1. Section 2 History & Culture of Mexico

2. Section Vocabulary empire (p. 147) Hernando Cortes Montezuma mestizos (p. 148) missions (p. 148) haciendas (p. 148) Miguel Hidalgo (p. 149)

3. 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)

4. https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudi es/worldhistory/azteccivilization/previ ew.weml

5. 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!

6. Tenochtitlan

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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)

10. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.