MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE
Learning Target: Student will be able to explain and describe the causes and effects of Mexican Independence. Answer questions in your notebook
COLONIAL MEXICO:
After the fall of the capital city of Tenochtitlan, the remainder of the Aztec Empire quickly collapsed. The Spanish destroyed Tenochtitlan and built Mexico City on its ruins. Motivated by riches and the desire for further exploration, the Spanish spread their rule throughout all of Mexico. Spain established its colony New Spain (Mexico) in 1535, and by the 1670s it had the most riches and was the most populated of any Spanish colony. Mexico (New Spain) was the jewel in the Spanish crown.
- Spain was motivated by ______and ______.
- Spain established New Spain (Mexico) in ______. It was so important to Spain because ______.
How was Mexican Society changed by colonization?
A new society was created in Mexico by the mixing of many different groups of people. European traditions mixed with indigenous practices and traditions of enslaved Africans who were brought to Mexico form Spanish colonies in the Caribbean. This mixture created entirely new styles of music, dances, and cultural and religious practices.
People’s lives also changed. Intermarriages between men and women of different backgrounds created new racial categories. Mestizo became the name for a person whose father was European and mother was a member of an indigenous tribe. Mullatos were a mixture of European and African Ancestry. Above Mestizos and Mullatos wereCriollos, or whites who were born in the colonies. The group with the most privilege, Peninsulares, were whites who had been born in Spain. At the bottom of society, with the least privileges, were Indians (indigenous) and Enslaved Africans.
*Indigenous: Native to an area. In this case, the Indian people who lived in New Spain before the arrival of Europeans.
3. Three ways Mexican society was changed by colonization were______, ______, ______.
4. Draw a pyramid of the social hierarchy in New Spain. Label each level of the pyramid.
How did the Spanish treat Indigenous groups?
The Spanish considered indigenous people legal minors and possessions of the Crown and the Catholic Church. Spanish authorities declared slavery of indigenous peoples illegal in 1542. However, the colony often forced indigenous people to pay a regular fee, usually of money and forced labor.
At the same time, the colonial government protected certain indigenous rights. Most importantly, the government allowed indigenous people to own land. Many times groups were pushed off of traditional lands, but this law allowed them to claim new lands on which to settle.
Spanish control was strongest in the cities, mainly located in central and southern Mexico. In the rural areas, indigenous people remained more independent.
5. The Spanish considered indigenous people ______and ______which meant that ______.
6. A few rights indigenous people had were ______and ______.
What was the economy of New Spain based upon?
According to the Spanish crown, New Spain existed for only one reason: to benefit Spain with money and raw materials. The economy of New Spain was based on trade with Spain, exporting raw materials (cotton/tobacco/silver etc) and importing European manufactured goods from Spain. With only a couple of rivers that could carry ships, transportation in New Spain was expensive and very slow. This meant that only the goods that could be sold for the most money such as Gold, silver, and Cacao, were sent to Spain. The colonial government did not allow new businesses in New Spain to make sure that everyone would have to buy their goods from Spain. The system where the colony sent all of its raw materials to Spain and manufactured goods were shipped back to the colony was called mercantilism.
Indigenous workers and African slaves provided the majority of workers in New Spain. The Spanish used these workers to mine silver form mines in the north. Land owners also put them to work on their haciendas, large pieces of land given to wealthy Spaniards by the Spanish crown. Early transportation in the colony was provided by indigenous people who would physically carry goods AND PEOPLE to points of destination across the country, the forced labor of indigenous peoples also built many of New Spain’s cities and towns, as well as the colony’s finest churches.
8. The economy of New Spain was based on______.
9. Mercantilism is ______.
What was the role of the Catholic Church in New Spain?
The Catholic Church had the most power in colonial Mexico. To a large extent, many Spanish explorers defended taking more land by claiming they were spreading Christianity. The aim of conversion was to totally replace traditional religious beliefs with Catholicism. However, Christianity was rarely accepted completely. Many indigenous groups combined religious practices, adopting parts of Catholicism with their own religions.
Today, almost 90% of Mexicans identity themselves as Catholic. At the same time, many Mexicans still practice indigenous customs. The Catholic Church was also important in the social and economic life of New Spain. The church provided the only education in the colony, which was geared towards white males. Because there were no banks, the church lent money, and thanks to large donations owned huge potions of land throughout New Spain.
10. The role of the Catholic Church was in Spain was ______.
11. The impact it had on New Spain (Mexico) is ______.
MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE PART 2:
Learning Target: Student will be able to explain and describe the causes and effects of Mexican Independence. Answer questions in your notebook
During the colonial period, most of New Spain’s population accepted the rule of the Spanish crown over the colony. Many had never even considered gaining independence from Spain.
How did events in Europe affect colonial desires for independence?
At the beginning of the 19th century, events in Spain changed the thinking of the Criollos. In 1808 France’s Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Spain and put Spain’s KingFedinand VII in jail. The Spanish called together their government to rule in the Kings absence. This new government created a new constitution that called for people to vote. (Something that never would have happened in a Monarchy where the king rules.) The new Government also demanded more money from the colonists in New Spain. This created confusion among colonists, some who wanted to remain loyal to the Spanish King, and some who believed they should follow the new government.
TheCriollo elite in New Spain, loyal to King Ferdinand, were scared that the new constitution and government would threaten their position of power in the new world. They also felt the raise in taxes was too much. In addition to these things, resentment (dislike) of the new government in Spain also added to long existing bad feelings from the Criollos towards thePeninsulares. Although the peninsular population in New Spain was small, they often held more privileges than the Criollos. Talk of Mexican independence began among the Criollosa few years after King Ferdinand was imprisoned by Napoleon.
12. Talk of Mexican independence was started by ______.
13.Criollos felt______towards the Peninsulares because ______.
How was the majority of New Spain’s population involved in the independence movement?
Many of the mestizo and indigenous populations were frustrated by the fact they lived in poverty. At the same time, many were loyal to the Spanish King. They generally directed their anger towards the local government in New Spain. However, some Criollos believed that the great numbers of mestizos could be organized to fight again the Peninuslares and the authority of the new Spanish government in the colony.
Miguel Hidalgo, a Criollo parish priest organized his mestizo and Indigenous followers in the first armed uprising against Spanish rule. On Sept 16, 1810, the date now celebrated as Mexico’s independence day, he called on his follower to retake their land and freedom form the Spanish. He spoke particularly about the land that had been stolen from indigenous communities by the Peninulares, an issue that was incredibly important to most indigenous people. (In fact, most indigenous land had been confiscated by Criollo land owners!)
Hidalgo organized an army of 24 thousand, mostly farmers with large knives called machetes and shovels, and led them to a nearby mining town to attack Peninsulares. Hidalgo had little control over his followers, and the army went on a rampage, killing hundreds. BOTH Peninsulares and Criollos were attacked, as the poor found both groups equally guilty of causing them pain! With no organization, the army eventually wandered off, and Hidalgo was executed by the colonial authorities.
Many Criollos became frightened at the anger expressed by the peasants (mestizos and indigenous). Once they realized how dangerous these great numbers of people were, they stopped trying to gain independence from Spain. However, the fighting continued as small independent groups of mestizos inspired by the uprisings of Hidalgos men, continued to fight for better living conditions. Jose Maria Morelos, a mestizo parish priest who had been one of hidalgo’s officers, continued the rebellion. He organized an army of mostly mestizo and indigenous peasants, which won control of much of southern Mexico. In 1813, he declared Mexico’s independence from Spain. However, before the new government could take effect, the colonial rulers crushed the movement and executed Moreles.
14. Who was Hildago? What did he believe? Why was he not successful?
How did Mexico gain independence from Spain?
In 1814, Spanish fighters forced the French out of Spain and King Ferdinand returned to his throne! The people in power in New Spain expected him to reward them, but Ferdinand was scared of losing complete control in Mexico and sent troops to make sure that he was in charge. Then, in 1820, a rebellion in Spain forced the king to accept the constitution that had been written when he was locked up thanks to Napoleon. Criollos and Peninsulares were worried that the new constitution would cause them to lose some of their power. They came up with a new plan, called the Plan de Iguala, that would make Mexico independent from Spain and ruled by a king with equality between Peninsulares and Criollos with Roman Catholicism as the official religion. After limited fighting, Mexico won its independence with Criollos and Peninsulares still in power.
15. The Criollos and Pennisulares were worried ______so they______.
What happened in Mexico after Independence?
Things did not get better in Mexico after winning independence from Spain. Disease killed as many as 600,000 people during the fighting. Many wealthy Peninsulares left the country after independence, taking their money and skills with them. The silver mines were flooded and machinery was ruined. US and European merchants took over most of Mexico’s trade and collected most of the profits. The country lacked roads, bridges and ports and the new government did not have the money to build more. Unable to collect taxes due to their weak control of the country, Mexico’s leaders had to borrow from foreign countries.
Mexico’s leaders struggled to maintain control after Independence. For the first fifty years of independence, most Mexican leaders were in power for less than a year. For the most part, elite struggles for power had little effect on the lives of the majority of Mexico’s people. Most peasants continued to work for wealthy landowners or on communal land in indigenous communities. The Mexican public had little contact with the ruling elite.
16. List a few effects of Mexican Independence.
17. How could the Pennisulares leaving the country and taking their money with them have effected Mexico?
18. Why were there so many struggles after independence?