A Brief History of Mexico

by Foster, Lynn V.

• ISBN13: 9780816057214
• ISBN10: 0816057214
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-01
• Publisher: Checkmark Books

Summary

From the rise of the first civilizations of North America and continuing through the cataclysm of the Spanish conquest and the explosive revolution of Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa to the intensely contested presidential election of 2006, Mexico has had a vibrant and dynamic history. A Brief History of Mexico, Updated Edition gives expansive coverage to Mexico's pre-Columbian civilizations as well as contemporary indigenous cultures. This book also brings readers up to date on recent developments in Mexico and helps them understand the deeper significance of these headline-making events, including the 2006 presidential election that resulted in victory for the National Action Party's Felipe Calderon, a weakened Institutional Revolutionary Party, and the Democratic Revolutionary Party candidate's threatening a government in opposition.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	viii
List of Maps	ix
List of Tables	x
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	xiii
1 The First Peoples: Pre-Columbian Mexico	1	(22)
2 Diversity of Mesoamerican Civilization	23	(22)
3 The Age of Conquest	45	(16)
4 The Founding of an Empire: Sixteenth-Century Mexico	61	(20)
5 The Colony of New Spain	81	(20)
6 The Bourbon Reforms and Independence: 1700-1821	101	(16)
7 Years of Chaos: 1823-1876	117	(26)
8 The Porfiriato Dictatorship: 1876-1910	143	(18)
9 The Revolution of 1910: 1910-1940	161	(32)
10 The Institutionalized Revolution: 1940-2000	193	(30)
11 The March Toward Democracy	223	(18)
12 Crossroads: A Democratic Mexico	241	(14)
Appendixes
1 Basic Facts about Mexico	255	(4)
2 Chronology	259	(6)
3 Bibliography	265	(6)
4 Suggested Reading	271	(18)
Index	289

Excerpts

Placing current events in a broad historical context, A Brief History of Mexico, published in 1997, surveyed 30 centuries of enduring civilization. Events in the years since A Brief History of Mexico was written have been so dramatic—Mexico has faced its most profound political and economic changes since the Revolution of 1910—that an updated edition is essential.
Covering all of Mexico's history—from the rise of the first civilization of North America continuing through the cataclysm of the Spanish conquest and the explosive revolution of Zapata and Pancho Villa to the democratic reforms that ended 70 years of PRI-party domination of Mexican politics—A Brief History of Mexico, Revised Edition brings readers up to date on Mexico's history and helps them understand the deeper significance of recent events. While focusing on the latest developments in Mexican history and society, this revised edition also incorporates recent research past events, such as the settling of the Americas and the Tlateloco Massacre of 1968. A new introduction, new appendixes, and new photographs complete this thoroughly updated edition.
Special attention is given to:
The new era of Mexican politics that began when voters enthusiastically elected Vicente Fox president, including the 2003 Congressional electionsThe challenge of revitalizing Mexico's people and resources in this new period of multi-party democracy as well as the effects of the change in government on everything from labor relations and political corruption to television news Indigenous peoples, the environment, and cultureNAFTA and the increasing participation of Mexican Americans in Mexican politics and culture.