposed to the criollos, or Creoles people of pure European
descent who had been
born and raised in New Spain. The peninsulares were sent from Spain to
hold the highest
colonial offices in both the civil and church administrations. The
peninsulars held
themselves higher than the criollos, who were almost never given high
office. The
resentment of the criollos became an influential force in the later
movement for
independence. In 1808 the viceroy, under pressure from influential
criollos, permitted them
to participate in the administration. Other peninsular officials
objected and expelled the
viceroy. In the midst of these factional struggles a political
rebellion was begun by the
Mexican people. Mexico has been rocked by political rebellion during
most of its entire
history in one way or another. Under the various dictatorships that
Mexico found itself
under at times in history, it made tremendous advances in economic and
commercial
development. Many of the new undertakings were financed and managed by
foreigners (mostly
American and European). This was and continues to be a major factor in
the discontent of
most Mexicans. Moreover, the government favored the rich owners of
large estates,
increasing their properties by assigning them communal lands that
belonged to the Native
Americans. When the Native Americans revolted, they were sold into
peonage. Discontent,
anger and a spirit of revolt continued to grow throughout Mexico.
Madero was elected
president in 1911, but was not forceful enough to end the political
strife. Other rebel
leaders, particularly Emiliano Zapata and Francisco (Pancho) Villa,
completely refused to
submit to presidential authority. Victoriano Huerta, head of the
Madero army, conspired
with the rebel leaders and in 1913 seized control of Mexico City. New
armed revolts under
Zapata, Villa, and Venustiano Carranza began, and Huerta resigned in
1914. Carranza took
power in the same year, and Villa at once declared war on him. In
addition to the ambitions
of rival military leaders, intervention by foreign governments seeking
to protect the
interests of their nationals added to the confusion. In August 1915, a
commission
representing eight Latin American countries and the United States
recognized Carranza as the
lawful authority in Mexico. The rebel leaders, except for Villa, laid
down their arms. The
bandit leader incited his forces to commit crimes against Americans to
show his resentment
against the United States and in 1916 led a raid on Columbus, New
Mexico. As a result, an
American force under General John J. Pershing was sent to Mexico. A new
constitution,
enacted in 1917, provided for a labor code, prohibited a president from
serving consecutive
terms, expropriated all property of religious orders, and restored
communal lands to the
Native Americans. Many provisions dealing with labor and social welfare
were advanced. Some
of the most drastic were intended to curb foreign ownership of mineral
properties and land.
In 1936 an expropriation law was passed enabling the government to
seize private property
whenever necessary for public or social welfare....
MLA Style
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