Pre-Columbian Mexico traces its origins to 8,000 BC and is identified as one of six cradles of civilization; it was home to many advanced Mesoamerican civilizations, most notably the Maya and the Aztecs. In 1521, the Spanish Empireconquered and colonized the region from its base in Mexico City, establishing the colony of New Spain. The Catholic Church played an important role in spreading Christianity and the Spanish language, while also preserving some indigenous cultures. Native populations were heavily exploited to mine rich deposits of precious metals, which contributed to Spain's status as a major world power for the next three centuries. Over time, a distinct Mexican identity formed, based on a fusion of indigenous and Europeans customs; this contributed to the successful Mexican War of Independence against Spain in 1821. (Full article...)
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Approximate location of the Republic of Fredonia
The Fredonian Rebellion (December 21, 1826 – January 23, 1827) was the first attempt by Anglo settlers in Texas to secede from Mexico. The settlers, led by EmpresarioHaden Edwards, declared independence from Mexican Texas and created the Republic of Fredonia near Nacogdoches. The short-lived republic encompassed the land the Mexican government had granted to Edwards in 1825 and included areas that had been previously settled. Edwards's actions soon alienated the established residents, and the increasing hostilities between them and settlers recruited by Edwards led Victor Blanco of the Mexican government to revoke Edwards's contract.
In late December 1826, a group of Edwards's supporters took control of the region by arresting and removing from office several municipality officials affiliated with the established residents. Supporters declared their independence from Mexico. Although the nearby Cherokee tribe initially signed a treaty to support the new republic because a prior agreement with the Mexican government negotiated by Chief Richard Fields was ignored, overtures from Mexican authorities and respected Empresario Stephen F. Austin convinced tribal leaders to repudiate the rebellion. On January 31, 1827, a force of over 100 Mexican soldiers and 275 Texian Militia marched into Nacogdoches to restore order. Haden Edwards and his brother Benjamin Edwards fled to the United States. Chief Richard Fields was killed by his own tribe. A local merchant was arrested and sentenced to death but later paroled. (Full article...)
Mexico has qualified to sixteen World Cups and has qualified consecutively since 1994, making it one of six countries to do so. The Mexico national team, along with Brazil are the only two nations to make it out of the group stage over the last seven World Cups. Mexico played France in the first match of the first World Cup on 13 July 1930. Mexico's best progression in World Cups has been reaching the quarter-finals in both the 1970 and 1986 World Cups, both of which were staged on Mexican soil. (Full article...)
On 1 May 2015, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) carried out a series of attacks in Jalisco, Mexico, and four adjacent states to prevent the capture of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (alias "El Mencho"), their suspected leader. The operation began early that morning in Villa Purificación, where four Mexican Air Force and Federal Police (PF) helicopters spotted a CJNG convoy protecting El Mencho. As one of the helicopters flew over the convoy, the CJNG members shot it down using rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers. Nine law enforcement officers died as a result of the attack, and multiple others were wounded. This was the first incident in the Mexican Drug War in which organized crime groups shot down an aircraft.
As the government extended its crackdown on the CJNG, it issued its highest security alert level and coordinated municipal, state, and federal security forces. The CJNG responded to the offensive by hijacking 39 buses, trucks, and cars throughout western Mexico, setting them on fire, and using them to block roads and highways in multiple locations. They also burned several gas stations, banks, and businesses. Most of the attacks took place in Guadalajara, Jalisco's capital and the second-largest urban area in Mexico. According to the government, the scale and level of coordination by the CJNG in this attack had not been displayed by other crime groups in Mexico. (Full article...)
Born into an extremely wealthy family in the northern state of Coahuila, Madero was an unusual politician, who until he ran for president in the 1910 elections, had never held office. In his 1908 book entitled The Presidential Succession in 1910, Madero called on voters to prevent the sixth reelection of Porfirio Díaz, which Madero considered anti-democratic. His vision would lay the foundation for a democratic, twentieth-century Mexico, but without polarizing the social classes. To that effect, he bankrolled the opposition Anti-Reelectionist Party and urged voters to oust Díaz in the 1910 election. Madero's candidacy against Díaz garnered widespread support in Mexico. He was possessed of independent financial means, ideological determination, and the bravery to oppose Díaz when it was dangerous to do so. Díaz had Madero arrested before the elections, which were then seen as fraudulent. Madero escaped from prison and issued the Plan of San Luis Potosí from the United States. For the first time, he called for an armed uprising against the illegitimately elected Díaz, and outlined a program of reform. The armed phase of the Mexican Revolution dates to his plan. (Full article...)
Beer in Mexico has a long history. While Mesoamerican cultures knew of fermented alcoholic beverages, including a corn beer, long before the Spanish conquest, European style beer brewed with barley was introduced with the Spanish soon after Hernán Cortés’s arrival. Production of this beer here was limited during the colonial period due to the lack of materials and severe restrictions and taxes placed on the product by Spanish authorities. After the Mexican War of Independence, these restrictions disappeared, and the industry was permitted to develop. Furthermore, the arrival of German immigrants and the short-lived empire of Austrian Maximilian I in the 19th century provided the impetus for the opening of many breweries in various parts of the country. By 1918, there were 36 brewing companies, but over the 20th century, the industry consolidated until today, only two corporations, Grupo Modelo (now owned by AB InBev) and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma formerly known as FEMSA Cerveza (now owned by Heineken) control 90% of the Mexican beer market. This industry is one of the most prevalent in the country, with over 63% of the population buying one brand or another. Beer is also a major export for the country, with most going to the United States, but is available in over 150 countries worldwide. (Full article...)
The following are images from various Mexico-related articles on Wikipedia.
Logo of the Partido Nacional Revolucionario, with the colors of the Mexican flag
President Obregón. Note that he lost his right arm in the Battle of Celaya (1915), earning him the nickname of Manco de Celaya ("the one-armed man of Celaya").
Battle of Ixmiquilpan occurred on September 25, 1866. between 350 soldiers of the Belgian Legion and Juarista forces, ending the battle with the victory of the latter.
The dahlia was declared the national flower of Mexico in 1963.
Guardiola Square (1855)
Shield Jaguar and Lady Xoc, Maya, lintel 24 of temple 23, Yaxchilan, Mexico, ca. 725 ce. Limestone, 3'7" × 2' 6.5". British Museum, London. The Maya built vast complexes of temples, palaces, and plazas and decorated many with painted reliefs.
Three world leaders: (background, left to right) Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, observe the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Commenced in San Antonio, Texas on December 17, 1992.
A pilot standing in front of his P-47D with a maintenance crew after a combat mission
A 20th-century mural by Diego Rivera depicting Spaniards' exploitation of indigenous labor
Porfirio Díaz
Rebel soldiers moving by rail during the Mexican Revolution.
1890 perhaps the streets of no other city present so diversified a picture as those of the city of Mexico. Every variety of costume, civil and religious, Indian and European, of the city and country, is intermingled in the crowd.
Moctezuma Xocoyotzin was the ninth tlatoani or ruler of Tenochtitlan, reigning from 1502 to 1520. The first contact between indigenous civilizations of Mesoamerica and Europeans took place during his reign, and he was killed during the initial stages of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, when Conquistador Hernán Cortés and his men fought to escape from the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan.
Flag and coat of arms of the Mexican Empire superimposed a map of its territorial limits. Note the crown on the eagle.
Detail of a relief from Palenque, a Classic-era city. Maya script is the only known complete writing system of the pre-Columbian Americas and enabled the beginning of recorded history.
The identities of the Olmec colossal are uncertain, but their individualized features and distinctive headgear, as well as later Maya practice, suggest that these heads portray rulers rather than deities.
Since the 16th century, the poinsettia, a native plant from Mexico, has been associated with Christmas carrying the Christian symbolism of the Star of Bethlehem; in that country it is known in Spanish as the Flower of the Holy Night.
Goddess, mural painting from the Tetitla apartment complex at Teotihuacan, Mexico, 650–750 CE. Pigments over clay and plaster. Elaborate mural paintings adorned Teotihuacan's elite residential compound. This example may depict the city's principal deity, a goddess wearing a jade mask and a large feathered headdress.
In the San Juanico Disaster, six of these spherical type liquid petroleum gas (LPG) containers exploded into huge fireballs killing 500–600 people and causing severe burns in 5000–7000 others.
Teotihuacan view of the Avenue of the Dead and the Pyramid of the Sun, from the Pyramid of the Moon. At its peak around 600 CE, Teotihuacan was the sixth-largest city in the world. It featured a rational grid plan and a two-mile-long main avenue. Its monumental pyramids echo the shapes of surrounding mountains.
Colossal atlantids, pyramid B, Toltec, Tula, Mexico, ca. 900–1180 CE. Stone, each 16' high. The colossal statue-columns of Tula portraying warriors armed with darts and spear-throwers reflect the military regime of the Toltecs, whose arrival in central Mexico coincided with the decline of the Maya.
A map of Mexico 1845 after Texas annexation by U.S.
President Vicente Fox with Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh.
Plutarco Elías Calles, president of Mexico 1924–28, and power behind the presidency during the Maximato when he did not hold formal power
The Castillo, Chichen Itza, Mexico, ca. 800–900 CE. A temple to Kukulkan sits atop this pyramid with a total of 365 stars on its four sides. At the spring and fall equinoxes, the sun casts a shadow in the shape of a serpent along the northern staircase.
Chacmool, Maya, from the Platform of the Eagles, Chichen Itza, Mexico, ca. 800–90 CE. Stone, 4' 10.5" high. National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico city. Chacmools represent fallen warriors reclining on their backs with receptacles on their chests to receive sacrificial offerings. Excavators discovered one in the burial chamber inside the Castilloyo
Mexico portal 1 Jews and Romani originate in the Middle East and South Asia respectively, with most arriving to Mexico via Europe · 2 Primarily arrived via Canada · 3 Originated in what is now the United States
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