1. Please: grab out a blank sheet of paper and notes.

2.  Native American cultures and Spanish colonization shaped Mexican history and culture.

3.  People came to Mexico many thousands of years ago.  As early as 5,000 years ago, they were growing beans, peppers, squash, and domesticated corn.  Farming allowed people to build the first settlements in America.

4. 1.OLMEC Lived in small villages by about 1500 BC Settled in the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico Built temples and giant statues

5. Built big cities in Mexico and Central America between AD 250 and 900 Built stone temples Developed a calendar Kept written records that do not reveal the reason for their collapse

6. Moved in from the north Built a great capital on an island in 1325 Established an empire, a land with different territories and peoples under one ruler Obtained new lands, taxes, and captives to sacrifice through war

7.  Despite great size and power, the Aztec empire did not last long after Hernán Cortés arrived with 600 Spanish soldiers.  The Spanish had better weapons and horses.  The Spanish brought new diseases, such as smallpox, which killed many Aztecs.  Cortés conquered the empire by 1521.

8.  After the conquest, the separate peoples and cultures mixed.  Mestizos are people of mixed European and American Indian ancestry.  Mulattoes are people of mixed European and African descent.  Africans and American Indians also intermarried.

9.  The Roman Catholic Church had great influence.  The church ruled over large areas of northern Mexico.  The church established missions, or church outposts.  Priests learned native languages and converted the American Indians to Catholicism.

10.  The Spaniards searched for gold and silver.  The American Indians and the enslaved Africans labored in the mines.  As a result, many died from overwork and disease.  The Spanish monarch granted haciendas, or huge expanses of farm or ranch land, to some Spanish people who became wealthy.  Peasants, usually Indians, lived and worked on haciendas.

11.  Spain ruled Mexico for 300 years.  Miguel Hidalgo, a Catholic priest, led the revolt against Spain.  Hidalgo was killed in 1811, but Mexico won independence in 1821.

12.  Texas broke away from Mexico fifteen years after independence.  During the resulting Mexican-American War, Mexico lost nearly half of its territory.  In the mid-1800s, Benito Ju á rez helped Mexico survive a French invasion and reduced the privileges of the church and army.  In the early 1900s, hacienda owners and foreign companies had much influence.  The Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920, resulted in land reform.

13. Most Mexicans speak Spanish. About 90 percent of Mexicans are Roman Catholic.

14. Many people speak an American Indian language that ties them to their ethnic group. These languages identify a person as Indian.

15. Mexicans have unique practices that result from the mixing of cultures. For example, Mexicans celebrate the Day of the Dead to remember dead ancestors. This holiday is held on All Souls’ Day, but reflects native customs and beliefs.