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Mexico is the 11th most populous country
in the world with 121 million people.

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Mexico is among the world's 
15 largest economies

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and is the second economy
in Latin America.

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Welcome to our animated show of history.

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This episode presents
a brief history of Mexico.

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The earliest human artifacts in Mexico
are chips of stone tools

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found near campfire remains
in the valley of Mexico,

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10,000 years ago.

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Mexico is the site of the domestication
of maize, tomato, and beans

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which produced an agricultural surplus.

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This enabled the transition from
Paleo-Indian hunter gatherers

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to sedentary agricultural villages

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beginning around 5,000 B.C.

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In the formative era, villages became
more dense in terms of population

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and developing into chiefdoms.

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The earliest complex civilization in
Mexico was the Olmec culture

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which flourished on the Gulf Coast
from around 1500 BC.

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Olmec cultural traits 
diffused through Mexico

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into their formative era cultures

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in Chiapas, Oaxaca,
and the valley of Mexico.

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In the subsequent preclassical period

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the Maya and Zapotec civilizations

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developed complex centers
at Calakmul and Monte Albán respectively.

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During this period the first true
Mesoamerican writing systems

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were developed in the EPI-Olmec
and the Zapotec cultures.

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In Central Mexico, 
the height of the classic period

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saw the ascendancy of Teotihuacán

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which formed a military
and commercial empire

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whose influence stretched South
into the Mayan area as well as North.

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After the collapse
of Teotihuacan in 600 AD,

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competition ensued between several
important political centers

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in central Mexico,
such as Xochicalco and Cholula.

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During the early post classic period

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central Mexico was dominated
by the Toltec culture.

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Oaxaca by the Mixtec 
and the lowland Maya area

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had important centers and 
Chichén Itza and Mayapán.

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The Aztecs, the last of pre-Colombian 
Mexico's great native civilizations

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rose to prominence in the central valley
of Mexico around 1427

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by partnering with the Toltecs and Mayans.

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This triple alliance conquered smaller
cultures to the east and west

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until the Aztec empire spanned Mexico
from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf Coast.

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The Spanish first learned of Mexico

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during the Juan de Grijalva
expedition of 1518.

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The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
began in February 1519

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when Hernan Cortés arrived
at the port of Veracruz.

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After taking control of that city
he moved on to the Aztec capital.

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In his search for gold and other riches,

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Cortés decided to invade 
and conquer the Aztec empire.

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The territory became part 
of the Spanish empire

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under the name of New Spain in 1535.

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Much of the identity, traditions
and architecture of Mexico

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developed during
the 286-year colonial period.

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Cortés then colonized the area
and named it Nueva Espana, New Spain.

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By 1574, Spain controlled
a large portion of the Aztec empire

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and had enslaved most 
of the indigenous population.

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Worse, the diseases brought
into the society by the Spaniards

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devastated the indigenous population
of Nueva Espana,

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killing an estimated 24 million people

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between 1521 and 1605.

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As a result of its trade links with Asia,

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the West of the Americas, 
Africa and Europe

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and the profound effect
of new world silver,

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Central Mexico was one
of the first regions

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to be incorporated
into a globalized economy.

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Being at the crossroads of trade, 
people and cultures,

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Mexico City has been called
the First World City.

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The Catholic church's influence
was felt in the region

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when missionaries began
arriving in 1523.

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The missionaries built many monasteries

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and converted millions of people
to Catholicism.

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Concerned about the Catholic
church's ever-growing power,

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King Carlos III of Spain expelled
the Jesuits from Nueva Espana

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in the late 1700s.

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Inspired by the American and French 
revolutions,

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Mexican insurgence saw
an opportunity, in 1808,

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as the King abdicated
in Madrid in Spain

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and was overwhelmed by war
and occupation.

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The rebellion began as an idealistic
peasants and miners' movement

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led by a local priest, 
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla

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who issued the Cry of Dolores
on the 16th of September 1810.

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The day is celebrated as Independence Day.

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Mexico's short recovery
after the war of independence

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was soon cut short again
by the civil wars

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and institutional instability
of the 1850s

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which lasted until the government 
of Porfirio Diaz reestablished conditions

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that paved the way for economic growth.

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Agustin de Iturbide
became constitutional emperor

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of the first Mexican Empire in 1822.

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A revolt against him established
the United Mexican States.

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Later a Republican Constitution is drafted

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and Guadalupe Victoria became
the first president

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of the newly- born country.

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During this time, people had difficulty 
meeting tax payments

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and resented the central
government's actions

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in collecting customs
due to limited trade.

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The United States' annexation
of the Republic of Texas

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and subsequent 
American military incursion

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into territory that was part
of Coahuila

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instigated the Mexican-American war.

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The war was settled in 1848
via the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

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Mexico was forced to give up
more than one third of its land to the US

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including Alta California, New Mexico
and the territory claimed by Texas.

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In the 1860s, 
Mexico was occupied by France

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which established
the second Mexican Empire

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under the rule of Habsburg
Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria

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with the support
of the Roman Catholic clergy

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and the Conservatives.

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France never made a profit in Mexico

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and its Mexican expedition
grew increasingly unpopular.

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Finally, in the spring of 1865,
after the US Civil War was over,

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the US demanded the withdraw
of French troops from Mexico.

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Porfirio Diaz was elected the 29th
president in the late 19th century

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the period known as the Porfiriato
was characterized

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by economic stability and growth,

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significant foreign
investment and influence.

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The Mexican Revolution began

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when Madero issued 
the Plan of San Luis Potosi

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and declared war on the Diaz regime.

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By 1911, Diaz is forced to step aside

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and Madero was elected president

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but conflict and violence continue
for the better part of the next decade.

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World War II further stimulated
the nation's development

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through the development of roads, 
the building of factories

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and the establishment
of irrigation systems.

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Until the 80s, Mexico
remained a poor country

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but experienced
substantial economic growth

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that some historians 
call The Mexican Miracle.

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In recent years, the Mexican economy

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has had an unprecedented
macroeconomic stability.

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Its economy has integrated
with that of US and also Canada

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after the North American
Free Trade Agreement.

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Thank you for watching.

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