Rental Cars Mexico - History of Mexico
The earliest civilisation known were the Olmecs who were an advanced Mayan culture in terms of religion, architecture and mathematical systems. They were later followed by the Toltecs (ancestors of the Aztecs) who were also known for their intellectual pursuits. These civilizations flourished before Columbus arrived in 1492. In 1519 Spanish sailor, Hernan Cortes, arrived from Cuba with his explorers and settled in Veracruz. The Aztecs, after two years of fighting, were defeated in 1521. Under the new Spanish rule, the Aztecs were suppressed and their population decreasing dramatically by 1605.
In 1808 Napoleon occupied most of Spain and direct Spanish control over New Spain suddenly ceased. The war that followed from 1810 – 1821 resulted in Mexico’s independence from Spain and their first president, Guadalupe Victoria, was inaugurated in 1824. In 1845 the US congress voted to annex Texas, leading to the Mexican-American War in which US troops captured Mexico City. Under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), Mexico ceded Texas, California, Utah, Colorado and most of New Mexico and Arizona to the USA.
In 1861 Benito Juarez was elected president and launched into a two-year mission to repay debts to Britain, France and Spain. The French Emperor, Napoleon, was sent to enforce payment and colonized Mexico. The next 30 years were dominated with civil wars with European governments. Juarez was elected to a third term. Dictator Porfirio Díaz came into power in 1876, building up industry and initially eliminating war. However, discontent prevailed at his autocratic rule and the many restrictions that followed. In 1910 several coups led to the Mexican Revolution. The revolution, which lasted 10 years, cost many Mexicans their lives, until the Institutional Revolutionary Party came into power in 1934. They managed to rule unchallenged until the 1970s by which time opposition parties started building up support.
The oil boom of the late 1970s increased Mexico's oil revenues and financed industrial and agricultural investments. Lopez Portilla, who was elected president in 1976, led the country to the brink of bankruptcy due to large loans borrowed against future oil income. Mexico entered a dark period with the collapse of oil and a massive earthquake in 1985 causing damage of billions of dollars.
President Carlos Salinas de Gortari was elected in 1988 and managed to transform Mexico. He renegotiated national debt, brought inflation under control as well as cracking down on drug trafficking. In March 1994 Ernesto Zedillo was elected. A major currency crisis early in his term brought on deep economic recession. This led to a huge increase in crime, intensifying discontent with the PRI which caused large-scale Mexican immigration to the US. Vicente Fox Quesada won the elections in 2000 and ended the PRIs 71 year reign. Fox found new solutions to the Zapanista conflict and did an overhaul of the political system.
