History Summarized: Mexico

Summary

This video explores Mexico's rich and complex history, from the ancient civilizations like the Aztecs to its struggle for independence and the formation of a modern nation-state. It covers the rise and fall of empires, the impact of Spanish colonization, and the challenges of governance and identity. The script also touches on the influence of foreign powers, economic struggles, and cultural clashes that have shaped Mexico's past and continue to influence its present.

Takeaways

• 🏰 Mexico's history is rich and complex, starting from ancient civilizations like the Olmecs, Zapotecs, and Maya, to the rise and fall of the Aztec Empire.
• 🐦 The Mexica tribe founded Tenochtitlan in Lake Texcoco, fulfilling a prophecy about an eagle perched on a cactus eating a snake.
• 🗡️ Hernán Cortés led the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1519, aided by steel weapons, alliances with native enemies, and diseases like smallpox.
• 👑 After the conquest, Spain established the Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1535, renaming Tenochtitlan to Mexico City and implementing a caste system.
• ⛪ The Catholic Church played a significant role in the colonization, converting the indigenous population and suppressing native religions.
• 🏛️ Spanish colonial rule focused on resource extraction, particularly silver, and introduced new crops like cocoa, chiles, corn, and tomatoes to Europe.
• 💵 Spain's economic mismanagement led to a decline in power, allowing other European nations to challenge its dominance in the New World.
• 🔥 Mexico's War of Independence began in 1810 with Miguel Hidalgo's Cry of Dolores, leading to a decade of conflict and eventual independence.
• 👑 The newly independent Mexico struggled with political instability, as seen with the short-lived monarchy under Agustín de Iturbide and the rise of military strongmen.
• 🗽 The loss of Texas and the northern territories to the United States after the Mexican-American War further weakened Mexico's economy and military.
• 🏛️ Post-independence, Mexico underwent significant reforms, including secularization, central government strengthening, and infrastructure development.

Q & A

What significant event occurred in 1122 AD that influenced the history of Mexico?

The collapse of the Toltec Empire in 1122 AD left a power vacuum, leading to the rise of small city-states and eventually the Mexica tribe settling in Lake Texcoco.

How did the Mexica tribe choose the location for their city of Tenochtitlan?

The Mexica tribe settled in the middle of Lake Texcoco after seeing an eagle perched atop a cactus and eating a snake, which they believed fulfilled a prophecy.

What was the Aztec Empire's primary weapon that contributed to its military dominance?

The Aztec Empire used a weapon called the obsidian macuahuitl, which was a club-like weapon, to help them dominate the land from coast to coast.

Who was Hernán Cortés and what was his role in the fall of the Aztec Empire?

Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition to the Aztec Empire, ultimately capturing Tenochtitlan in 1521 and eradicating the Aztec Empire.

What was the impact of European diseases on the native Mesoamerican population during the Spanish conquest?

European diseases, particularly smallpox, had a devastating effect, killing between half to 90% of the native Mesoamerican population and significantly weakening the Aztec Empire.

How did the Spanish establish their rule over Mexico after the fall of the Aztec Empire?

The Spanish established their rule by creating the Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1535, building a new capital on the site of Tenochtitlan, renaming it Mexico, and implementing a caste system and the encomienda system.

What was the role of the Catholic Church in the Spanish colonization of Mexico?

The Catholic Church played a significant role by acquiring land, power, and aggressively converting the native population to Christianity, often by destroying indigenous texts and cultural practices.

What economic activities were central to the Spanish colonization of Mexico?

The Spanish focused on extracting resources and wealth, particularly silver, and introducing new crops like cocoa, chiles, corn, and tomatoes to Europe, which boosted and stabilized the European food supply.

What was the significance of the cry of Dolores on September 16, 1810, in Mexican history?

The cry of Dolores marked the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence against Spanish rule, led by Miguel Hidalgo, which eventually led to Mexico's independence.

How did the political landscape of Mexico change after gaining independence?

After independence, Mexico struggled with political instability, with figures like Agustín de Iturbide becoming Emperor briefly, followed by a period of economic stagnation and military strongmen ruling the country.

What was the outcome of the Mexican–American War and its impact on Mexico?

The Mexican–American War resulted in Mexico's defeat, leading to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, where Mexico ceded a large portion of its northern territories to the United States, including present-day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 The Birth of Mexico: From Aztecs to Spanish Colonization

The video script begins by setting the stage for Mexico's rich and complex history, starting from the ancient civilizations like the Olmecs, Zapotecs, and Maya, to the fall of the Toltec Empire in 1122 AD. It then details the rise of the Mexica tribe, which founded the city of Tenochtitlan in the middle of Lake Texcoco, fulfilling a prophecy. The Mexica's alliance with neighboring tribes led to the formation of the Aztec Empire, which expanded through military prowess and the use of obsidian weapons. The script then shifts to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernán Cortés, who despite being outnumbered, managed to conquer the Aztec Empire with the help of steel weapons, alliances with native tribes like the Tlaxcalans, and the devastating impact of European diseases. The fall of Tenochtitlan in 1521 marked the end of the Aztec Empire and the beginning of Spanish colonization, which included the establishment of the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the renaming of Tenochtitlan to Mexico City.

05:00

🏰 Colonial Mexico: Struggles, Silver, and the Seeds of Independence

The second paragraph delves into the Spanish colonial period in Mexico, highlighting the establishment of a caste system, the encomienda system that resembled slavery, and the aggressive spread of Christianity, which involved the destruction of indigenous texts and the suppression of native religions. It discusses the urban development and economic exploitation of Mexico by Spain, focusing on the export of silver and the introduction of new crops to Europe. The script then moves to the decline of Spanish power, the influence of the American and Haitian revolutions on Mexico, and the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence led by Miguel Hidalgo. It describes the political turmoil and the rise of figures like Agustín de Iturbide and Vicente Guerrero, who played crucial roles in the formation of an independent Mexican Empire. The paragraph also touches on the economic stagnation, political instability, and the rise of military strongmen like Antonio López de Santa Anna, whose policies led to conflicts with the United States and the loss of significant territories.

10:02

🔥 The Turbulent Journey of Modern Mexico: Wars, Reforms, and Identity

The final paragraph of the script explores the challenges faced by Mexico in the aftermath of its independence, including political instability, economic difficulties, and social unrest. It discusses the rise and fall of military leaders, the impact of foreign interventions, and the struggle for power between different factions. The script highlights significant events such as the Mexican-American War, the loss of territories, the civil war between conservatives and liberals, and the French intervention. It also touches on the reforms and modernization efforts that took place in the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, leading to economic progress and the formation of a more unified national identity. The paragraph concludes with a reflection on the complexity and richness of Mexico's history, which continues to shape its culture and identity, as exemplified by the debate over historical figures and monuments.

Keywords

💡Toltec Empire

The Toltec Empire was a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilization that existed from the 10th to the 12th century. It played a significant role in the development of later civilizations such as the Aztecs. In the video, the collapse of the Toltec Empire in 1122 AD is mentioned as a pivotal event that led to a power vacuum, allowing for the rise of smaller city-states and eventually the Mexica tribe.

💡Mexica tribe

The Mexica tribe, also known as the Aztecs, were a group of Nahuatl-speaking people who founded the city of Tenochtitlan, which later became Mexico City. The video describes their settlement in the middle of Lake Texcoco as a fulfillment of a prophecy, symbolized by the vision of an eagle perched on a cactus eating a snake.

💡Aztec Empire

The Aztec Empire was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from 1428 to 1521. It was known for its military prowess and cultural achievements. The video discusses how the Mexica tribe allied with other city-states to form the Aztec Empire, which grew to dominate the region through military conquests and the use of advanced weaponry like the obsidian macuahuitl.

💡Hernán Cortés

Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire. The video highlights his defiance of the Spanish Crown's orders and his military campaign against the Aztecs, which was aided by the superior technology of steel swords and armor, as well as alliances with native groups like the Tlaxcalans.

💡Smallpox

Smallpox was a contagious and often deadly disease that had a devastating impact on indigenous populations in the Americas following the arrival of Europeans. In the video, it is mentioned as one of the European diseases that contributed to the decline of the Aztec Empire by killing a significant portion of the native Mesoamerican population.

💡Viceroyalty of New Spain

The Viceroyalty of New Spain was a Spanish colonial territory in the Americas, established in 1535 after the conquest of the Aztec Empire. It included most of present-day Mexico, Central America, and parts of the United States. The video explains how King Charles V of Spain created this administrative division to govern the newly conquered territories.

💡Casta system

The casta system was a social hierarchy in colonial Spanish America that classified individuals based on their racial ancestry. It was used to maintain the dominance of the Spanish over the native and mixed-race populations. The video describes how this system was formalized by the Spanish to assert their superiority and control over the native peoples.

💡Encomienda system

The encomienda system was a system of forced labor used in the Spanish colonies, where indigenous people were required to work for Spanish landowners. While not technically slavery, it was similar in practice. The video mentions how this system was adapted from an old Aztec law and used to exploit the native labor force.

💡Independence of Mexico

The Independence of Mexico refers to the period from 1810 to 1821 when Mexico fought for and achieved independence from Spain. The video discusses key figures like Miguel Hidalgo and Agustín de Iturbide, and events such as the Cry of Dolores, which sparked the war of independence.

💡Antonio López de Santa Anna

Antonio López de Santa Anna was a Mexican political and military leader who played a significant role in the country's early history after independence. The video describes his多变的政治生涯, including his role in the Texas Revolution and the Mexican–American War, which resulted in significant territorial losses for Mexico.

💡Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was a peace treaty signed in 1848 between the United States and Mexico, ending the Mexican–American War. The video highlights the treaty's significance as it resulted in Mexico ceding a large portion of its territory to the United States, including present-day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming, and Oklahoma.

Highlights

Mexico's history is marked by ancient civilizations, empires, and its journey to nationhood.

The Mexica tribe founded Tenochtitlan in Lake Texcoco, fulfilling a prophecy.

The Aztec Empire was formed through military prowess and strategic alliances.

The Spanish conquest led by Hernán Cortés utilized steel weapons and diseases like smallpox.

The fall of the Aztec Empire in 1521 marked the beginning of Spanish colonization.

The Viceroyalty of New Spain was established to govern the newly conquered territories.

The caste system and encomienda system were implemented, impacting social and economic structures.

The Catholic Church played a significant role in converting the indigenous population.

Mexico City and other urban centers became the economic and political hubs of New Spain.

Silver mining and agriculture were key to Mexico's economy during the colonial period.

The war of independence was sparked by the cry of Dolores in 1810.

The Mexican Empire was short-lived, with political instability and economic stagnation.

Antonio López de Santa Anna's rule was marked by military dictatorship and economic challenges.

The Texas Revolution and the subsequent loss of territory to the United States were significant setbacks.

The Mexican-American War resulted in the cession of a large portion of Mexico's northern territories.

The Reform War and the subsequent French intervention marked a period of internal and external conflicts.

The Battle of Puebla and Cinco de Mayo symbolize resistance against foreign intervention.

The Porfiriato era saw economic progress but also social inequality and political corruption.

The Mexican Revolution of 1910 led to a decade of civil unrest and the eventual rise of a new political order.

The 20th century brought economic growth and modernization, with Mexico's participation in World War Two being a turning point.

Contemporary Mexican identity is a complex blend of indigenous, Spanish, and other cultural influences.

Transcripts

Mexico has got a lot going on in its history,

from ancient civilizations building temples to the Sun and sowing panic about the year 2012,

to a great Empire with a city in the middle of a lake and a habit of hucking people off of pyramids,

to its less-than-willing participation in New World globalization

and its development into an independent nation-state.

To put that into proper historical terminology, that's a lot of stuff going on.

So to organize this and find out how Mexico became Mexico, let's do some history.

This video is brought to you by Nord VPN, more on that later.

While civilization along this stretch of land dates back thousands of years to players like the Olmecs, the Zapotecs and the Maya,

our story begins in the power vacuum left by the collapse of the Toltec Empire in 1122AD.

In the absence of any one dominant power, a series of small city-states carved out their own little corners of influence.

200 years later, the Mexica tribe settled right in the middle of Lake Texcoco to fulfill...

A Prophecy™

* airhorn *

They were told that the apparition of an eagle perched atop a cactus and eating a snake would mark their new home,

so upon seeing it, rather than look a gift eagle in the beak,

they camped out right in the lake and began building the city of Tenochtitlan.

The Mexica then allied with two of their neighbors to form the Aztec Empire.

Through a combination of military skills, some fetching outfits, and a trusty obsidian macuahuitl,

the Aztec Empire grew to dominate the land from coast to coast.

Meanwhile, the capital of Tenochtitlan became a fabulously huge and beautiful city of canals, palaces, markets, aqueducts, and more...

* door breaks down *

¿Donde esta el Dorado? Where is el Dorado?

And... then the conquistadors showed up.

Some 30 years after Columbus accidentally wandered into the Caribbean, Spain was in full-on empire mode,

though there wasn't a great deal to be found in the Antilles,

some scouts brought word that there was a shiny big civilization to sack on the mainland to the west.

So one enterprising gentleman by the name of Hernán Cortés defied the Crown's orders

and hopped over to the mainland in 1519 with some 500 fellow conquistadors,

the absolute greediest and nastiest brutes that Renaissance Spain had to offer.

While the numbers game wasn't strictly in Spain's favour,

they had steel swords and armor that made the obsidian blades and wooden shields look like paper mâché.

Now the Aztecs, being a conquering Empire, had made a series of enemies, like their neighbors the Tlaxcalans,

who were all too thrilled to offer thousands of warriors for Cortés' army,

but perhaps the most deadly ally that Spain had in this fight was smallpox,

which, among other European diseases, killed anywhere from half to 90% of the native Mesoamerican population.

After Cortés kidnapped King Moctezuma, dodged an arrest attempt from his commanding officer,

and ordered his ships to be burns to ensure there was no possibility of retreat,

the conquistadors captured Tenochtitlan in 1521 after several battles and a long siege,

and fully eradicated the Aztec Empire.

And now with all that icky Pagan nonsense out of the way, Spain's got itself a brand new Spain!

Step one was to stop Cortés from acting like a de facto monarch, because why would he exercise restraint now?

Back in Spain, King Charles V created a series of advisory boards to attempt to rein in Cortés,

but when that didn't work, Charles just stripped him of his powers and established the Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1535.

Step two was building up a new capital on the site of Tenochtitlan,

which was newly renamed after the old tenants of the Aztec Mexica tribe,

which is where we get the name, Mexico.

Step three was governing the place.

In addition to the power of the monarchy, Spain formalized their superiority over the native peoples through a casta system,

which classified everyone from Iberian-born Spaniards down to indigenous peoples

with Mexican-born Criollos and mixed-blood Mestizos in the middle.

Step three-and-a-half was adopting an old Aztec law mandating public labor

and transforming that into the Spanish encomienda system,

which wasn't technically slavery, but it was pretty dang close.

Step four was Christianity.

In New Spain, the Catholic Church had land, power, and an undying determination to convert everybody.

Polytheism is usually pretty open to new gods, so getting Jesus in was fairly easy,

but getting Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, and the rest of the gang out was far trickier.

So missionaries got a bit torch happy and burned countless texts.

A few did attempts to limit the harmful effects of colonization,

but they got pushback for suggesting that non-Spaniards had-

* gasp *

basic human dignity.

And others used Aztec human sacrifice as justification that hippity-hoppity, your soul is my property,

so, it was a rocky process.

The Aztec heartland quickly became the new urban core,

with spots like Mexico City and Guadalajara inland and Veracruz and Acapulco on the coasts,

but cities were soon going up all over New Spain.

Though as this is colonialism we're talking about,

the real aim was to bring resources and wealth back to Iberia, and that came in the form of food and silver.

While some Spaniards were still hunting for El Dorado, and surprising nobody but themselves, failing horribly,

silver became the dominant metal export.

And the Old World soon got to taste cocoa, chiles, corn and tomatoes,

which boosted and also stabilized the European food supply.

The problem for Spain was that they didn't really have all that great a grasp on macroeconomics,

so they over-inflated their economy and squandered their money on losing wars.

Spanish powers swiftly dimmed and France and Britain soon got to flexing their might in the New World.

And at the end of the 18th century, Mexico fought alongside America during their war of independence,

and the Mexican soldiers who were there took some notes to bring home.

At the turn of the 1800s, Mexicans were fed up with the casta system and its favoritism of Spanish-born Peninsulares,

and with the success of recent American and Haitian revolutions,

Mexico was willing to give it a go at themselves.

On September 16th of 1810,

a Carrillo Priest named Miguel Hidalgo took advantage of Spain's current kingless-ness

to give the cry of Dolores and begin the war of independence,

which... he... lost...

but his idea lasted.

The revolution went on in fits and starts for the next decade with some constitutions, but not a lot of independence.

The problem was that nobody could agree on what they wanted out of the revolution - independence, a republic, equal rights? All three?

Depends on who you asked.

But the turning point came in 1820, when Spain, now re-kinged after the Napoleonic nonsense,

got a newly-liberalised constitution.

The higher classes feared that an exportation of those liberal ideas to Mexico would mean the end of their extremely cushy socio-economic status,

so a general in the Spanish army by the name of Agustín de Iturbide flipped and teamed up with the revolutionary leader Vicente Guerrero

to hash out some compromises for a new independent government.

These three guarantees of monarchy, egalitarianism, and Catholicism, became the goals of the revolution,

and when their combined armies marched on Mexico City,

they had no trouble yeeting the Spanish loyalists right on out of there

and forming an independent Mexican Empire with Iturbide as Emperor.

So now Mexico's got independence,

but what about that carefully crafted political compromise that kind of held this whole operation together?

... It went pretty quickly at the window.

Nobody seemed to be happy with the new government,

and most aristocrats carried on not giving rights to the Mestizos and natives.

Iturbide was ousted and later executed, and Central America seceded from the Mexican Empire.

Not a great start.

As time went on, the economy was stagnant

because no government was strong or consistent enough to create an enforced rule,

so the local economy shriveled as corruption soared.

The biggest figure to emerge in the half-century after Mexican independence was Antonio López de Santa Anna.

A former general turned politician who served as president and/or dictator for most of the next two decades.

Watch out, this becomes a trend.

Santa Anna had the galaxy-brain idea of encouraging American immigrants to settle in the state of Coahuila y Tejas

to shield from raids by the Comanche nation and also boost the northern economy.

This failed spectacularly,

as he essentially imported an entire population that was bound to agitate for more rights.

When they did, Santa Anna effectively told them to shove it

and then was surprised when they immediately revolted.

Things got real at the Siege of the Alamo, but despite early Mexican victories,

the Texan revolutionaries won the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in 18 minutes

and personally captured Santa Anna to add insult to injury.

They let him go but his problems got worse when Texas joined the ever-growing United States.

Then Mexico had a mix-up over some soldiers killed on disputed land,

which led to a second and even more disastrous war for Santa Anna.

The U.S. invaded along the Pacific coast of California and the eastern Gulf Coast

and routed Santa Anna to capture Mexico City and force a surrender.

The resulting Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo saw Mexico cede all of its northern territories to the United States,

from Colorado all the way to California.

This was rough,

as Mexico now languished in military failure, bad governance, and a deflated economy

for another decade before Santa Anna was ousted for good in 1855.

Two years later, a new constitution took power from the church to help prop the lower classes

but this didn't sit super well with the church elite,

so a civil war between conservative Catholics and liberal Democrats swiftly broke out.

Yay...

In the course of the four-year war, both sides borrowed huge sums of money from Spain, France, and England to finance their militaries,

and when the Liberals won the war in 1861, Europe came to collect for both tabs,

which goes to show that war profiteering is great, because no matter who wins, you still get rich.

Easy!

Obviously Mexico couldn't pay all of this, so they defaulted on their debts.

In response, the French Emperor Napoleon the Third decided to take matters into his own Empire

and invaded Mexico to place a Habsburg puppet on the throne.

France landed on the Bay of Campeche and pushed towards Mexico City,

but was spectacularly halted in its tracks by the Mexican army at the Battle of Puebla.

This is what Cinco de Mayo is about -

it's not so much an Independence Day as an Anti-Re-Colonialism Day,

which is different, but has the same core energy to it.

Unfortunately, the war wasn't over,

and France regrouped to capture Mexico City and install their puppet Maximilian on the throne.

Three years later, the Mexican Republican Army recaptured the north

and America shot some nasty eyes at France,

so they decided, uh, better off not fighting a war on two fronts, and then they withdrew.

The new Mexican government set about some much-needed reforms,

because oh man, Mexico has been having a rough century here.

The next four decades saw the country secularized, reform the central government to be stronger and more efficient,

build infrastructure and modernize the army.

That last one is relevant because the 1880s through 1910s had another military strong man turned politician

who rigged elections and manipulated the army to stay in power.

After 'winning' an especially controversial election in 1910, widespread revolts forced him to flee.

But this revolution ran into trouble when the leaders failed to agree on new government,

so Mexico descended into a decade of open rebellion.

The revolutionaries were defeated and a couple more military strongmen held the country,

but things started looking up in the second half of the century,

as Mexico's involvement in World War Two kick-started decades of economic progress that continues to this day.

I wasn't lying when I said that Mexican history is busy, but it's also extremely complex,

and the Mexican identity is one of the most fascinating and trickiest artifacts of this history.

For instance, in the 80s, there was a new statue of Cortés, his Nahua wife Malintzin, and their Mestizo son Martín,

which intended to celebrate the convergence of cultures.

But instead it was met by fierce student protests,

who saw Cortés as a predator, and Malintzin, or La Malinche, as a traitor to her Nahua people.

The debate over the statue is a very recent microcosm of the beautiful harmonies and the stark contrasts that make up Mexico's history.

A story that's deep, inspiring, and sometimes dismaying, but above all else, very much alive.

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Thanks so much for watching.

This one was a big research undertaking for me, but I loved digging into the history of my national neighbor.

One thing I learned while making this is that there's a sea shanty all about General Santa Anna,

and though it's not strictly accurate to Santa Anna's actual history,

it is a banger of a track, so I linked it down in the description.

Give it a listen, and I'll see you in the next one.

Subtitler: I think I did nearly as much research as Blue while making these subtitles. The auto-generated ones were appalling. Hope you enjoyed!