Mexico Through Murals Connecting History Through Art

Connecting Murals to Mexican History

Diego Rivera: Tenochtitlan Marketplace, 1933

Aztec Society Tenochtitlan established in 1345 by the Aztecs in the middle of Lake Texcoco. Aztecs dredged the lake bottom for mud to build up the city’s foundations. It was connected to the mainland by series of stone bridges. The city had temples, pyramids, palaces, and a huge marketplace. Stone-edged canals carried people through the city. Aztecs had conquered most of southern Mexico by Capital was a tribute to Aztec inventiveness and imperial domination.

Jose Clemente Orozco: Tribute, 1939

Spanish Conquest of the Aztecs 1521 Hernan Cortes was accompanied by small group of soldiers. Aztecs gave little resistance to the Spaniards because of their resemblance to Quetzalcoatl (legendary god-king with fair skin and blue eyes). Reasons Cortes was able to conquer the Aztecs: He found allies among the nations the Aztecs conquered. Smallpox and other diseases killed the native Americans by the thousands. They had technological advances that gave them the edge in battle (horses, metal armor, muskets, and cannons).

Diego Rivera: Colonial Domination, 1933

Spanish Treatment of the Indians The native Indian population changed by mixing genetically with the Spanish. Mestizos now form the vast majority of the Mexican population. The Catholic Church considered the Indians heathens and blessed the Spanish efforts to convert them to Catholicism. Efforts to protect the natives were lost to Spanish demand for wealth and power. The Spanish colony was built with Indian forced labor. Large land grants included the right to force labor from all Indians living on that land. They were also forced to labor in mines and build churches and other buildings. Diseases brought from Europe reduced the Indian population from 25 million to only 1 million by 1700.

Mexican Independence Spanish-owned territories had encomiendas, systems that ranked people based on skin color and heritage. Indians were on the bottom. Next were the mestizos with few rights and lived lives of hard work and poverty. Criolles (people of pure Spanish descent born in Mexico) were the wealthy upper class. Peninsulares (Spaniards born in Spain) filled the top positions in government, Church, and the military. September 16, 1810 Father Miguel Hidalgo led Mexican Revolution of Indians and mestizos with the support of the criolles.

Jose Clemente Orozco: Juarez and the Fall of the Empire, 1948

Benito Juarez and the French Invasion Benito Juarez was an Indian orphan who became a lawyer dedicated to helping the poor and protecting them against corruption in the Church. In 1855 liberals overthrew Santa Ana in the Revolution of Ayulta. They instituted a constitutional democracy with freedom of education, speech, press and some controls over the power of the Church. The military and the Church were opposed to these reforms This led to the War of Reform-civil war between conservatives and liberals. The liberals won the war in Juarez was elected president and began rebuilding the country carrying out legal and liberal reforms.

French emperor Louis Napolean Bonaparte III wanted to control all of Latin America the French began marching toward Mexico City. They were defeated in the Cinco de Mayo battle, but went on to conquer Mexico. Archduke Maximilian of Austria was made emperor of Mexico. Juarez led the fight against the French. In 1867 his forces conquered Mexico City and executed Maximilian. He continued his reforms until his death in 1872.

Diego Rivera: Repression from History and Perspective of Mexico, 1933

Repression During the Rule of Porfiro Diaz Porfiro Diaz came to power after overthrowing the weak government that formed after the death of Juarez. Mexico was filled with social and economic problems. Technology for mining and agriculture remained unchanged. Mexico was deeply in debt to foreign nations. Diaz invited foreign investors into the country. He was able to build railroads, revolutionize mining, improve ports and cities, introduce new farming techniques, and start new manufacturing industries. Profits went to a few wealthy Mexicans and the foreign companies. This modernization did not improve the lives of the majority of Mexicans.

Diaz had to use government forces to quiet campesino uprisings in the country. The campesinos lived in virtual slavery. Diaz forced the campesinos to work on large haciendas owned by a few wealthy landowners. They were forced to rely on the landowners for all necessities, falling into debt, and effectively became slaves. Campesinos became worse off than ever. They had lost their land. The average life expectancy was 30 years. They had only ½ of what they had to eat in Resentment contributed to the Mexican Revolution.