- Chicano History
- History indicates that the valley of Mexico, the cradle of Mesoamerican civilization, has been continuously occupied since at least 12,000 B.C. What distinguishes the Chicanos from all other Americans is their unique racial, biological and cultural mixture with conquering Europeans for more than four centuries. Various unique blend of European and the indigenous one have occupied the modern Southwest region. Most of the residents of Modern Chicano were immigrants’ hunters who crossed the Bering Strait in search of food and water. The migration resulted to the entire Western Hemisphere to be fully inhabited by 20,000 B.C. Those people that inhabited the Modern Chicano brought about civilization in the region. They introduced farming in this region and came up with other modern civilization methods (Ornelas 3).
- Before the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, the communities of this place were observing their traditional customs. The Olmec, Teotihuacan, Maya, Aztec and other countless diverse civilizations contributed to urbanization in the valley of Mexico. Civilization was advancing in a huge rate in this region after the invention of the European communities. The Olmecs community erected the first Mesoamerican urban centers as early as 1,800 B.C. The group was influencing many people to observe the cultures and believes of the Mesoamericans but with no success. The Olmec destruction begins as early as 1,200 B.C. However La Venta, an important Olmec site remained a viable religious center for centuries and lasted until around 400-300 B.C (Ornelas 4).
- Teotihuacan referred to as the city of Gods emerged near the valley of Mexico. This was around the year 150 A.D. This city comprised of historical twin pyramids that were very tall. Many early Americans referred this city as sacred place and fully established at around 600 A.D. with a population of about 150,000 people. Besides this city of Teotihuacan being a sacred place, it was the origin of the Americans. The residents of this city had strong moral values that respected their culture. The culture of this residents lasted for more than 700 years. Unfortunately, the residents’ later abandoned this city for more than 1000 years (Ornelas 5).
- Another group of people that emerged in the valley of Mexico was the Aztecs in the middle of 15th century. This group entered in this religion through the force of military power. Around 1510, rumors of mysterious beings with powerful weapons shocked the Aztecs. The kingdom of the Aztecs influenced acts of war during the time that it existed. The capital city of the Aztecs kingdom was the Tenochtitlan. By 1519, the Aztec year ce-acatl, or one reed, the ancient prophesies were confirmed. The Spanish overcome the territory of the Aztecs by the year 1521 (Ornelas7).
- The Spanish conquered Mexico after withdrawing the kingdom of the Aztecs. The ambitious Coronado Expedition of 1540-1542 sought the elusive lure of Aztec exaggeration concerning every expedition of the region. People refer the era of Spanish in Mexico to as Mesoamerican because it brought about cases of hunger in the area. Various acts of inhuman occurred during the era of Spanish in Mexico. People like Bartolome and Montesinos critically criticized the inhuman actions from around year 1511. The military conquest played a major role in eliminating the inhuman culture that the Spanish had established. The Spanish military overpowering the city of Teotihuacan marked the beginning of new life to the people of Mexico. The discovery of new continents also played a crucial role in changing the state that was in Mexico. The frontier who were New Spain, the American Southwest had to undergo distinct periods of development under the Spanish rule. By the year 1800, the Spanish had extended its sovereignty into most areas in the Mexico (Ornelas 11).
- Works cited
- Ornelas Mike. Introduction to Between the Conquests. New Mexico. Pg 3-11. Print.
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