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Early Cultures The first people in Mexico came 5,000 years ago.
They farmed beans, peppers, and corn. Farming = permanent villages
Civilizations developed (organized towns)
The Aztecs The Aztecs were a highly organized, developed
society. MUCH different than the Spanish (probably even better)
They had an empire, different lands and people under one ruler.
Their capital city was on an island in a lake known as
Tenochtitlan. Aztecs built raised roads across the water Population
of 200,000 one point!
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Tenochtitlan
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In the late 1400s, the Spanish arrived in the Americas for GOD,
GOLD, and GLORY! The Spanish did not realize how amazing the Aztec
civilization was because it was different than theirs. The Spanish
and small pox destroyed the Aztec civilization.
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Hernando Cortes and his conquistadors were welcomed into the
Aztec capital. The Aztec ruler, Montezuma, thought Cortes was a god
because of a prophecy. Cortes led a battle against the Aztecs and
won. Other natives in the area helped Cortes. Montezuma died.
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The Spanish built Mexico City on top of the old Aztec capital
of Tenochtitlan. The Mexican flag has an eagle with a snake in its
mouth: (Aztec symbolism)
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Colonial Mexico and Independence After Cortes conquered
Montezuma and the Aztecs, the Spanish and Indian peoples and
cultures mixed. Spaniards called people of mixed European and
Indian ancestry mestizos. Life in colonial Mexico revolved around
the Catholic Church. Church missions, buildings used by Christians
to spread the word, opened throughout Mexico.
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The Spanish wanted to find gold and silver in Mexico. They used
Africans and Indians as slaves in the gold and silver mines.
Agriculture (farming) was important for the Spanish too. The
Spanish king granted haciendas, huge pieces of ranch land to
favored Spaniards in Mexico.
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Mexican Independence Spain ruled Mexico for almost 300 years. A
Catholic priest, named Miguel Hidalgo, led a revolt against Spanish
rule in 1810. Hidalgo was killed in 1811, but fighting continued
until Mexico was independence in 1821.