Transcript Tenochtitlan Marketplace

Mexican History
Through Murals
Tenochtitlan
Marketplace by
Diego Rivera
In the mural, Aztec merchants trade their
wares the capital city.
Aztec warriors had conquered most of
southern Mexico by 1500, and Tenochtitlan
was a sign of domination and wealth.
The city had temples, pyramids, palaces, and a
huge marketplace.
Canals carried people through the city; streets
were line with flowers and trees.
Conquest by
Jose Clement
Orozco
Spanish conqueror Cortes arrived in
Tenochtitlan in 1519; within two years
he had conquered the Aztec Empire.
Cortes found allies among nations the
Aztecs had conquered; small pox and
other diseases killed hundreds of
thousands of Indians; the Spanish
surrounded the capital city, laying siege
to it and starving the Aztec, who
surrendered in 1521.
Colonial
Domination by
Diego Rivera
Spanish colonial practices were cruel and
barbarous. The Catholic Church helped
justify this treatment because the Church
considered the Indians heathens, unable
to be Christianized.
The colonies were built with forced
Indian labor. Large grants of land,
called encomiendas, was given to
colonists by the King.
The Indians were also forced to labor in
mines and to build Spanish churches and
other structures.
Fight for
Liberty by Jose
Clemente Orozco
On September 16, 1810, Father Miguel
Hidalgo, leader of a small church
community, declared Mexico’s
independence from Spain. He was
supported by a large segment of Criollos
(people of pure Spanish descent born in
Mexico) as well as Indians and mestitizos.
Hidalgo was killed, but the revolution
was continued, and independence from
Spain was gained in 1821.
Despite independence, few reforms were
created for the mestitizo and Indian
populations.
Juarez and the
Fall of Empire
by Jose Clemente
Orozco
Benito Juarez was a Zapotec Indian who became a
lawyer in 1831. He was dedicated to helping the
poor. He became the governor of a region in
Mexico in 1848.
At the same time, Mexico’s middle class was
expressing dissatisfaction with General Santa
Anna, Mexico’s military dictator; the people were
also tired of the Catholic Church's control of land
education , and politics.
A civil war ensued, between the conservatives,
members of the Church and military, and the
liberals. Juarez became president of Mexico and
started to carry out legal and liberal reforms.
But French Emperor Louis
Napoleon Bonaparte III invaded and
marched towards Mexico City in
1862. The French were defeated in
the Cinco de Mayo Battle, but went
on to conquer Mexico.
Archduke Maximilian of Austria was
made emperor of Mexico.
Most Mexicans resented being
controlled by a foreign emperor and
joined with Juarez to fight against
the French.
In 1867, Juarez’s forces conquered
Mexico City, and Maximilian was
executed. Juarez continued with his
reforms, helping Mexico to become a
more democratic and just nation.
Juarez died in 1872.
Repression by Diego Rivera
In 1876 Pofirio Diaz came to power,
inheriting a lot of problems,
including debt, lack of technology in
farming and mining.
Diaz invited foreign investors to
build RR, mines, and ports, but the
profits from these investments went
to a few wealthy Mexicans.
Because of the poor living
conditions, a revolution again
occurred in 1910 and Diaz was
forced out.
The Trench, by
Jose Clemente
Orozco
When Diaz was forced from power,
Francisco Madero became president, but
was overwhelmed from revolts on all
sides. General Huerta plotted a coup, and
Madero was killed. Pancho Villa and
Emiliano Zapata revolted against Huerta.
Venustiano Carranzo became president
and his forces killed Zapata in 1919.
Alvaro Ortega was elected president in
1920, and he brought peace and the rise
of the PRI, the Institutional
Revolutionary Party, which has ruled
Mexico since 1920.
Legacy of the
Mexican
Revolution
by Diego Rivera
One of the most tangible results of
the revolution was redistribution of
haciendas. Mexican culture was
transformed, as Mexicans quit
looking to Spain for their self-image
and began to revere their own
history, including the Aztec past.
Still, there are many problems in
Mexico. Corruption, drug cartels,
pollution, and the continued
mistreatment of Indians are all still
problems in modern Mexico.