Connecting History Through Art Mexico Through Murals Connecting History Through Art

Connecting Murals to Mexican History

Diego Rivera: Tenochtitlan Marketplace, 1933

Aztec Society 1351-1521 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 1500. Capital was a tribute to Aztec inventiveness and imperial domination.

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

Creation of the Mestizo 1500s The Indian population changed by mixing genetically with the Spanish. The mestizos now form the vast majority of the Mexican population. Malinche was a Mayan maiden who spoke her native tongue as well as the language of the Aztecs. She was given as a gift to Cortes. She served as his translator and helped him form alliances with native peoples. She became Cortes’ mistress and together they had a son. The name Malinche has become synoymous with the word traitor in Mexico.

Spanish Treatment of the Indians 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.

Jose Clemente Orozco: Hidalgo, 1939

Mexican Independence 1810-1821 Mexico had socioeconomic stratification (ranking) 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.

Indians and mestizos soon revolted against the criolles. The next leader was Jose Maria Morelos who threatened the upper classes with ideas of social equality, male suffrage, representative government, and land distribution. Conservative criolles took over the revolution because they were afraid the liberal constitutional government in Spain would send reforms. Agustin Iturbide led revolution and gained independence in 1821. None of the reforms supported by Morelos were enacted.

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

Repression During the Rule of Porfiro Diaz 1876-1910 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.

Campesinos became worse off than ever. 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 1810. Resentment contributed to the Mexican Revolution.

Legacy of the Mexican Revolution One of the foremost results was the redistribution of hacienda land to the campesinos in the form of ejidos (plots of land owned by the government but given to the campesinos). This was guaranteed by the Constitution of 1917. Democratic freedoms and protection for factory workers were guaranteed as well. National culture was changed in that the focus moved from the Spanish roots to the Indian past. Mexican heroes replaced Europeans. By 1940 1/3 of the Mexican population owned land whereas in 1910 only 2% owned land.

The Mexican Revolution, despite some improvement, failed to solve many problems. Ejidos were often made up of poor farmland. The PRI (dominated by criolles) controlled voting and smothered democracy. Corruption marked Mexico’s economic activity, especially in the oil industry. Indians were still treated poorly.