War for Independence The war of independence is thought to have been a war of revolution. It is not, it is the breaking of colonial rule. It was based on politics and a separation of powers. In my paper I will go from the start of a rising discontentment amongst the indigenous population and how those above them exploit the failures for their own gain in a system where they have always been favored more over. Once New Spain settled in its new territory, their system began to create its inner cores. New Spain from now on would be under direction of the mother country Spain. Its colonial system would be entrenched in the new colony and therefore, its economy would strive to gain profit to make Spain richer and stronger. Their economy was based on agriculture, ranching, mining, industry, and commerce. For the most labor that would go into doing these jobs would be the indigenous peoples, or “Indians”. While in some cases many were paid decent wages, most were treated unfairly or poorly and would be worked for many long hard hours. In mines, the “Indians” would suffer greatly dust and fumes inhaled in the damp, dark shafts of the mines. Countless died from having worked there. The ranching industry in the north would gain most of its production of cultivation to large amounts of livestock through labor from the “Indians”. Haciendas , with again the labor of “Indians”, would provide throughout New Spain agricultural needs such as, fruits, vegetables, and grains introduced by the Spaniards. “Without slaves and forced labor, who was to carry out the necessary takes of labor?” The answer would be the “Indians” who would go on to build New Spain’s lower aspect of the economy. Soon enough it wasn’t long for many other resisting “Indians” to give in to their new occupant’s demands for labor and start to work for them. It wasn’t long till some “Indians” found refuge. In earlier years of conquest the colonial church was still intact by the time the country was now New Spain. The church organization had by then created two distinct branches- secular and regular clergy. This would then spread around the word of Christianity to save souls. By assimilating this spread to the population of “Indians” they would then get acculturated into thinking their way of living was evil and to abandon their beliefs and to always “praise the lord”. Through t... ... middle of paper ... ... soon caught by officials of Mexico City. Hidalgo was executed for his actions on July 31 the following year. Criollos would recognize the failed effort into what Hidalgo had put into the independence. It wasn’t soon till congress formally declared independence and issued several series of principles that should be incorporated into a new constitution such as; slavery and all caste systems should be abolished and all judicial torture should be abolished as well. The independence hadn’t yet been fully established until the Plan de Iguala came into effect through Lieutenant Augustin de Iturbide made that happened. Following the wars of Independence the military would be very much involved in the political processes of government. More civil wars and national wars would come out of Mexico in the years following their break from Spain. The Mexican identity myth would arise from a social contentment that that’s what the “people” or “Indians” would like to be referred to by once New Spain found its country’s name, Mexico. Nothing changed once the country became independent in terms of social status. Still the “Indians” and Mestizos remained at the bottom.
"After Mexico gained it's independence from Spain in 1821, it faced internal power struggles that left it in a volatile state of rebellion and instability for years." In 1846, the Mexican government, under the dictator Santa Anna, went to war with the United States. As an outcome of that war, Mexico lost a large amount of land--the land we now know as Texas. In 1854, Juan Alvarez and his troops led a successful revolt to drive Santa Anna out of power. One of Alvarez's strongest supporters was a man by the name of Benito Juarez, a Zapotec Indian leader. In 1855, Juarez became the minister of Justice under the new regime and issued two new controversial laws. One denied the right of the church and military courts to try civilian cases and the other made the sale and distribution of church lands legal. Many people disagreed with these laws and for three years a civil war raged between the two sides. In 1861 Juarez took control of the capital, Mexico City, and put his new Constitution into effect. Not only had Juarez's laws split the country, they had caused the civil war that left Juarez in debt to Spain, England, and France. The three countries were concerned about the debt, so they held a meeting in London, at which Spain and Britain decided to waive the debt in exchange for military control of the Custom House in Vera Cruz. France did not agree to these terms and invaded Mexico in 1861 in hopes of defeating the country and disposing of Juarez. The French troops--deemed among the best trained and equipped in the world--marched into the city of Puebla on May 5, 1862, expecting no resistance. The French army consisted of 6,000 men under the command of Marshal Lorencz. The French were met by an armed force of 2,000 peasants under the command of General Ignacio Zaragoza. The Mexican guerilla forces successfully defended their positions and attacked and drove back the French forces. Victory, however, was short lived. Within a year, France had successfully conquered Puebla and the rest of Mexico, and went on ruling there until 1867 when Juarez was once again restored to power. He ruled the country until his death in 1872. Cinco de Mayo, therefore, does not celebrate Mexico's independence, rather it symbolizes "the right of the people to self determination and national sovereignty, and the ability of non-Europeans to defend those rights against modern military organizations.
Was the United States Justified in Going to War with Mexico? The Mexican War, or the "U.S. Invasion" (according to the Mexicans) started on April 24, 1826. Many Americans and Mexicans died fighting in the Mexican War. This war was nothing compared to the Civil War just 15 years later but it was heart breaking for everyone at that time. At the end of the war half of the country of Mexico was taken by the United States as a war prize. So, was the United States justified in going to war with Mexico? I think the U.S. was unjustified to go to war with Mexico because, the United states provokes the war and starts the war, the only reason they had the Mexican war was to gain land and lastly Texas was stolen from Mexico by southern slave owners.
the land and yet it had such a weak economy and could use the money
...a significant event for the men and women of Mexico, comprising a large portion of their lives. Many joined the fight in search for a better life, others wanted revenge, and some were running from the law. Together they formed disorganized and unfocused militias where many lost their lives. During the revolution hundreds were forced to leave their homes and belongings in search for a safer place. Families were torn and separated for years at a time, and women were left to support their houses and children. Eventually, the rebels begun to act like the Federalists, by looting, drinking, and at times killing their own men over money related brawls. The men became accustomed to the violent lifestyle, and although they did not know why, they continued to fight without an end in sight.
Mexico declared its independence from Spain in Sept, 16, 1810, and for the next 100 years what followed was a period of political instability of rule under monarchies, federal republics and dictatorships. Finally in 1910, a revolt on the autocracy under Porfirio Diaz led to the start of the M...
The Mexican-American War was not a major turning point in the debate over slavery, it merely highlighted the growing sectional tensions. These growing tensions had existed long before slavery and would continue to increase in tenacity in the years leading up to the Civil War. Prior to the Mexican-American War, there was already growing sectional differences about how slavery should be handled. There was an effort to keep the balance of free and slave states so neither side would have an edge politically, such as when Missouri would only be admitted as a slave state as long as Maine, a free state would be there to balance it out. After the Civil War when popular sovereignty was put in place to determine whether slavery would be allowed, violence
The Mexican-American War, which lasted from 1846 to 1848, marked a huge turning point for America, signaling the evolution of many ideals, like regional identity, expansion, and slavery, which changed the course of American history. The nation began to rip itself in half after the acquisition of Texas and California. Slavery began to stand at the forefront of American politics and due to America’s gradual expansion, massive tension rippled across the country, testing the strength of America’s government, and the people in it.
The Mexican-American War was fought throughout the years of 1846-1848, playing a significant role in the history of Mexico and the United States. The war was undoubtedly won by the U.S since the they had better educated commanders from West Point, and they used use of better weapons and supplies than those of Mexico. One big result of the war was that the United States would gain 539,000 square miles. Texas would be annexed and the New Mexico territory would ceded by Mexico.
One of the factors that led to the Mexican independence is the socio-political conditions of the native Mexicans after being invaded by Spain. After the fall of Tenochtitlan, and for the three hundred years that followed, indigenous
Author: Unknown. 2019 -. Summary of the Mexican Revolution. [Online] http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/9980/PAPER.HTML,year unknown. Accessed 3/12/99.
To the defense of the Spaniards, there was little knowledge that the diseases of the Columbian exchange had caused the widespread, mass deaths of the natives. Las Casas was pivotal in bringing to light the brutal treatment of the natives. The crown took this information seriously. If it hadn’t been for Las Casas stance on anti-brutality against the natives, change would not have come for a long
Regardless of the decade or the country a person lives in, there seems to be a reckless disregard for the toll a war can take on human lives. When the Alamo was fought back in February 1836, it was about the independence of Texas from Mexico. In retaliation of the death and destruction of human life, Sam Houston retaliated in April and killed 630 Mexican soldiers and took General Santa Anna prisoner (Tindall & Shi, 2010). This was the start of the independence of Texas and the quest for annexation into the United States, which ultimately led to the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. This paper will briefly explain the reasons for the Mexican-American War and will describe the outcome of the war.
Did you know that the United States took half of Mexico’s country as a reward for winning the Mexican War? After Texas won its independence in 1836 it tried to get annexed to the US however Congressmen didn’t want to anger Mexico who still considered Texas a part of their country so they said no both times. Later in 1844, James K. Polk was elected and everything changed and the Manifest Destiny was ruling. Polk didn’t just want to annex texas but also California. Congress voted for Texas and polk sent troops, with John Slidell into the disputed area of southern texas to Mexico City to try to buy California. However the attempt to buy a huge part of their country angered Mexican government. Polk felt that America’ honor was challenged so when
The Mexican-American war determined the destiny of the United States of America, it determined whether or not it would become a world power and it established the size of the United States of America. Perhaps the war was inevitable due to the idea of Manifest Destiny - Americans thought they had the divine right to extend their territory. The Mexican-American War started mainly because of the annexation of the Republic of Texas (established in 1836 after breaking away from Mexico). The United States and Mexico still had conflicts on what the borders of Texas was, the United States claimed that the Texas border with Mexico was the Rio Grande, but the Mexicans said that it was the Nueces River, so the land in between were disputed and claimed by both the United States and Mexico.
The first Catholic priests came to South America with the conquistadors and through social and political force superimposed 16th century Catholicism upon conquered peoples and in subsequent generations upon slaves arriving in the New World. Catholicism has, likewise, frequently absorbed, rather than confronted, popular folk religious beliefs. The resulting religion is often overtly Catholic but covertly pagan. Behind the Catholic facade, the foundations and building structure reflect varying folk religious traditions. (2)