Brief description
Mexico is situated in North America. Its area is 1972550 sq
kilometers.Its population is 110.6 million and capital is Mexico city
officially it is called the United Mexican states .It gained
independence in 1821.It`s currency name is peso.
Brief history:
Early settlement and pre-Columbian civilizations Nomadic Paleo-Indian
societies are widely believed to have migrated from North America into
Mexico as early as soon 20000B.C . Mexico’s first known society is
olmecs who settled on the Gulf coast near what is now Veracruz. They had
two main population centrer: san Lorenzo,which flourished from about
1200 to 900 B.C and La venta in Tabasco,which lasted until about 600B.C.
Olmec civilization is known as Mexico’s mother culture.Its best known
artifacts are the awesome ‘olmec heads’ stone sculptures up to 3m high
with grim ,pug nosed faces and wearing curious helmets. Teotihuacan ,the
largest pre-Columbian city in the Americas , was constructed near
present day Mexico city in the 1st century. It was a basis for
famous pyramids of the sun and moon as well as avenues, places and
temples that were added during the next 60 years.
The Mayans thrieved between approximately 250 and 900 AD. They
developed a calendar and writing system and built cities that functioned
as hubs for the surrounding forming towns. The Toltec people appeared
in central Mexico around near 10th century and built the city of Tula. Some have speculated that the Toltecs performed human sacrifies to tappease the gods.
The Aztecs, the last of pre-Columbian Mexico’s great native
civilizations ,rose to prominence in the central valley of Mexico around
1427 by partnering with the Toltecs and mayans .this was an empire of
38 provinces and about 5 million people . They ruled people via a
tightly structured system of self supporting units called calpulli. In
1521 , spainard Hernan cortes and his followers attacked and conquered
the Aztecs .Then he colonized the area and named it Nueva Espana (New
Spain). Cortes has enslave most of the indigenous population
.Indigenous slavery was obolished in the 1550s, but partly replaced by
black slavery. Colonial society was stratified by race and wealth into
three main groups: whites (European and American born) , castas
(mestizos), and native peoples, each had specific rights and privileges
and obligations in colonial society. Social stratification follows
similar potlerns in Mexico today with , the ‘pure blood’ descendants of
Spaniards at the top of the tree, the Metizos in the middle and the
indigenous people at the bottom. After 11 year war ,Mexico gained
independence from spain in 1821. A year later an new constitution was
drew up that established a federal Mexican republic composed of 19
states and four cities . From 1823 to 1836 , santa Anna served as
president .In 1855 , he was defeated by American forces during the
Mexican –American war . Following Mexico’s occupation by the Franch
(1861-66) ,parfirio Diaz served as president from 1876 to 1909 . Diaz
was a dictator .As a result , the Mexican revolution in 1910 . The 10
year civil war resulted in at least 2 million casualties. From 1920 to
2000 , Mexico was ruled by one party namely partidu Revolucionario
Institutional (PRI) . Land ownership was addressed by the redistribution
of more than 400000 sq km from large estates to peasants and small
farmers between the 1920 s and 1960 s through the system namely Ejidos
(communal landholdings) . The system benefited both the citizens and the
economy.
Mexico’s population has greatly increased since WWII .In recent years
, the building of foreign owned factories and plants in some Mexico’s
rural areas has helped draw the population away from the Mexico city .At
the other end of the economic spectrum ,Mexico developed a worrying
dependence on its oil reserves in the Guilf ob Mexico. The North
American free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)of 1994 increased Mexico’s
financial ties to the US and Canada , but Mexico’s economy reunions
fragile.
In 2000, the country’s first ever peaceful change of regine was help
where Vincente Fox of the business oriented portido Accion Nacional
(PAN) won the predidential election .
Today ,tourism is a major contributor to the Mexican economy .
Tourists come to enjoy the country’s cultural diversity,bask in the lush
tropical settings , take advantage of relatively low price and world
famous resorts in Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta ,
Ixtapa-zihuatanejo,Mazatlan. It has managed to significantly reduce its
reliance on oil for both government tax revenue and exports by
developing other industries .Mexican economy with its growing industrial
base , abundant natural resources and variety of service industries
remains important to Latin America.
Mexico at a glance:
Population:
Total population is 118,395,054 (Est, 21013)
Currency:
The name of the currency of Mexico is Peso (MXN)
Language:
National language is Spanish
Capital City: Mexico City
Largest City: Mexico City
Demonym : Mexican
Anthem: " Himno National Mexicano"
Government : Federal Presidential Constitutional Republic
International Calling Code : +52
Time Zone:
(UTC -8 to -6)
Summer(DST) - (UTC -7to -5)
