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Mexico . Spanish Conquest. Conquistadors – conquerors Hernán Cortés Arrived in 1519 – approx 600 soldiers Aztecs Montezuma – 250,000 + just in the capital Advanced cities / warring nation.
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Spanish Conquest • Conquistadors – conquerors • Hernán Cortés • Arrived in 1519 – approx 600 soldiers • Aztecs • Montezuma – 250,000 + just in the capital • Advanced cities / warring nation
How were the Spanish able to conquer that many Aztecs in such a short period of time with so few Spaniards?
Quetzalcoatl • light skin, red hair, and light eyes • Would come to earth during the end times • Would come by way of the sea
Spanish superiority • Weapons made of iron • Metal armor • Cannons • Ships • Horses • Disease • Captives from the Caribbean and neighboring tribes
Spanish Conquest Complete • Conquered Aztecs in 1521 • Destroys Tenochtitlan • Current site of Mexico City • Encomienda System was created • Haciendas – Farms owned by conquistadors and worked by Indians.
Early Social Organization • Peninsulares • From Spain and moved to the Americas • Criollos • Spanish ancestry born in Americas • Mestizos • Mixed blood • Indians
Social Classes • Most people are Mestizos. • They are poor and cannot own land. • Very few are Peninsulares • Very wealthy and have all power and land. Are these groups equal? What do you think is going to happen?
Road to Democracy • 1821 - Rebellion led by a Criollo priest Miguel Hidalgo leads to Mexican independence. • Wealthy peninsulares still own all land and hold all power. • Mexican Revolution 1910 – 1920 • Became a democratic republic
Major Industries • Oil • Drug Trade • Manufacturing • Tourism
Oil industry • PetroleosMexicanos (PEMEX) • A State owned company for decades • Accounts for 1/3 of government revenue • Focused on getting the easy to locate reserves.
Mexico Oil Reform • Current President Pena Nieto pushing for reform • He wants to open the industry to private investors. • Foreign investors would bring the kinds of technology needed to tap the billions of unattainable oil in the country.
“Mexico could make North America the world leader in oil production”
Impacts of privatizing • This would lead to competition and cheaper oil!!! • Opens the door for U.S investors • Could limit cash flow to the Mexican government.
Drug Trafficking • 10 Billion dollar industry • Divisions among rival drug cartels leads to violence in areas that overlap. • 47,515 had died in drug war violence between Dec. 1, 2006, and Sept. 11 • Use of terrorism to maintain control • Beheadings, car bombs, kidnappings • Government Corruption • Those who oppose are threatened or assassinated
Drug Trafficking – Why Mexico? • Weak local and State governments • Increased international success combating drug smuggling in Colombia and the Caribbean • Increased drug consumption in Mexico • Ease of buying guns in the U.S and transporting them to Mexico.
NAFTA • North American Free Trade Agreement • (NAFTA) 1993/1994 • This lifted tariffs and trade blocks between the U.S, Canada, and Mexico.
Maquiladoras • Assemble products almost exclusively for U.S. • Spurred economic growth along U.S. border • Employ 1,000,000+ • Changed appearance of northern cities
Mexican Tourism
Quiz L2 – 12pts • What were the four classes in Mexico’s early colonial period? • What is a Maquiladora? • What is NAFTA? How has it impacted the economy of Mexico and the U.S? • How were the Spanish able to conquer the Aztecs so easily?
Regions of Mexico • Heartland Region • Gulf Coastal Plain • Yucatán Peninsula • Northern Pacific Coast • Southern Pacific Coast
Northern Pacific Coast Gulf Coastal Plain Heartland Region Yucatán Peninsula Southern Pacific Coast
Northern Pacific Coast • Baja California • Peninsula • Tijuana • Illegal Immigration • Maquilladoras
Southern Pacific Coast • Sierra Madre del Sur • Tourism • Acapulco • Puerto Vallarta
Gulf Coastal Plain • Fossil fuels • Natural gas • Oil • On Gulf Coastal Plain • Under Gulf of Mexico • Hurricane Zone
Yucatán Peninsula • Limestone bedrock • Porous • Creates caverns • sinkholes • Mayans • Their civilization spread here • Tourism • Cancún
Heartland Region • Plateau • An area of high, flat land • Densely populated area • Mexico City
U.S vs. Mexico Population Mexico - 109,955,400 U.S - 303,824,640 Life Expectancy Mexico - 75 years U.S - 78 years GDP (per capita) Mexico $12,800 U. S $45,800 Growth rate Mexico - 1.14% U.S - .88% City Population Mexico City - 8,658,576 New York - 8,143,197