Download The-People-of-Mexico

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The Mexican flag has three vertical stripes in green, red and white.
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Each colour of the flag has a
special meaning. Green is for
independence; white is for religion
and red stands for unity. The
centre of the flag is Mexico’s coat
of arms. It shows an eagle,
perched on a prickly pear cactus,
holding a snake in its beak.
According to legend, the Aztecs
built their capital, Tenochtitlάn, on
the spot where they saw the eagle
eating the snake.
Mexico City now stands on the site of Tenochtitlάn. The flag was adopted in
1821, when Mexico gained its independence from Spain.
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Over 100 million people live in Mexico and the population
is growing all the time. About three-quarters of the
people live in towns and cities and only a quarter in the
countryside.
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The red and pink
spots on this map
show you where most
people live. The
numbers show you
where the Mexican
cities are. There
are far more red and
pink spots around
the city areas!
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Most Mexicans are descended from Spanish ancestors and the
ancient civilisations of Mexico. In the 16th Century, the Spanish
conquistadors (conquerors) arrived and settled in Mexico but before
this, civilisations such as the Olmecs, the Maya, the Toltecs and the
Aztecs had grown and developed.
This has provided Mexico with a fascinating population, rich in a
mixture of cultures and traditions.
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The Olmecs
It is the Olmecs we must thank for the discovery of
cacao - the bean from which cocoa, cocoa butter and
chocolate are made!
The Olmecs were the
first of the great
Mexican civilisations
(1200-400 BC). They are
famous for the huge
stone heads the carved
out of basalt.
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The Maya
The Maya civilisation of southern Mexico lasted from 500
BC-AD 1450. The Mayans were skilled astronomers and
mathematicians. It was they who devised an accurate 365
day solar calendar made up of 18 months of 20 day each
and five days spare. The Mayans also had a complicated
system of picture writing.
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Here are just a few of the symbols
used by the Mayans but there were
probably about 500 in total!
The Mayans were probably the first
ever chocoholics! They wrote about
cacao as being “the food of gods”. They
even created a special recipe for cacao
so that they could snack on it at all
times. Cacao would be mixed with
cornmeal and packed into small slabs.
This snack was particularly popular with
Mayan warriors who would carry it with
them when they went to war. It was
thought to be very good for you and was
often used as a medicine!
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The Toltecs
The Toltec civilisation flourished between 950 –
1200 AD. They worshipped a number of gods but
their main god was Quetzalcoatl. He was the god
of nature, air and earth and was symbolised by a
serpent with quetzal bird feathers.
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Emperors and
people of high
rank were also
allowed to wear
feather
headdresses as
status symbols.
Quetzals still
live in the jungles
of Central
America but are
very rare.
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The Aztec Empire
The Aztecs were originally a wandering tribe from
northern Mexico and were one of the last great
Native American civilizations. They established a
huge capital city (Tenochtitlάn) on the site of
modern day Mexico City. The Aztecs often
referred to themselves as Mehika, Meshika or
Mexica, the origin of the word Mexico.
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This is a picture how the ancient Aztec city of
Tenochtitlάn may have looked.
The Aztecs were skilled
cultivators of land and
introduced irrigation. They
were able to drain swamps and
even created artificial islands
and lakes. They built famous
pyramids and temples and also
developed a form of
hieroglyphic writing.
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The Arrival of the Spanish
In the early part of the 16th Century, the Spanish discovered Mexico. The
Spanish conquistadors were looking for lands to conquer, gold to claim and
people to convert to the Catholic religion. When they arrived in the Aztec
city of Tenochtitlάn, they were amazed by what they found. The city was a
clean and sophisticated place with eating houses and all kinds of shops.
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In 1519, the Spanish
conquistador, Hernando Cortéz
and his men entered the Aztec
city and met the Aztec leader,
Moctezuma.
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Normally, the Spanish invaders would have been captured and killed by the
Aztecs in the same way that other invaders were. Luckily, for the Spanish,
they were welcomed into the city as valued guests because Moctezuma
mistakenly believed Hernando Cortés to be the god Quetzalcoatl. The Aztec
Emperor lavished Cortés with wonderful guests but…
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…in return, the Spanish
conquistadors took him
prisoner. Using their horses
and cannon, it was not long
before the Spanish had
destroyed the great Aztec
Empire.
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Under Spanish Rule
After the Spanish conquest, King Charles I of Spain allowed the Native
Americans to keep their own languages and some of their own rules. They
were also made to pay a tax called a “tribute”. Many of the Spanish
conquistadors were very cruel and killed any Native Americans who resisted
them.
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The Fight for Independence
The Spanish controlled Mexico for over 300 years but the
people of Mexico were not at all happy with the Spanish rule.
In the early hours of September 16th, 1810, a man called
Miguel Hidalgoy Costilla called upon all Mexicans to rebel and
fight for control of their own country.
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Miguel won a lot of support, but sadly, it
was not long before he was captured
and killed by the Spanish troops.
However, the speech that he made on
the 16th September, 1810 was so
powerful that it is still repeated by the
Mexican president every year on
independence day. In spite of this
setback, the Mexican people did not
give up their fight and in 1820 Mexico
finally gained its independence from
Spain.
Mexico celebrates its independence every
September 16 with parades, festivals, feasts,
parties and more.
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The Mexican currency is called the peso. One peso is divided into 100
centavos.
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The official language of
Mexico is Spanish. Mexican
Spanish is almost the same
as the Spanish spoken in
Spain, except that it has
some Native American words
mixed in with it. These
words come from the
Nάhuatl language. Other
languages spoken in Mexico
include Mixtec, Maya and
Zapotec. These date from
the days before the Spanish
conquest of Mexico in the
16th Century.
Almost everyone in Mexico
speaks and understands
Spanish though.
Here are just a few Spanish words and phrases!
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Adios!
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