1. Mexico Land of the Aztecs

2. Latin America Includes all lands south of Mexico. Called “Latin” because most countries use Spanish as their official language. The Spanish language is rooted in Latin, the language of the Roman Empire.

3. Geography There are two mountain ranges in Mexico, the Sierra Madre Oriental (East) and Occidental (West). Volcanoes dot the Mexican landscape. Volcanic soil is rich in nutrients, which makes for good farmland.

4. Coffee

5. Corn, Wheat, Rice

6. Bananas, Papaya, Avocado

7. Mining Volcanoes also bring useful minerals to the surface, including Silver, Gold, Copper, and Lead.

8. Oil! Mexico has oil in the Gulf. Much of this oil is exported to the United States.

9. Tourism Mexico is a premier travel destination for its beaches and tropical weather.

10. Earliest settlers 10,000+ years ago, nomadic hunters drifted southward and settled the lands of Mexico. By 3500 BC, they were growing corn, squash, and beans. The Olmecs developed a great civilization, followed by the Toltecs and Zapotecs.

11. Aztecs By 1300, the Aztecs were the dominant power in Mexico. Their capital city, Tenochtitlan, is now known as Mexico City. The Aztecs built the city on an island in a lake. Over 300,000 people lived in Tenochtitlan.

12. Aztecs Built Pyramids and temples to their gods Performed human sacrifice on altars

13. Spanish Conquest Hernando Cortez - Conquistador Took 600 men to Mexico Burned ships Got help from non- Aztec natives Kidnapped king Montezuma

14. Smallpox Native Americans had no previous exposure to European diseases 95 percent of population had died of disease or war in 80 years.

15. Colonization Native Americans enslaved throughout Mexico Spanish Colony for 300 years Mexicans forced to convert to Catholicism Named Mexico after the Aztec people, who also called themselves the Mexica.

16. Mestizo 60% of Mexico is Mestizo Mixed Spanish and Indian ancestry.

17. Independence 1821-Father Hidalgo, a Catholic priest, starts a revolt that leads to independence. 1871- Porfirio Diaz, a dictator, encourages foreign investment in Mexico Mexico becomes a modern, industrial nation

18. Revolution! 1910- two revolutionary leaders fight for a new constitution: – Pancho Villa – Emiliano Zapata Nearly 1 million Mexicans die in the fighting 1917- A new constitution was written By 1920s Institutional Revolutionary Party takes control of the government.

19. The New Constitution The revolution took land (haciendas) from rich landowners and distributed it to the poor. The constitution took more land from the rich and created communal farms called ejidos

20. Modern Problems Overpopulation in cities No jobs in rural areas Mexico city: – Half of population is unemployed – Grows by 2000 people per day