THE NAME: From the Indian tribe Mexica, meaning “nomadic” and “primitive people of the north”
THE PEOPLE: The Mexicans
GEOGRAPHY
Country of extraordinary physical variety
Large central volcanic plateau rimmed by coastal lowlands enclosed by the eastern and western ranges of the Sierra Madre
From a low desert plain in the north, the plateau rises to 2,600 m. (8,000 ft.) in the center
Max. altitude: 5,569 m. (18,700 ft.) (Orizaba Peak)
Area: 1,972,547 sq. km. (761,604 sq. mi.)
Density: 40 pers./sq. km. (103 pers./sq. mi.) (1986)
Arable land: 13% (1987)
Forest: 23%
Climate: Varies with altitude: arid and semi-arid in the north, with extreme temperatures; humid tropical climate in the south; temperate in the central highlands.
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HISTORY
From 1500 B.C.: Olmec, Zapotec, Toltec civilizations
950-1300: Mayan civilization
1400-1500: Prominence of the Aztec civilization
1519: Aztecs conquered by Hernando Cortes
1810-21: Wars of independence
September 16, 1810: Independence
1845-48: War with the United States; Upper California and New Mexico ceded to the United States
1876-1910: Dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz
Foreign interests purchase almost three-quarters of Mexico’s mineral resources
1910-17: Revolution, which cost over a million lives
1929: The National Revolutionary Party, the PRI, takes power.
