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 1^st 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 10^th 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: