The Valley of Mexico has long been a center of civilization. The first city to appear that is today well-known is Teotihuacan. The city was at it's peak around the year 250 A.D. Many tourists go to see the Avenue of the Dead, with it's two major pyramids, the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. Here is a look at Teotihuacan today.
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After the decline of Teotihuacan, which may have been due to an internal uprising, the balance of power in the Valley of Mexico shifted first to the Toltecs and then to the Aztecs. The Mexica Indians, from where the name of the country comes, were rulers of the Aztec Empire. Teotihuacan was already long in ruins by the time the Aztecs arrived.
The Aztec Empire was a "Triple Alliance" of three city-states, the best-known of which is Tenochtitlan. This city was built, in 1325, on what was then an island in Lake Texcoco. The site of Tenochtitlan is today near the center of Mexico City.
The Aztecs had a belief that they were to build a city in a place where they saw an eagle that had caught a snake. They saw that on an island in Lake Texcoco, where they then built Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City. The image of an eagle holding a snake is on the flag of Mexico.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Mexico#/media/File:Flag_of_Mexico.svg
The important Aztec temple, Templo Mayor, was found in 1978. The main language of the Aztecs, Nahuatl, is still widely spoken in parts of Mexico. There are radio stations broadcasting in Nahuatl, and other Indian languages are also still spoken as daily languages.
Tenochtitlan was virtually destroyed in 1521, with the arrival with Spaniards led by Hernan Cortes. Tenochtitlan was then rebuilt into Mexico City. What is known as the Historic Center of Mexico City, around what is now Zocalo Square, had also been the center of Tenochtitlan.
Zocalo is also called Plaza de la Constitucion. It is where the Spanish colonial-era Metropolitan Cathedral and the National Palace, residence of the Mexican president, are located. The name of Mexico, from the Mexica Indians, arose because the Spaniards had difficulty pronouncing many Indian names.
Much of the building materials of the National Palace were salvaged from the destroyed palace of the Aztec emperor at the time of the Spanish expedition, Moctezuma II. Hernan Cortes, the Spanish conquistador, initially rebuilt the former palace of Moctezuma II as his palace. It was rebuilt again, after Mexican independence from Spain, and more improvements were made during the reign of Habsburg Emperor Maximilian I. The National Palace was added to by the long-term president Porfirio Diaz, who was eventually overthrown by what could be called the Second Mexican Revolution.
Adjacent to the National Palace is the Metropolitan Cathedral, also dating from the Spanish colonial era and built over an Aztec ceremonial site, was begun in 1573, and also made use of stone from destroyed Aztec buildings. The Zocalo area, also referred to as the Historic Center of Mexico City, especially suffers from the subsistence of the ground level that plagues Mexico City, caused by excessive pumping of ground water.
Here is a look around Zocalo Square, the Historic Center of Mexico City, with the National Palace and starting inside Metropolitan Cathedral. This is the largest cathedral in the western hemisphere.
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Another famous cathedral in Mexico City is the Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe. There is both a new and an adjacent old basilica. The old one was closed for extensive repairs, due to the subsistence of ground level on the former lake bed on which Mexico City is built, and the new one opened. The old basilica has also since been reopened. The new basilica is very reminiscent of the modern Catholic cathedral in Liverpool. This is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the world. Here is a look, starting in the old Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
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Mexico gained independence from Spanish colonial rule in 1821. The country was briefly a monarchy after independence, led by Emperor Agustin de Iturbide. This was followed by what is known as the First Mexican Republic.
There was the Mexican-American War and in 1847 U.S. forces attacked Mexico City, finally capturing Chapultepec Castle. After this the Mexican Civil War, or Reform War, lasted from 1857-60. Mexico City was the capital of the Conservatives in the Reform War, representing institutions such as the church and the army, but the Liberals eventually won the conflict.
While the U.S. was embroiled in it's own Civil War, Napoleon III of France took the opportunity to invade Mexico. The invasion was initially supported by Britain and Spain, and was due to Mexico suspending interest payments on debts to these three nations. Maximilian I, of the Austrian House of Habsburg, was installed as emperor.
This is referred to as the Second Mexican Empire, and was an attempt to permanently set up Mexico as a monarchy. Maximilian I was eventually overthrown and executed, and restored President Benito Juarez. This was a native Indian who became the well-known liberal president who did much to modernize the country, and for whom the Mexican border city, opposite El Paso, is named. The popular Mexican holiday, Cinco de Mayo, us a celebration of victory over French imperial forces.
One of the best-known streets in the world is Mexico City's Paseo de la Reforma. It runs diagonally across the city and was built as a great boulevard by Emperor Maximilian I to run between his imperial residence, Chapultepec Castle, and the city center. It was modeled on the Champs Elysees, in Paris. After the execution of Maximilian, the boulevard was renamed in honor of those who served in the Reform War, the Mexican Civil War.
Here is a look at Chapultepec Castle, starting inside the castle and showing the garden ans adjacent Chapultepec Park.
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Not far from Chapultepec Castle, on the Paseo de la Reforma, is the state of the Angel of Independence, celebrating Mexican independence from colonial rule. Here are some views of the area, beginning at the Angel of Independence. The Chapultepec Acqueduct that can be seen was built by the Aztecs.
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One place that the Paseo de la Reforma also passes by is the site of another Aztec city. This city was Tlatelolco, and it shared the island in the former Lake Texcoco with Tenochtitlan. The ruins of Tlatelolco, like those of Tenochtitlan, are preserved within Mexico City. Tlatelolco is also known for something else. In 1968, just before the start of the Mexico City Olympics, possibly hundreds of demonstrators were shot and killed by the Mexican Army and police.
Here is a look around the ruins of the Aztec city of Tlatelolco, and the nearby square, starting from the Paseo de la Reforma.
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The Angel of Independence was actually built not during the time of Maximilian I, but during the long presidency of Porfirio Diaz, 1876-1911. It's construction in 1910 was for the celebration of Mexican independence.
More stairs were added later due to the incessant sinking of the ground level that plagues Mexico City. Some areas have sunk 9 meters since 1900. Remember from our visit to New Orleans that it suffers from the same problem. The City was rebuilt along the lines of the renovation of Paris, that we saw in the visit there. Diaz planned for the entire city to be rebuilt, with Colonia Roma which is near the Angel of Independence, as a model.
Here is the northern part of Colonia Roma, that Porfirio Diaz wanted to use as a model for the rebuilding of the entire city.
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Here is a look around the vast development, known as Nezahualcoyotl, sometimes referred to as Ciudad Neza, that is built on the former bed of a section of Lake Texcoco that was drained in the early Twentieth Century.
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This development in the southwest of Mexico City is known as Valle de Chalco.
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Here is the Polanco area of Mexico City. A lot of wealthy people live here.
West of Mexico City is the city of Toluca.
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