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Romanicism

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https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany/Leaders-of-Germany

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Ten Minute History - German Unification and Empire (Short Documentary)

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Key Facts & Summary

Also known as Risorgimento, the Italian unification was a political and social movement that consolidated different states of the Italian peninsula into a single state of the Kingdom of Italy in the 19th century.

The process began in 1815, with the Congress of Vienna acting as a detonator, and was completed in 1871 when Rome became the capital. However, the last Italian territories under foreign rule did not join the Kingdom of Italy until 1918, after Italy finally defeated Austria-Hungary in World War I.

As other foreign powers were responsible for the situation of Italy, their very presence motivated Italians to strive for unification, however, Italy's successful unification, ironically, would not have come to pass without the help of other foreign powers.

The situation of Italy after unification can best be described after the statement of professor Serge Hughes: "Now that we have made Italy, we must make Italians."

Giuseppe Garibaldi, Giuseppe Mazzini, Count Cavour and Victor Emannuel II are considered to be "the fathers of the fatherland".

Prologue

Italy was first united by Rome in the third century B.C. It remained for over 700 years the de facto extension of the capital of the Roman Republic and Empire. It experienced a privileged status and evaded being converted into a province. Even with the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Italy remained united under the Ostrogothic Kingdom. However, this would later be disputed between the Kingdom of the Lombards and the Eastern Roman Empire.

Following the conquest of the Frankish Empire, the title of King of Italy merged with the office of Holy Roman Emperor. The emperors that followed had little concern for the governance of Italy as a state. This led Italy to gradually devolve into a system of city-states. Southern Italy was governed by the Kingdom of Sicily or Kingdom of Naples, initially established by the Normans. Central Italy was governed by the Pope as a temporal kingdom known as the Papal States.

It remained as such through the Renaissance but began to deteriorate with the rise of modern nation-states. Italy, including the Papal States, became the site of proxy wars between the major powers: The Holy Roman Empire including Austria, Spain, and France. Harbingers of national unity appeared as early as 1454, beginning with the Italic League treaty and in the 15th century, the foreign policy of Cosimo de Medici and Lorenzo de Medici helped to emphasize this.

This influenced and led Renaissance writers such as Dante, Petrarch, Machiavelli and Guicciardini to express opposition to foreign domination. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 formally ended the rule of the Holy Roman Emperors in Italy but the Spanish branch of the Habsburg dynasty continued to rule most of Italy down to the War of the Spanish Succession in 1701-1714. After this war, Spain ceded Naples, Milan and Sardinia to the Austrian Empire and Sicily to Savoy.

Italian Unification

Italy was thus divided into many small principalities, and it would remain that way until the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789.

Unification under Napoleon

During the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power and proceeded to conquer the Italian states. This conquest was a success and it brought the small principalities under a single administrative unit. Through this process, Italy became part of the French Empire and thus imbibed the ideals of the French Revolution which promoted liberty, equality, fraternity and strengthened the people's participation in the political process. The empire established by Napoleon had served as a fuel for revolutionary ideas, as he even encouraged nationalism.

Napoleon thus implemented a wide array of liberal reforms in France and across Continental Europe, especially in Italy and Germany, as summarized by British historian Andrew Roberts:
"The ideas that underpin our modern world-meritocracy, equality before the law, property rights, religious toleration, modern secular education, sound finances, and so on-were championed, consolidated, codified and geographically extended by Napoleon.

As the Napoleonic Wars went on in Europe, Napoleon reign began to fail and other national monarchs he had installed tried to keep their thrones by feeding those nationalistic sentiments, setting the stage for the revolutions to come. Among these monarchs were the viceroy of Italy, Eugène de Beauharnais, who tried to get the Austrian Empire's approval for his succession to the Kingdom of Italy, and Joachim Murat, who called for Italian patriots' help for the unification of Italy under his rule.

Both men failed to consolidate their grip on Italy. Eugène fought in the Battle of Lützen in 1813 and was then ordered by Napoleon to go back to Italy and defend it from Austria. He was holding out at the Battle of Mincio until Napoleon abdicated in 1814. Murat fought in the Battle of Leipzig and despite France's defeat in Leipzig in 1813, Murat reached an agreement with the Austrian Empire in order to save his throne.

However, during the Hundred Days, the period in which Napoleon although defeated, returned from his exile and tried to consolidate power again, Murat realized that the European powers meeting at the Congress of Vienna, intended to remove him as well from power. Murat issued a proclamation to the Italian patriots in Rimini and moved north to fight against Austria in the Neapolitan War in order to strengthen his rule in Italy by military means. He was however defeated by the Austrian in the Battle of Tolentino in 1815.

Congress of Vienna - Italy is split again

The Congress of Vienna in 1815 aimed to restore Europe to its former position, reversing everything that happened since the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, however, they couldn't undo everything. The desire for unification increased even more than before.

Although the Kingdom of Italy established by Napoleon crumbled, and the Italian peninsula remained fragmented through the mid-1800s, the concept of a united Italy began to take root.

Revolutions of 1848

It quickly became clear to many Italians that the Italy created by the Congress of Vienna was inefficient and ineffective. Hunger due to crop failures, lack of employment and other necessities were absent, the ruling class idle, unmoved and unwilling to make changes.

Secret societies formed to oppose the newly established conservative regimes. Several of these societies also promoted Italian nationalism and the idea of a unified Italian political state. One such society was the Carbonari, and it aimed to liberate Italy through armed uprisings. The Carbonari were inspired by the principles of the French Revolution.

Young Italy was formed in 1831 and aimed at the independence and unification of Italy and the subsequent establishment of a republic. This organization tried to encourage young men to join and support the cause of unification. Thus, the movement of Italian unification, a process referred to as the Risorgimento, proliferated by mid-century. Young Italy attracted the attention of Giuseppe Garibaldi, another iconic figure in the Italian unification. Garibaldi joined forces with Mazinni in 1833 and together they worked forward to accomplish their ideals. In February 1834 a failed Mazzinian insurrection in Piedmont forced Garibaldi to flee to South America.

Garibaldi returned amidst the turmoil of the revolutions in 1848 and offered his services to Charles Albert of Sardinia. He offered assistance to the provisional government of Milan which revolted against the Austrians. In the course of the following unsuccessful First Italian War of Independence, Garibaldi won minor victories.

However, the new pope soon proved to be of no use for the unification, he ordered his troops to retreat and the rest of the revolutionaries were vastly outnumbered. A crushing defeat at the battle of Novara in 1849, forced Garibaldi to move to Rome and support the recently proclaimed Roman Republic in the Papal States after the pope was forced to flee due to many Italians protesting against his previous decision.

However, Napoleon III of France sent an army to return the papacy to Rome, wishing to gain favour with the pope. Mazzini urged Garibaldi to take the defence of the city of Rome. Despite a great victory over France's superior numbers, it was clear that they couldn't hold the city for much longer. The Roman Assembly met and debated three options: surrender, fight or retreat to the Apennine mountains and continue the resistance, Garibaldi chose the third option and said: "Wherever we will go, that will be Rome." The two sides negotiated a truce and withdrew from Rome. Mazzini and Garibaldi parted on different paths, yet they would continue to fight for Italy's unification, their actions, although thwarted, managed to.

Second Italian War of Independence

Charles Albert was forced to abdicate during the revolutions, leaving the crown to his son Victor Emmanuel II, the third great figure of Italian unification.

The war had begun but not long after, France entered into secret negotiations with Austria fearing the possibility of Prussian involvement. An armistice was signed which granted Sardinia-Piedmont the state of Lombardy but Austria would retain control over the central states of Italy. Much to Emmanuel's dismay, this latter term was never enforced, however, and the French made no attempt to expel the Italian garrisons that then assumed control over the regions since the outbreak of the war.

In return for French backing, Cavour ceded Nice and Savoy to France. This decision enraged the Italians and the preeminent general during the conflict namely Giuseppe Garibaldi, who had returned to Italy since 1854. Garibaldi abandoned Mazzini's republican ideal of the liberation of Italy, assuming that only Emmanuel II could achieve it together with the help of Cavour and so they allied.

In order to stop Garibaldi, Cavour ordered Sardinian troops into the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples. He organized a plebiscite to annex Naples to Sardinia. Garibaldi was thus outmanoeuvred by Cavour's realpolitik, a notion that states that politics should be conducted in terms of a realistic assessment of power and the self-interest of individual nation-states by any means.

Austro-Prussian War

Although most states of the Italian Peninsula were united and the Kingdom Of Italy was created, Venice and the much reduced Papal States were still far from their control. Garibaldi took up arms again in 1866, this time with the full support of the Italian government. The increasing discord between Austria and Prussia over the German Question turned into open war in 1866, granting an opportunity for Italy to try and capture Venice.

The German state of Prussia was aware of the tensions provoked by Austria's presence in Venice, and the Italian Government seeking an ally against Austria, so they decided to ally with Italy. On the 8th of April, 1866, Alfonso La Marmora, the President of the Council, entered into an agreement with Otto von Bismarck, the Prussian Prime Minister. Italy would now vow to support Prussia in the case of war against Austria. Austria soon realized the brewing threat and offered the transfer of Venice back to Italy as an olive branch.

Faced with a difficult choice, La Marmora tried to stall and decided not to support a war against either Prussia or Austria. Prussia, on the other hand, would not wait and on June 12th, cut all ties with Austria and invaded some of its territories four days later. Italy finally joined the battle on June 23rd starting the Third Italian War of Unification.

The Austrian Empire had no chance against these combined forces and after suffering numerous defats, mostly to Prussia, a peace treaty ensued. The cessation of hostilities was agreed to at the Armistice of Cormons signed on 12 August, followed by the Treaty of Vienna on 3 October 1866. The terms of the Peace of Prague included the giving of the Iron Crown of Lombardy to Victor Emmanuel II, the King of Italy. Venice was won by Italy after a plebiscite but Trentino, Rome, Friuli and Trieste remained to be captured.

End of the unification

By the end of the war, Italy's desire for unification had been emboldened, making the Third War for Independence another crucial step on the path to full national unity.
In 1871 Prussia attacks France starting the Franco-Prussian War. France, which had some troops in Rome, had to pull them back in order to fight the Prussians. Italy sees its chance and invades Rome successfully conquering it and making the Pope a prisoner in his own home.

This will turn the Pope against the Italian state for several decades. Officially, the capital was not moved from Florence to Rome until July 1871.

The unification of Italy was thus completed by the Capture of Rome and later by the annexation of Trentino, Friuli and Trieste at the end of World War I, also called in Italy the Fourth Italian War of Independence.

Aftermath

Dante Alighieri, Machiavelli, Cesare Borgia developed the national consciousness of Italy, however, their work and aspirations were developed and completed by Cavour, Mazzini, Garibaldi and Emmanuel II, men considered to be the fathers of Italy.

After the unification, Italy faced a number of problems. The middle class and aristocracy had never truly been won over by the revolutionary ideals that trickled down from France. The Pope was still against the state until Mussolini came to power.

In addition, the Italian parliament experienced gridlock as socialists and liberals failed to compromise on even the most basic pieces of legislation. Italians were still as disunited as ever, these issues plague Italy throughout the 19th century and some could say even today.

Bibliography:

[1.] Wawro, Geoffrey. "Austria versus the Risorgimento: A New Look at Austria's Italian strategy in the 1860s." European History Quarterly 26#1 (1996): 7-29.

[2.] Smith, Denis Mack. Victor Emanuel, Cavour, and the Risorgimento (Oxford University Press, 1971)

[3.] Riall, Lucy. The Italian Risorgimento: State, Society, and National Unification (Routledge, 1994)

[4.] Pearce, Robert, and Andrina Stiles. Access to History: The Unification of Italy 1789-1896 (4th rf., Hodder Education, 2015), textbook.

[5.] Ascoli, Albert Russell and Krystyna Von Henneberg, eds. Making and Remaking Italy: The Cultivation of National Identity around the Risorgimento (2001)

[6.] De Cesare, Raffaele (1909). The Last Days of Papal Rome. Archibald Constable & Co. p. 443

[7.] Maurizio Isabella, "Aristocratic Liberalism and Risorgimento: Cesare Balbo and Piedmontese Political Thought after 1848." History of European Ideas 39#6 (2013): 835-857.

[8.] Jasper Ridley, Garibaldi (2001)

[9.] Denis Mack Smith, Mazzini (1996).

[10.] Nelson Moe, "'This is not Italy!': Ruling and Representing the South, 1860-1861", in The View from the Vesuvius: Italian Culture and the Southern Question, 156-183 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002), 166.

Image source:

[1.] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Italian-unification.gif
[2.] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Episodio_delle_cinque_giornate_%28Baldassare_Verazzi%29.jpg
[3.] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Code_Civil_1804.png
[4.] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concert_of_Europe#/media/File:Europe_1815_map_en.png
[5.] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Museo_Torre_di_San_Martino_della_Battaglia_-_affresco_05.jpg
[6.] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Mazzini#/media/File:Giuseppe_Mazzini.jpg
[7.] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/First_meeting_between_Giuseppe_Garibaldi.jpg
[8.] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Napol%C3%A9on_III_%C3%A0_la_bataille_de_Solf%C3%A9rino..jpg
[9.] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Vittorio_Emanuele_II_ritratto.jpg
[10.] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Camillo_benso_Conte_di_Cavour_iii.jpg
[11.] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Cacciata_degli_austriaci_da_Bologna_%281848%29.jpg
[12.] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_unification#/media/File:Proclamation_of_the_Kingdom_of_Italy.jpg

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Italian Unification | Facts, Summary, Revolution, Historical Context

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Also known as Risorgimento, the Italian unification was a political and social movement that consolidated different states of the Italian peninsula into a single state of the Kingdom of Italy in the 19th century. The process began in 1815, with the Congress of Vienna acting as a detonator, and was completed in 1871 when Rome became the capital.

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Italian and German Unification: Crash Course European History #27

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what i learned is how Mexico came to be. it is made up of 31 states under one government. Over 100 million population with a very rich history which this article goes into well.

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History
Early History
The Olmecs, Mexico's first known society, settled on the Gulf Coast near what is now Veracruz. Remembered for the giant head sculptures they carved from native stone, the Olmecs had two main population centers: San Lorenzo, which flourished from about 1200 to 900 B.C., and La Venta in Tabasco, which lasted until about 600 B.C.

Did you know? The three colors of Mexico's flag hold deep significance for the country and its citizens: green represents hope and victory, white stands for the purity of Mexican ideals and red brings to mind the blood shed by the nation's heroes.

By 300 B.C., villages based on agriculture and hunting had sprung up throughout the southern half of Mexico. Monte Albán, home to the Zapotec people, had an estimated 10,000 inhabitants. Between 100 B.C. and 700 A.D., Teotihuacán, the largest pre-Columbian city in the Americas, was constructed near present-day Mexico City. The civilization that built it is also called Teotihuacán, and the influence of this culture can be seen throughout the Veracruz and Mayan regions. At its zenith, with a population estimated at 200,000, the civilization is thought to have controlled a large portion of southern Mexico. The empire of Teotihuacán was overthrown in the 7th century, but the spectacular city survives today.

The Mayans, widely considered to be pre-Columbian America's most brilliant civilization, thrived between approximately 250 and 900 A.D. They developed a calendar and writing system and built cities that functioned as hubs for the surrounding farming towns. The ceremonial center of Mayan cities featured plazas surrounded by tall temple pyramids and lower buildings called "palaces." Religion played a central role in Mayan life, and altars were carved with significant dates, histories and elaborate human and divine figures. The Mayan civilization collapsed in the early 10th century, likely due to overpopulation and the resultant damage to the ecological balance.

The Toltec civilization also influenced Mexico's cultural history. Historians have determined that the Toltec people appeared in central Mexico near the 10th century and built the city of Tula, home to an estimated 30,000-40,000 people. Some have speculated that the Toltecs performed human sacrifices to appease the gods. One of their kings, Tezcatlipoca, is said to have ordered mass sacrifices of captured enemy warriors. Because many Toltec architectural and ritualistic influences can be found at the Mayan site of Chichén Itzá in northern Yucatán, many researchers believe that Toltec exiles fled to Yucatán and created a new version of Tula there.

The Aztecs, the last of pre-Columbian Mexico's great native civilizations, rose to prominence in the central valley of Mexico around 1427 by partnering with the Toltecs and Mayans. This triple alliance conquered smaller cultures to the east and west until the Aztec empire spanned Mexico from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf Coast. At their height, the Aztecs ruled 5 million people via a tightly-structured system of self-supporting units called calpulli. Each unit had its own governing council, schools, army, temple and land but paid tribute to the supreme leader of the empire. Influenced by earlier Mexican civilizations, the Aztecs conducted extraordinary religious ceremonies that featured dances, processions and sacrifices.
Middle History
Spaniard Hernán Cortés arrived at Veracruz in 1519. Believing that Cortés might be the serpent god Quetzalcoatl, Aztec King Moctezuma II invited the conquistador to Tenochtitlán. This gesture proved disastrous because Cortés formed many allies on his way to the city. In May 1521, Cortés and his followers attacked and conquered the Aztecs. Cortés then colonized the area and named it Nueva España (New Spain). By 1574, Spain controlled a large portion of the Aztec empire and had enslaved most of the indigenous population. Worse, the diseases brought into the society by the Spaniards devastated the indigenous population of Nueva España, killing an estimated 24 million people between 1521 and 1605.

The Catholic Church's influence was felt in the region when missionaries began arriving in 1523. The missionaries built many monasteries and converted millions of people to Catholicism.

During this tumultuous time, colonists in Nueva España who had been born in Spain (peninsulares) clashed with Spaniards who had been born in Mexico (criollos). Many criollos had become rich and wanted equal political power, which now resided with the peninsulares.

Concerned about the Catholic Church's ever-growing power, King Carlos III of Spain expelled the Jesuits from Nueva España in the late 1700s. Napoleón Bonaparte 's occupation of Spain in 1808 compromised the country's political and economic structure, which in turn weakened Spain's grip on Nueva España.

Recent History
On September 16, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a parish priest from the town of Dolores, issued a call to rebellion. In response, rebel leader Vicente Guerrero and defected royalist general Agustín de Itúrbide collaborated to gain Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821. Together they drafted a Mexican constitution. However, in 1822, Itúrbide declared himself emperor of the country. A year later, Antonio López de Santa Anna overthrew Itúrbide and drew up a new constitution that established a federal Mexican republic composed of 19 states and four territories. From 1823 to 1836, Santa Anna served as president, squelching Texas' stand for independence in the battle of the Alamo during his last year in office. He was later defeated by American forces during the Mexican-American War and, by 1855, had gone into exile. Following Mexico's occupation by the French in the mid-1800s, Porfírio Díaz served as president from 1876 to 1909.

Despite ushering in the industrial age and greatly improving the country's infrastructure, Díaz was a dictator who bestowed political favors on the very wealthy citizenry, largely ignored the poor and ruled ruthlessly by force.

The Mexican people, tired of the unbalanced distribution of wealth and power, initiated the Mexican Revolution in 1910. The 10-year civil war resulted in at least 2 million casualties. Finally, in 1934, Lázaro Cárdenas became president and reestablished the ancient ejido system, which established communally shared tracts of farmland. The system benefited both the citizens and the economy. World War II further stimulated the nation's development through the development of roads, the building of factories and the establishment of irrigation systems.

Mexico Today

Mexico's population has greatly increased since World War II, but the distribution of wealth remains imbalanced. Due to negligible legislative assistance, the poor are generally unable to improve their socio-economic status. The state of Chiapas exemplifies the problems caused by financial imbalance. In 1994, the Zapatista National Liberation Army rose up to challenge discrimination against Chiapas' poor.

Although their rebellion was unsuccessful, the Zapatistas continue to fight against imbalanced land ownership and power distribution, with little success. Further complicating the already problematic social division is the ever-growing problem of drug trafficking, which has contributed to political and police corruption and helped widen the gap between the elite and the underprivileged.

In recent years, the building of foreign-owned factories and plants (maquiladoras) in some of Mexico's rural areas has helped draw the population away from Mexico City and redistribute some of the country's wealth. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) of 1994 increased Mexico's financial ties to the United States and Canada, but the Mexican economy remains fragile. Despite its problems, the Mexican economy, with its growing industrial base, abundant natural resources and variety of service industries, remains important to Latin America.

Today, tourism is a major contributor to the Mexican economy. People flock to Mexico from all over the world to sample the country's cultural diversity, bask in the lush tropical settings and take advantage of relatively low prices. U.S. tourists constitute the majority of visitors to the country. In the past, tourists traveled mainly to Mexico City and the surrounding colonial towns of the Mesa Central; unfortunately, the capital city's reputation has suffered due to social and environmental problems, notably high levels of air pollution and crime. Tourists still flock to the beaches of the world-famous resorts in Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Mazatlán, Cancún and Puerto Escondido.

Facts & Figures

Full Name: United Mexican States

Capital: Mexico City (Distrito Federal)

Major Cities (population): Mexico City (8,720,916), Ecatepec de Morelos (1,688,258), Guadalajara (1,600,940), Puebla (1,485,941), Tijuana (1,410,700), Juárez (1,313,338), León (1,278,087), Zapopan (1,155,790), Nezahualcóyotl (1,140,528), Monterrey 1,133,814

Border Countries: Belize and Guatemala to the southeast; United States to the north

Size/Area: Total: 758,249 square miles (1,972,550 square kilometers) - Water: 2.5 percent

Population: 103,263,388 (2005 Census)

Independence: Declared on September 16, 1810 - Recognized by Spain on September 27, 1821

Monetary Unit: Pesos

Fun Facts

The three colors of Mexico's flag hold deep significance for the country and its citizens: green represents hope and victory, white stands for the purity of Mexican ideals and red brings to mind the blood shed by the nation's heroes.

The flag's dramatic emblem is based on the legend of how the Mexicas (or Aztecs) traveled from Aztlán to find the place where they could establish their empire. The god Huitzilopochtli advised them that a sign-an eagle devouring a serpent atop a Nopal cactus-would appear to them at the exact spot where they should begin construction. On a small island in the middle of a lake, the Mexicas came upon the scene exactly as Huitzilopochtli had described it. They immediately settled there and founded the city of Tenochtitlán, which is now Mexico City, the country's capital.

Mexico is the third-largest country in Latin America after Brazil and Argentina.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Mexico's population surpassed 100 million.

Mexico has the largest population of Spanish speakers in the world.

With almost 25 million residents, Mexico City is one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world.

Mexico has the world's second-highest number of Catholics after Brazil.

At nearly 2,000 miles, the border between Mexico and the United States is the second-longest in the world, after the border between the United States and Canada.

Mexicans comprise the largest group of legal immigrants in the United States.

Mexico is located in an area known as the Pacific "Ring of Fire." This region, one of Earth's most dynamic tectonic areas, is characterized by active volcanoes and frequent seismic activity. The highest point in the country, Citlaltépetl (also called Orizaba) and the active volcano Popocatépetl are among the many volcanic peaks in Mexico. The Great Ball Court at Chichén Itzá Mexico, which was used for ritualistic sports by the ancient Mayans, is the largest such court the world, measuring 166 by 68 meters (545 by 232 feet). The game, which involved elements similar to those of soccer and basketball, was played by two teams whose number varied according to region.

Tequila, a liquor for which Mexico is famous, is made from the native blue agave plant. Named after the city where it originated, Tequila is primarily manufactured near Jalisco, which is 65 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Guadalajara.

Mexico is the world's leading producer of silver. An area called the Silver Belt-which encompasses Guanajuato and Zacatecas in the Mesa Central, Chihuahua in the Mesa del Norte and San Luis Potosi farther east-saw significant mining activity during the colonial period.

Mexico hosted the Summer Olympics in 1968 and the FIFA World Cup soccer championship in 1970 and 1986.

The Mexico City Arena-one of the largest bullfighting arenas in the world-seats 50,000. Another 35 arenas are located throughout the country.

Landmarks

Chichén Itzá
Chichén Itzá is an ancient Mayan city located on the Yucatán Peninsula. At its peak, around 600 A.D., it was the center of power in the region. Many of the original stone palaces, temples and markets remain throughout the city.

Teotihuacán
Teotihuacán, an ancient city possibly built by the Toltecs, is located in the state of Mexico. The city rose to power in 150 A.D. and was a strong influence on Mayan culture. It is also the location of the world's third largest pyramid, the Pirámide del Sol (Pyramid of the Sun).

Paquimé featured a ceremonial area, temple structures, a ball court, pyramids and effigy mounds, including one that resembled a cross with perfect astronomical orientation. Turkeys and parrots were kept in special cages, possibly to supply feathers used for ceremonial and personal adornment.

Cuarenta Casas
Cuarenta Casas (Forty Houses) are cliff dwellings located in the state of Chihuahua and discovered by the Spaniards around the 16th century. Despite the name, only about a dozen adobe apartments are carved into the west cliff-side of a dramatic canyon at La Cueva de las Ventanas (Cave of the Windows). Cuarenta Casas is believed to have been an outlying settlement of Paquimé in the 13th century.

Buildings
Palacio Nacional Mexico City is home to the three-story Palacio Nacional (National Palace), built in 1563 on the site of the Aztec leader Moctezuma's palace. Originally, the palace housed all three branches of the government. Today, however, only the executive branch resides there. Palacio Nacional was destroyed by fire twice, once in 1659 and again in 1692. It was reconstructed in 1693 and remains largely unchanged today.

In the early to mid-1900s, Diego Rivera painted a collection of huge murals on the walls of the palace that illustrate the colorful history of Mexico. The palace is also home to Mexico's Liberty Bell.

Catedral Metropolitana
Located at the north side of Mexico City's town square, Catedral Metropolitana is the largest and oldest cathedral in all of Latin America. Construction on the building, which blends Baroque and Neoclassical styles, began in 1573 and took three centuries to complete. The cathedral features 14 chapels, five altars and numerous statues, paintings and altarpieces of Christ and the saints.

Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl
Located on the eastern rim of the Valle de Mexico, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl are Mexico's second- and third-highest volcanic mountains. Craterless Iztaccíhuatl is dormant and a popular site for mountain climbing; however, Popocatépetl, whose Aztec name means Smoking Mountain, has erupted more than 20 times since the arrival of the Spanish. It continues to spout plumes of gas and ash and is carefully monitored by scientists.

Popular Locales
Mexico City
Mexico City, the second-largest metropolitan area in the world after Tokyo, is home to numerous attractions, including the Palacio Nacional and the Catedral Metropolitana.

AcapulcoWith its golden beaches, tropical jungles and renowned daredevil cliff-divers, Acapulco remains the best-known and most popular resort town in Mexico.

The Baja Peninsula
The Baja Peninsula along Mexico's west coast, is famous for its long coastline of fine white beaches, peaceful bays and imposing cliffs.

Culture

People
Citizens of Mexico highly value their nation, independence and community. Their culture is a composite of influences handed down by countless civilizations. From the early Mesoamerican civilizations to the diverse populations that live there today, Mexico's citizens have remained proud of their heritage and their country.

Many rural communities maintain strong allegiances to regions, often referred to as patrias chicas (small homelands). The large number of indigenous languages and customs in these regions, especially in the south, naturally accentuate cultural differences. However, the indigenismo (ancestral pride) movement of the 1930s played a major role in unifying the country and solidifying national pride among the various populations.

Family remains among the most important elements in Mexican society, both in private and public life. From infancy to old age, an individual's status and opportunities are strongly influenced by family ties. Many households, in both rural and urban areas, are inhabited by three or more generations due to the economic advantage (or necessity) of sharing one roof. Mexicans generally establish strong links to family members, including in-laws and friends of the family, who are generally thought of as aunts and uncles. The elderly, adults, teenagers and small children commonly attend parties and dances together. Weddings are generally lavish family-oriented events as are the traditional quinceañera celebrations given in honor of a young woman's 15th birthday.

Languages
The majority of the Mexican population speaks Spanish, the official national language. However, another 60 indigenous languages are still spoken in Mexico, including Maya in the Yucatán; Huastec in northern Veracruz; Nahuatl, Tarastec, Totonac, Otomí and Mazahua mainly in the Mesa Central region; Zapotec, Mixtec and Mazatec in Oaxaca; and Tzeltal and Tzotzil in Chiapas.

Religion
Catholicism has become the dominant Mexican religion since first being introduced during Spanish colonization in the 16th century. Currently, more than 75 percent of Mexico's population is Catholic, making Mexico the second-largest Catholic country in the world after Brazil. During the Mexican Revolution of 1917 and the administration of President Plutarco Elías Calles (1924 - 1928), there was a strong anti-clerical movement. This idea became less prevalent in the between 1940 and 1960. In fact that era saw a boom in the construction of new churches.

The Basílica of Guadalupe, built between the 16th and 18th centuries to honor Mexico's patron saint, is located in Mexico City. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people, many of them peasants, travel from near and far to worship at the shrine. Although this is probably the most important and beloved religious site in Mexico, thousands of other churches, convents, pilgrimage sites and shrines exist throughout the country.

Mexico's present population consists of Roman Catholics (76.5 percent), Protestants (6.3 percent), Pentecostals (1.4 percent), and Jehovah's Witnesses (1.1 percent). Another 14.7 percent are non-religious or are of other faiths.

On December 12, El Día de la Virgen De Guadalupe, Mexico honors its patron saint. During January, the city of Morelia celebrates the fiesta of the Immaculate Conception, and on the 17th of that month, pets and livestock are adorned with flowers and ribbons for the fiesta of San Antonio Abad.

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), which occurs on November 1, has ancient Aztec and Mesoamerican roots. This day is set aside to remember and honor the lives of the deceased while celebrating the continuation of life. Halloween (October 31st) and All Souls' Day (November 2nd) are also locally important holidays. During this period, families celebrate the spirits of departed loved ones in various ways, including erecting ofrendas (small altars) in their houses, decorating tombs and eating skull-shaped candies (calaveras) and sweet breads. It is a time for celebrating ancestors-with whom many believe they can communicate during these events-and embracing death as natural and inevitable rather than as something to be feared.

On October 12 of each year, the Día de la Raza (Race Day) is celebrated in recognition of the mestizo (mixed) character of Mexico' s indigenous and European population. Widely celebrated patriotic events include Independence Day (September 16) and Cinco de Mayo (May 5), which commemorates the Mexican victory over French invaders in 1862.

Cuisine
Mexican cuisine varies greatly by region but depends heavily on an ancient trinity of staples: corn (maize), beans and squash.

Another staple, rice, is usually served alongside beans. Mexicans also tend to make liberal use of avocados (often in the form of guacamole), chili peppers, amaranth, tomatoes, papayas, potatoes, lentils, plantains and vanilla (a flavoring that is pre-Columbian in origin). Salt and hot peppers (often served in a red or green sauce) are the most common condiments; maize tortillas complement most main dishes.

Popular dishes vary by region and individual circumstances, but some of the more widely enjoyed foods are tortillas (flat bread wraps made from wheat or maize flour), enchiladas, cornmeal tamales (cooked within corn husks or banana leaves), burritos, soft-shell tacos, tortas (sandwiches of chicken, pork or cheese and vegetables enclosed in a hard roll), stuffed chili peppers and quesadillas (tortillas filled with soft cheese and meat). Other favorites are soups and spicy stews such as menudo (made from beef tripe and fresh vegetables) and pozole (stewed hominy and pork). Seafood dishes such as pulpo (octopus), chipachole (spicy crab soup) and ceviche (seafood marinated in lime or lemon juice) are popular in coastal areas. In Oaxaca and a few other states, fried and spiced chapulines (grasshoppers) are considered a delicacy. A favorite among the Nahuatl Indians is huitlacoche (corn fungus) served wrapped in fat-fried quesadillas.

Among the preferred desserts are sweet breads, chocolates and dulce de leche (caramelized milk), which is also called leche quemada or burned milk. On city sidewalks and streets, little bells announce the approach of paleteros, ambulatory vendors whose small insulated carts are filled with frozen paletas (popsicle-like treats made from creams or juices) and ice cream. Sugar-battered flautas (deep-fried filled corn tortillas) are popular with children of all ages.

Meals are often washed down with aguas frescas (watery sweet drinks, usually roselle flowers), horchata (a milky rice-based drink) and drinks flavored with watermelon or other fresh fruit. Also popular are licuados (fruit shakes or smoothies). During the Christmas holidays and on the Day of the Dead, one of the more popular drinks is atole (or atol), a hot combination of corn or rice meal, water, and spices.

Several well-known alcoholic beverages made in Mexico are derived from the maguey and agave plants. Maguey-also known as the Century Plant-is used to make pulque, an inexpensive drink. The plant was cultivated by many small farmers because it could thrive on infertile, rocky soil. Agave, in particular the blue agave, is used to make tequila, Mexico's national liquor. The drink takes its name from Tequila, Jalisco, where it originated. Another alcoholic drink made from agave is mescal, which is produced primarily in Oaxaca.

Culture: Arts & Music - Theater & Film - Literature

Arts & Music
In every major city in Mexico, universities and museums provide institutional support for art and cultural events. Among Mexico's internationally acclaimed museums are the Museum of Folk Art, the sprawling National Museum of Anthropology and its offshoot, the National Museum of History.

Art
Post-revolutionary artists Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, Rufino Tamayo and David Alfaro Siqueiros made significant contributions to Mexico' s artistic and cultural heritage. Though diverse in their styles and subject matter, each drew upon personal and social experiences to create their work, which informed the sensibilities of worldwide audiences and inspired generations of young artists.

Murals, an ancient art form, grace the walls of public and private buildings throughout Mexico. Generations of muralists-influenced by artistic legacies traceable to the Aztecs, Mayans and other pre-Hispanic civilizations-have added their stories to those of their ancestors, captivating passersby with evocative figures and landscapes captured in rich colors and bold strokes.

Diego Rivera, whose mural Man at the Crossroads graces the lobby of New York's 30 Rockefeller Plaza, is the most renowned of Mexico's muralists. His works are also displayed at the Mexican National Palace and the Palace of Fine Arts.

Music
Music, like food, is a mainstay of Mexican social life. The styles are diverse and include both traditional and modern genres. Perhaps the best-known Mexican genre is the ranchero. Popularized after the revolution, the ranchera came to symbolize the new national consciousness and focuses largely on love, patriotism and nature. Because of its familiar themes and rhythms, this song style has become popular among mariachi musicians. Highly recognizable in their customary silver-studded charro (cowboy) outfits and wide-brimmed hats, mariachi groups have enjoyed notable commercial success and are often featured at festivals, banquets and wedding.

Another popular genre is norteño (northern), which relies on the accordion and 12-string bass guitar for its characteristic stylizations. More recent musical innovations include banda, which is similar to norteño music, and cumbia, which is heavily influenced by music from the Caribbean islands. Becoming increasingly popular among Mexican youths are modern genres such as pop, hip-hop and rock-musical forms that gained popularity during the last century in the United States.

Theater & Film
Mexico has a strong theatrical tradition kept alive by many professional, academic and indigenous groups. Although the theater' s popularity diminished with the rise of television and film, groups still perform all over the country in large and small venues. In Mexico City, theater lovers can visit El Palacio de las Bellas Artes, Mexico City's famous opera house, to see the Ballet Folklorico, a famous dance performance that blends various types of native music and dance.

Some regions feature plays that recount events from local history. In other cases, plays drawn from universal themes or celebrate such common concerns of daily life as love, marriage, joy, betrayal and hope.

During Semana Santa (the holy week from Easter until Palm Sunday), many communities enact a full passion play that depicts the events surrounding the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many of these performances are impressively staged and draw large crowds.

Several Mexican actors and filmmakers have been internationally recognized, including directors Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros, 2000; Babel, 2006), Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mamá También, 2001) and Guillermo del Toro (El Laberinto Del Fauno/Pan's Labyrinth, 2006). Spanish director Luis Buñuel and French Surrealist André Breton both spent many years in Mexico, and their influences are seen in the works of current Mexican directors. Based on her 2002 theatrical portrayal of the internationally recognized Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, Salma Hayek became the first Mexican actress to be nominated for an Academy Award.

Literature
Mexican writers have gained reputations by dealing with questions of universal significance. One of the best known is Samuel Ramos, whose philosophical speculations on humanity and culture in Mexico influenced post-1945 writers in several genres. Many consider Mexico's Octavio Paz to be the foremost poet of Latin America. The novels of Carlos Fuentes are honored throughout the world, and Juan José Arreola's fantasies are widely admired.

Culture: Sports

Fùtbol (Soccer)
Soccer is the favorite sport of the vast majority of the population. Unlike other Mexican sports, soccer can emotionally divide the country, especially when Mexican rivals meet each other. People from all over the country attend matches, which are usually held on Sundays. Winning the coveted Copa Libertadores, the Latin American equivalent of the European Cup, is an honor that motivates both players and fans alike.

In 1970, Mexico's Azteca Stadium was host to the FIFA World Cup finals. This event was one of the most memorable in sports history as Pele and his Brazilian team won for the third time, making them the first country ever to win the tournament more than twice. Mexico hosted the event again in 1986.

Well-known soccer players from Mexico include Hugo Sanchez, Cuahtemoc Blanco, Rafael Marques, Alberto Medina, Omar Bravo, Enrique Borja, Antonio Carvajal, Manolo Negrete, Jorge Gutierrez, Luis Flores, Salvador Reyes, Horacio Casarin, Alberto García Aspe, Jorge Campos and Luís Garcia.

Bullfighting
Also known as fiesta brava, bullfighting has been popular in Mexico for the last 400 years. Like Spanish bullfighters, Mexican matadores perform specific moves, occasionally using a piece of red cloth to attract a bull in a graceful manner. Bullfights are often preceded by festivities such as rodeos, pig chases and dances.

Lucha Libre
Mexican style professional wrestling, called Lucha Libre (free fight) embraces all styles of wrestling: submission, high flying comedy and brawling. The sport achieves an extraordinary level of artistic expression through costuming and bravado performance. El Santo, possibly the most famous Lucha Libre wrestler, often starred in films, wore his silver mask throughout his life and was eventually buried in it. Other famous Luchadores include The Blue Demon, Mil Máscaras, and Rey Mysterio, who eventually moved on to American wrestling where he became even better known.

The States

Mexico is made up of 31 states and one federal district.

PHOTO GALLERIES

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Early History The Olmecs, Mexico's first known society, settled on the Gulf Coast near what is now Veracruz. Remembered for the giant head sculptures they carved from native stone, the Olmecs had two main population centers: San Lorenzo, which flourished from about 1200 to 900 B.C., and La Venta in Tabasco, which lasted until about 600 B.C.

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its a brief summary of their independence and history.

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Mexican Independence Day Brief History and Showing Celebrations