Transcript A Place of Three Cultures

Mexico
Spanish Conquest
 Conquistadors – conquerors
 Hernán Cortés
 Arrived in 1519 – approx 600 soldiers
 Aztecs
 Montezuma – 250,000 + just in the capital
 Advanced cities / warring nation
How were the Spanish able to conquer
that many Aztecs in such a short period
of time with so few Spaniards?
Quetzalcoatl
 light skin, red hair, and light eyes
 Would come to earth during the end times
 Would come by way of the sea
Spanish superiority
 Weapons made of iron
 Metal armor
 Cannons
 Ships
 Horses
 Disease
 Captives from the Caribbean and neighboring tribes
Tenochtitlan
Spanish Conquest Complete
 Conquered Aztecs in 1521
 Destroys Tenochtitlan
 Current site of Mexico City
 Encomienda System was created
 Haciendas – Farms owned by
conquistadors and worked by
Indians.
Early Social Organization
 Peninsulares
 From Spain and moved to the Americas
 Criollos
 Spanish ancestry born in Americas
 Mestizos
 Mixed blood
 Indians
Social Classes
 Most people are Mestizos.
 They are poor and cannot own land.
 Very few are Peninsulares
 Very wealthy and have all power and land.
Are these groups equal?
What do you think is going to happen?
Road to Democracy
 1821 - Rebellion led by a Criollo priest Miguel
Hidalgo leads to Mexican independence.
 Wealthy peninsulares still own all land and
hold all power.
 Mexican Revolution 1910 – 1920
 Became a democratic republic
Mexico’s Economy
Major Industries
1. Oil
2. Drug Trade
3. Manufacturing
4. Tourism
1. Oil
Oil industry
 Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX)
 A State owned company for decades
 Accounts for 1/3 of government revenue
 Focused on getting the easy to locate
reserves.
Mexico Oil Reform
 Current President Pena Nieto pushing
for reform
 He wants to open the industry to private
investors.
 Foreign investors would bring the kinds of
technology needed to tap the billions of
unattainable oil in the country.
“Mexico could make North America
the world leader in oil production”
Impacts of privatizing
 This would lead to competition and
cheaper oil!!!
 Opens the door for U.S investors
 Could limit cash flow to the Mexican
government.
2. Drugs
Drug Trafficking
 10 Billion dollar industry
 Divisions among rival drug cartels leads to
violence in areas that overlap.
 47,515 had died in drug war violence between Dec. 1, 2006, and
Sept. 11
 Use of terrorism to maintain control
 Beheadings, car bombs, kidnappings
 Government Corruption
 Those who oppose are threatened or assassinated
Drug Trafficking – Why Mexico?
 Weak local and State governments
 Increased international success combating drug
smuggling in Colombia and the Caribbean
 Increased drug consumption in Mexico
 Ease of buying guns in the U.S and transporting
them to Mexico.
3. Manufacturing
NAFTA
 North American Free Trade Agreement
 (NAFTA) 1993/1994
 This lifted tariffs and trade blocks
between the U.S, Canada, and
Mexico.
Maquiladoras
 Assemble products almost exclusively
for U.S.
 Spurred economic growth along U.S.
border
 Employ 1,000,000+
 Changed appearance of northern cities
Tourism
Geography of Mexico
Regions of Mexico
 Heartland Region
 Gulf Coastal Plain
 Yucatán Peninsula
 Northern Pacific Coast
 Southern Pacific Coast
Northern Pacific
Coast
Gulf Coastal Plain
Heartland
Region
Yucatán Peninsula
Southern Pacific Coast
Northern Pacific Coast
 Baja California
 Peninsula
 Tijuana
 Illegal Immigration
 Maquilladoras
Southern Pacific Coast
 Sierra Madre del Sur
 Tourism
 Acapulco
 Puerto Vallarta
Acapulco
Gulf Coastal Plain
 Fossil fuels
 Natural gas
 Oil
 On Gulf Coastal Plain
 Under Gulf of Mexico
 Hurricane Zone
Yucatán Peninsula
 Limestone bedrock
 Porous
 Creates caverns
 sinkholes
 Mayans
 Their civilization spread
here
 Tourism
 Cancún
Heartland Region
 Plateau
 An area of high, flat land
 Densely populated area
 Mexico City
U.S vs. Mexico