3. Tenochtitlan Capital of the Aztec Civilization

5. Aztecs Rose in the Valley of Mexico in 1200 AD From deserts of northern Mexico Built their capital of Tenochtitlan Tenochtitlan City of beautiful temples, gardens & lakes, The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice in their temples Destroyed by the Spanish and Cortes Built Mexico city over its ruins

6. Natives: Toltecs, Maya, Aztecs… Spanish conquest lead to the downfall of the Aztecs 1519 : Hernando Cortez landed on the coast of Mexico 1521 : Cortes and his men conquered the Aztecs 15191521

7. Spanish brought language and catholic religion Mexico’s native heritage remains strong in spite of diffusion Name origin : name comes from Mexica (older name for Aztecs) Mestizo population = people of mixed Spanish and Native American heritage

8. Conflict between native people and settlers from Spain Blending of Spanish and Indian cultures Greatly affected Mexico’s development

9. The culture of Mexico is a blend of Spanish influences with original native cultures

10. 1821: Mexico declares independence from Spain. Mid 19 th century : Benito Juarez led a reform moment and became president of México. 1917 : New constitution was adopted = redistributed half of Mexico to peasants 1821Mid 1800s1917

11. 185818761910 Benito Juarez Served 5 terms from 1858 to 1872 Worked for separation of church and state Better education opportunities Even distribution of land. Took land from rich and gave to peasants Porfirio Dias Served 2 terms, 1876-1880 and 1884-1911 Successor of Benito Juarez Dishonest politician Brought about a civil war and a revolution led by Francisco Madero, Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata in 1910.

12. 1929 : New party = institutional revolutionary party (PRI) Helped introduce democracy Maintain political stability Continued redistribution lands to peasants 192920002000+ 2000 : Vicente Fox was elected president For the first time in 71 yrs PRI did not control Mexico 2000 election = Mexico was gradually becoming democratic

13. 2 economic challenges : Close gap between rich and poor Develop a modern industrial economy Mexico has traditionally been an agricultural society, although industrialization started in the mid 20 th century

14. Movement to cities More job opportunity More pay Help reduce gap between rich and poor 1970: population 52 million 2000: double that of 1970 at 109 million

15. Large oil reserves along Gulf of Mexico Oil = Positive step to industrialization Helped finance development Manufacturing: Most important part of economic development. The factories are located north near the U.S. border Maquiladoras: Factories in Mexico that assemble imported materials in to finished goods.

16. NAFTA = North American Free Trade Agreement Mexico, US, Canada Created huge zone of cooperation on trade Imported tariffs on imported goods are slowly being reduced

17. Big challenges: Jobs, Emigration & Education EMIGRATION Due to rapidly growing population & government policies In search of work Separates families WORK AND SCHOOL 85 % of school age kids attend school today

23. Monterrey is an important industrial and business center.