15-125 Mexico 2 Spanish Conquest and Rule

For almost 300 years after 1521, Mexico was a colony of Spain and known as La Nueva España or New Spain. It was the crown jewel in Spains holdings in the New World.

Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: After the Spanish conquered the Aztecs in 1521, Mexico grew to include most of present day Central America and the southwestern United States. The colonial period lasted until the revolt of 1810 which was led by a priest, Miguel Hidalgo, known today as the father of Mexicos independence.

Under the Spanish administration, the indigenous population did not fare well. The main political, economic, and military power was held firmly in Spanish hands, and most indigenous people were kept in poverty. Eventually the vast majority of the native population was killed off by European diseases from which it had no immunity such as small pox and measles. It is estimated that the native population shrunk from ten to twelve million at the time of the conquest to approximately one million by the mid-seventeenth century. This meant a terrific labor shortage, which was rectified through the importation of 200,000 or more African slaves. The Spanish capitalized on the colonys natural resources and developed trade based on agricultural products, textiles, and on mining, particularly silver.

One of the most important aspects of the colonial period was the introduction of Roman Catholicism. During colonial times, missionary friars often came into conflict with secular authority and vigorously objected to the treatment of the native population, thus earning the respect of indigenous peoples who in turn were converted to Catholicism. Across colonial Mexico twelve thousand churches were built and today almost ninety percent of Mexicos population is Roman Catholic.

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Education

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• UniversityofRichmond
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[alexrodriguez13277]

Im mexican but I love spain cuz I lm from there

[mrpaulmarquez1]

@GoHardMG my "shit" might just go through, i mean didnt americans kick native americans out of the east? can we not do that? i beleive we can and i beleive its at our best interest to do so.

[GoHardMG]

@mrpaulmarquez1 Im tired of arguing with you non mexican. get the fuck out your dam shit wont go thru your just another simple stupid pawn.

[mrpaulmarquez1]

@GoHardMG actually you got it wrong, "fusilar a los indios" would be MUCH better, we're trying to make the country move forward, waht are idians doing? they're sitting there, uneducately, doing nothing that would help the economy, theyre an obstacle to our advancement

[GoHardMG]

@mrpaulmarquez1 rid mexico out of the contry zapatista aki. a fusilar atodos los racistas.

[mrpaulmarquez1]

@GoHardMG yeah, we'll look for a better future when indians get out of our ways. we need to get rid of them for our country to prosper

[GoHardMG]

@mrpaulmarquez1 universal truth is not measured in mass appeal buddy. No matter how many people agree with you It does not make it truth. Anyways Racism was constructed by the olden societies and the church to dominate the minds of the time to come. Racism was a social lie, to hide the true problem that faced people that of classicism. The spark will begin in which all the mexican people will be out looking for a new better future. Tiera y libertad - Emiliano Zapata

[mrpaulmarquez1]

@GoHardMG well, i'm sorry but not all of us agree with you, i could see the lower classes agreeing but not the rest of us, and yes, i accept that we're racist against indians but its because we can be just like we can be racist to blacks, its the way it is.

[GoHardMG]

@cuzcatlan36 I know this is kinda old but I agree with you. I dont like how you use the word Indian that is ignorance for that come from Columbus times and his failure to see this was a different people and a different continent.

[GoHardMG]

@mrpaulmarquez1 I dont care for like what your race is because im not racist. I just really hate mexicans who show racism to other mexicans example would be how Mexican use the word Indio and it has a meaning like the word nigger to a black man. If you dont like the native people of Mexico please leave we claim independence from spain and expelled the french from our soil. I have spanish ancestry but all my true ancestry resides in Mexico and the indigenous people.