Mexican History and Systems of Empire

Word of the Day: Hacienda

A Hacienda is a large estate owned by a Spanish Owner.

These lands arose with the seizure of Native land by

Spanish Conquistadors

Goal: Take what was left of Indian lands and put it in the

hands of Spanish landowners.

Indians were paid very small wages to work on the

Hacienda – which was always owned by a Spaniard.

The Problem for Indians

Spanish landowners bought or stole almost all the land in Mexico (link to today)

Indians were rounded up into small areas so they could be “Christianized.” But the real motive was often to take their land.

Indians that needed money (wedding, funeral, bad crop, etc.) borrowed from Spanish landowners…but now were in debt for the rest of their lives….Trapped.

Word of the Day #2:

La Casta

A System of racial identification that created a class

structure within Mexico. Your skin color upon birth

determined which caste you belonged to. This could not

change.

Las Castas

Peninsular: (Blancos) European Born Spaniards Living

in Mexico.

Creole: Mexican-Born Spaniards who were considered

white.

Mestizos: Mixed blood European-Mexicans.

Indios: Decedents of the Native populations of Mexico.

Negros: African Slaves (10%) and their decedents.

El Grito de Dolores

“The Cry of Dolores”: September 16, 1810

Father Miguel Hidalgo, a creole priest, called for

Independence.

EL Grito de Dolores

Discussion Questions

What was the largest challenge facing non European

Mexicans during colonialism?

What lasting impact have these problems had on Mexico?

Can the current problems in Mexico be tied to the

systems of empire? Why or why not? Explain your

thinking.

The Spanish Empire

Conservative

Conservative

Someone who wants the political, social & economic systems of their country to either A) remain the way they are OR B) return to how they were at an earlier time.

In Mexico in the 19th century (1800s), conservatives were mainly wealthy landowners, Creoles, who wanted a political system that would preserve their wealth & privilege.

Conservatives generally did NOT want to share land in Mexico with mestizo or indigenous Mexicans.

Liberal

Someone who wants the political, social & economic systems of their country to change.

In Mexico in the 19th century (1800s), liberals were mainly educated, middle class professionals like teachers, & lawyers who lived in cities or urban areas.

Liberals generally wanted to distribute the ownership of land more broadly & to change the political & economic systems of Mexico to give every Mexican more political rights & power rather than the systems being dominated by an elite few.

Conservative and Liberal

Antonio Lopez Santa Ana Bentio Juarez

After Independence

Iturbide becomes Dictator and signs the Plan of Iguala

Roman Catholic Church as the State Religion

Creoles get the same rights as Spaniards

Constitutional Monarchy with a European Ruler

Iturbide Assassinated

Revolving Door of Governments: 50 different

governments in 30 years.

The War of

North American Intervention

Santa Ana was President of 11 different Governments

Kept Central Government Weak and Taxes Low

United States saw opportunity and expanded into

Mexico’s Territory North of the Rio Grande (Arizona,

Texas, New Mexico)

Loss of Land and Pride

Rise of the Liberals:

Juarez as President Benito Juarez: Mestizo Lawyer who rose to power from

nothing.

Wrote the Constitution of 1857

Limited the Power of the Catholic Church

Other Notable Decisions

Reorganized the Education System

Broke up Tribal Lands into Individually Owned LandsDidn’t Work because Rich landowners bought them instead.

Died in 1872 of a heart attack

Diaz’s Rule

Porfirio Diaz was elected President following Juarez’s

death and stayed in power for over 30 years. During his

rule…

The Rich continued to buy land…

30 families owned half of Mexico by 1900 More Poverty

Mexico engaged in foreign trade More Foreigners

Oil and Coal were discovered Controlled by Foreigners