Human presence in Mexico dates back to at least 11,500 BC, although dates as old as 28,000 BC have been proposed for less securely dated sites. Mesoamerica, considered a cradle of civilization, was home to numerous advanced societies, including the Olmecs, Maya, Zapotecs, Teotihuacan civilization, and Purépecha. Spanish colonization began in 1521 with an indigenous alliance that defeated the Aztec Empire, establishing the colony of New Spain with its capital at Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City.
New Spain became a major center of the transoceanic economy during the Age of Discovery, fueled by silver mining and its position as a hub between Europe and Asia. This gave rise to one of the largest multiracial populations in the world. The Peninsular War led to the 1810–1821 Mexican War of Independence, which ended Peninsular rule and led to the creation of the First Mexican Empire, which quickly collapsed into the short-lived First Mexican Republic.
In 1848, Mexico lost nearly half its territory in the Mexican–American War. Liberal reforms set in the Constitution of 1857 led to civil war and French intervention, culminating in the establishment of the Second Mexican Empire under Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg, who was overthrown by Republican forces led by Benito Juárez.
The late 19th century saw the long dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, whose modernization policies came at the cost of severe social unrest. The 1910–1920 Mexican Revolution led to the overthrow of Díaz and the adoption of the 1917 Constitution. Mexico experienced rapid industrialization and economic growth in the 1940s–1970s, amidst electoral fraud, the Tlatelolco massacre, and economic crises.
The late 20th century saw a shift towards neoliberalism, marked by the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, amidst unrest in Chiapas.
Mexico is a federal republic with a presidential system of government, characterized by a democratic framework and the separation of powers into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The federal legislature consists of the bicameral Congress of the Union, comprising the Chamber of Deputies, which represents the population, and the Senate, which provides equal representation for each state.
The Constitution establishes three levels of government: the federal Union, the state governments, and the municipal governments. Mexico's federal structure grants autonomy to its 32 states, and its political system is deeply influenced by indigenous traditions and European Enlightenment ideals.
Mexico is a newly industrialized and developing country, with the world's 13th-largest economy by nominal GDP and the 13th-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It ranks first in the Americas and seventh in the world by the number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries, ranking fifth in natural biodiversity.
It is a major tourist destination: as of 2022, it is the sixth most-visited country in the world, with 42.2 million international arrivals. Mexico's large economy and population, global cultural influence, and steady democratization make it a regional and middle power, increasingly identifying as an emerging power. As with much of Latin America, poverty, systemic corruption, and crime remain widespread.
Since 2006, approximately 127,000 deaths have been caused by ongoing conflict between drug trafficking syndicates.
Mexico is a member of United Nations, the G20, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Coffee Club, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), and has an observer status at the Council of Europe.
Etymology
The precise origin of the name is unknown and is heavily debated. Mēxihko is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely the Valley of Mexico and surrounding territories, with its people being known as the Mexica. It is generally believed that the toponym for the valley was the origin of the primary ethnonym for the Aztec Triple Alliance, but it may have been the other way around.
In the colonial era (1521–1821) when Mexico was known as New Spain, this central region became the Intendency of Mexico. After New Spain achieved independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821 and became a sovereign state, the Intendency came to be known as the State of Mexico, with the new country being named after its capital, Mexico City.
The country's official name has changed as the form of government has changed. The declaration of independence signed on 6 November 1813 by the deputies of the Congress of Anáhuac called the territory América Septentrional (Northern America). The 1821 Plan of Iguala also used América Septentrional.
On two occasions (1821–1823 and 1863–1867), the country was known as Imperio Mexicano the Mexican Empire). All three federal constitutions (1824, 1857, and 1917, the current constitution) used the name Estados Unidos Mexicanos—or the variant Estados-Unidos Mexicanos, all of which have been translated as "United Mexican States".
The phrase República Mexicana, "Mexican Republic", was used in the 1836 Constitutional Laws. In the Nahuatl version of the current constitution, the official name is Mexika Sentik Wexteyowalko, and in its Yucatec Maya version, U Múuchꞌ Péetluꞌumiloꞌob México. By virtue of the legal equality of Spanish with the 68 indigenous languages of the country, all have their own translation of the official name.
History
Indigenous civilizations before European contact (pre-1519)
The earliest human artifacts in what is now Mexico are chips of stone tools found in the Valley of Mexico, dated to circa 10,000 years ago. Mexico is the site of the domestication of maize, tomato, and beans, which produced an agricultural surplus. This enabled the transition from paleo-Indian hunter-gatherers to sedentary agricultural villages beginning around 5000 BC.
The formative period of Mesoamerica is one of the six independent cradles of civilization, this era saw the origin of distinct cultural traits such as religious and symbolic traditions, maize cultivation, artistic and architectural complexes as well as a vigesimal (base 20) numeric system that spread from Mexican cultures to the rest of Mesoamerica.
Villages became more densely populated, socially stratified with an artisan class, and developed into chiefdoms. The most powerful rulers had religious and political power, organizing the construction of ceremonial centers.
The earliest complex civilization was the Olmec culture, which flourished on the Gulf Coast from around 1500 BC. Olmec cultural traits diffused through Mexico into other formative-era cultures in Chiapas, Oaxaca, and the Valley of Mexico. In the pre-classical period, the Maya and Zapotec civilizations developed complex centers.
The first true Mesoamerican writing systems were developed in the Epi-Olmec and Zapotec cultures. The Mesoamerican writing tradition reached its height in the Classic Maya Hieroglyphic script, the earliest written histories date from then. The tradition of writing was important after Spanish conquest in 1521, with indigenous scribes learning to write their languages in alphabetic letters, while continuing to create pictorial texts.
In Central Mexico, the height of the classic period saw the ascendancy of Teotihuacán, which formed a military and commercial empire. Teotihuacan, with a population of more than 150,000, had some of the largest pyramidal structures in the pre-Columbian Americas. After the collapse of Teotihuacán around 600 AD, competition ensued between political centers in such as Xochicalco and Cholula.
During the Epi-Classic, Nahua peoples began moving south into Mesoamerica, and became politically and culturally dominant in central Mexico. During 1000–1519 AD, central Mexico was dominated by the Toltec culture, Oaxaca by the Mixtec, and the lowland Maya area had centers at Chichén Itzá and Mayapán. Toward the end of the post-Classic period, the Aztecs established dominance, establishing a political and economic empire based in Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City), extending from central Mexico to Guatemala.
Spanish conquest and colonial era (1519–1821)
Although the Spanish Empire established colonies in the Caribbean in 1493, it first learned of Mexico during the Juan de Grijalva expedition of 1518. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire began in 1519 when Hernán Cortés founded Veracruz. The 1521 capture of Tenochtitlan and posterior founding of Mexico City on its ruins, was the beginning of a 300-year colonial era, during which Mexico was known as Nueva España (New Spain).
Two factors made Mexico a jewel in the Empire: the existence of large, hierarchically organized Mesoamerican populations that rendered tribute and performed obligatory labor, and discovery of silver deposits in north Mexico.
The Kingdom of New Spain was created from the remnants of the Aztec empire. The two pillars of Spanish rule were the State and Church, both under the authority of the Spanish crown. In 1493 the pope granted sweeping powers to the Spanish monarchy for its overseas empire, with the proviso it spread Christianity. In 1524, King Charles I created the Council of the Indies based in Spain to oversee State power in its colonies. The crown established a high court in Mexico City, the Real Audiencia ('royal audience').
In 1535, the crown appointed the first Viceroy of New Spain, the highest official of the State. The Diocese of Mexico, created in 1530, was elevated to the Archdiocese of Mexico in 1546, with an archbishop as its head. Castilian Spanish was the language of the rulers. Catholic faith was the only one permitted, with non-Catholics and Catholics, excluding Indians, holding unorthodox views subject to the Mexican Inquisition.
Spanish military forces, sometimes accompanied by native allies, led expeditions to conquer territory or quell rebellions. Notable Amerindian revolts include the Chichimeca War (1576–1606), the Tepehuán Revolt (1616–20), and Pueblo Revolt (1680). Most rebellions were small-scale, posing no major threat to the elites.
To protect Mexico from the attacks of English, French, and Dutch pirates and the Crown's monopoly of revenue, only two ports were open to foreign trade—Veracruz on the Atlantic, connecting to Spain, and Acapulco on the Pacific, connecting to the Philippines. Pirate attacks included the 1663 Sack of Campeche and 1683 Attack on Veracruz.
Of greater concern to the crown was the issue of invasion, especially after Britain seized Havana and Manila in 1762, during the Seven Years' War. It created a standing military, increased coastal fortifications, and expanded the northern presidios and missions into Alta California. The volatility of the urban poor in Mexico City was evident in the 1692 riot over the price of maize.
It escalated to a full-scale attack on the seats of power, with the viceregal palace and archbishop's residence attacked.
Independence era (1808–1855)
In 1810, secular priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla declared against "bad government" in Dolores, Guanajuato. Known as the Cry of Dolores (Spanish: Grito de Dolores) it is commemorated each year, on 16 September, as Mexico's independence day. The upheaval in the Empire, that resulted in the independence of most of its New World territories, was due to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808.
Hidalgo and some of his soldiers were executed by firing squad in 1811. The first 35 years after Mexico's independence were marked by instability and changing of the Mexican state from a transient monarchy to a fragile federated republic. There were military coups, foreign invasions, ideological conflict between Conservatives and Liberals, and economic stagnation.
Former Royal Army General Agustín de Iturbide became regent, as newly independent Mexico sought a constitutional monarch from Europe. When no member of a European royal house desired the position, Iturbide himself was declared Emperor Agustín I. The US was the first country to recognize Mexico's independence, sending a message to Europe via the Monroe Doctrine not to intervene in Mexico.
The emperor's rule was short (1822–23), he was overthrown by army officers in the Plan of Casa Mata. Central America and Chiapas left the union to form the Federal Republic of Central America.
In 1824, the First Mexican Republic was established. Former insurgent General Guadalupe Victoria became the first president — the first of many generals to hold the presidency. In 1829, former insurgent general and fierce Liberal Vicente Guerrero, a signatory of the Plan of Iguala that achieved independence, became president in a disputed election.
During his term, from April to December 1829, he abolished slavery. His Conservative vice president, former Royalist General Anastasio Bustamante, led a coup against him and Guerrero was judicially murdered.
Mexico's ability to maintain its independence and establish a viable government was in question. Spain attempted to reconquer it during the 1820s, but eventually recognized its independence. France attempted to recoup losses it claimed for its citizens during Mexico's unrest and blockaded the Gulf Coast during the Pastry War of 1838–39.
General Antonio López de Santa Anna emerged as a national hero because of his role in these conflicts; Santa Anna came to dominate politics for the next 25 years, often known as the "Age of Santa Anna", until his overthrow in 1855.
Mexico contended with indigenous groups that controlled the territory that Mexico claimed in the north. For example, the Comanche controlled a huge territory in sparsely populated central and northern Texas. Wanting to stabilize and develop that area — and as few from central Mexico had chosen to resettle to this remote and hostile territory — the Mexican government encouraged Anglo-American immigration into present-day Texas, a region that bordered the US.
Mexico by law was a Catholic country; the Anglo-Americans were primarily Protestant English speakers from the southern US. Some brought their black slaves, which after 1829 was contrary to Mexican law.
In 1835, Santa Anna sought to centralize government rule in Mexico, suspending the 1824 constitution and promulgating the Seven Laws, which placed power in his hands. As a result, civil war spread. Three new governments declared independence: the Republic of Texas, the Republic of the Rio Grande and the Republic of Yucatán.
The largest blow to Mexico was the US invasion in 1846 in the Mexican–American War. Mexico lost much of its northern territory, sealed in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Despite this, Santa Anna returned to the presidency, but was ousted and exiled during the Liberal Revolution of Ayutla.
Liberal era (1855–1911)
The overthrow of Santa Anna, and establishment of a civilian government by liberals, allowed them to enact laws they considered vital for development. La Reforma attempted to modernize the economy and institutions along liberal principles. They promulgated a new Constitution of 1857, separating Church and State, stripping the Church and military of privileges (fueros); mandating the sale of Church-owned property and indigenous community lands, and secularizing education.
Conservatives revolted, touching off the Reform War between Liberal and Conservative governments (1858–61).
The Liberals defeated the Conservative army on the battlefield, but Conservatives sought to gain power via intervention by the French, asking Emperor Napoleon III to place a European monarch as head of state in Mexico. The French Army defeated the Mexicans and placed Maximilian Habsburg on the newly established throne, supported by Mexican Conservatives.
The Liberal Republic under Benito Juárez was a government in internal exile, but with the end of the American Civil War in 1865, the US government began aiding the Mexican Republic. The French Army withdrew its support, but Maximilian remained in Mexico; Republican forces executed him. The "Restored Republic" saw the return of Juárez, "the personification of the embattled republic," as president.
The Conservatives had been defeated militarily and discredited politically, for their collaboration with the French, and liberalism became synonymous with patriotism. The Mexican Army, which originated in the colonial royalist forces and transitioned into the early Republic military, was effectively destroyed following its defeat by Liberal forces in the Reform War and subsequently by the French intervention, enabling the emergence of a new generation of military leaders during the restoration of the Republic.
Notable was Porfirio Díaz, a hero of the Cinco de Mayo, who sought civilian power and challenged Juárez on his re-election in 1867.
Díaz rebelled but was crushed by Juárez. Having won re-election, Juárez died in office in 1872. Liberal Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada became president, declaring a "religion of the state" for the rule of law, peace, and order. When Lerdo ran for re-election, Díaz rebelled against the civilian president, issuing the Plan of Tuxtepec.
Díaz had more support and waged guerrilla war against Lerdo. On the verge of Díaz's victory on the battlefield, Lerdo fled from office into exile.