History.—The history of ancient Mex ico exhibits two distinct and widely dif fering periods—that of the Toltecs and that of the Aztecs. The 8th century is the traditional date when the Toltecs are related to have come from the N. Their capital was established at Tula, N. of the Mexican valley. Their laws and usages stamp them as a people of mild and peaceful instincts, industrious, active and enterprising. It is related that a severe famine and pestilence all but de stroyed the Toltec people in the 11th cen tury, and near the end of the next cen tury a fresh migration brought, among other kindred nations, the Aztecs into the land. Within two centuries and a half this last people had become pre dominant. But their rule was, in a great degree, a reversion to savagery.
The Aztecs founded, about 1325, the city of Tenochtitlan, or Mexico; a hun dred years later they had extended their sway beyond their plateau valley, and on the arrival of the Spaniards, their em pire was found to stretch from ocean to ocean. Their government was an elective empire, the deceased prince being usually succeeded by a brother or nephew, who must be a tried warrior; but sometimes the successor was chosen from among the powerful nobles. The monarch wielded despotic power, save in the case of his great feudal vassals; these exer cised a very similar authority over the peasant class, below whom, again, were the slaves. The Mexicans apparently be lieved in one supreme invisible creator of all things, the ruler of the universe; but the popular faith was polytheistic. At the head of the Aztec pantheon was the frightful Huitzilopochtli, the Mexi can Mars. In every city of the empire his altars were drenched with the blood of human sacrifice. The victims, usually prisoners of war, were borne to the sum mit of the great pyramidal temples, where the priests, in sight of assembled crowds, bound them to the sacrificial stone, and, slashing open the breast, tore from it the bleeding heart and held it up before the image of the god. In the years immediately preceding the Span ish conquest, not less than 20,000 vic tims were annually immolated, including infants, for the propitiation of the rain gods.
Cortez landed at Vera Cruz in 1519. Before his energy, and the superior civil ization of his followers, the power of the native empire crumbled away. In 1540 Mexico was united with other American territories—at one time all the country from Panama to Vancouver's Island— under the name of New Spain, and gov erned by viceroys (57 in all), appointed by the mother country. The intolerant spirit of the Catholic clergy led to the suppression of almost every trace of the ancient Aztec nationality and civiliza tion, while the commercial system crippled the resources of the colony: for all foreign trade with any country other than Spain was prohibited on pain of death. Mexico ranked first among all the Spanish colonies in regard to popu lation, material riches, and natural products. In 1810 the discontent, which had been gaining ground against the viceregal power during the war of the mother country with Napoleon, broke in to open rebellion under the leadership of a country priest named Hidalgo. After his defeat and execution in 1811, Morelos, another priest, continued the struggle till he shared the same fate in 1815; and a guerilla warfare was kept up until, in 1821, the capital was surrendered by O'Donoju (a Spaniard of Irish descent), the last of the viceroys. In the following
year General Iturbide, who in 1821 had issued the plan de Iguala, providing for the independence of Mexico under a prince of the reigning house, had him self proclaimed emperor; but the guerilla leader Guerrero, his former ally, and Gen. Santa Ana raised the republican standard, and in 1823 he was banished to Italy with a pension. Returning the following year, he was taken and shot, and the federal republic of Mexico was finally established.
For more than half a century after this (till 1876), the history of Mexico is a record of nearly chronic disorder and civil war. In 1836 Texas secured its in dependence, for which it had struggled for several years, and which Mexico was compelled to recognize in 1845. In that year Texas was incorporated with the United States; but its W. boundary was not settled, and war ensued between Mexico and the United States (see MEXICAN WAR). From the fall of Santa Ana in 1855, down to 1867, great con fusion prevailed.
In 1853 Benito Juarez became presi dent, but his claims were contested by General Miramon, the head of the re actionary or clerical party, and the country was plunged in civil war. Dur ing this period of internal disorder, the Cortes passed an act suspending all pay ments to foreigners for two years, an act that drew upon the Mexican govern ment the serious remonstrance of those European powers whose subjects had just cause of complaint; and the result was the dispatch of a fleet of English, French, and Spanish ships into the Mex ican Gulf for the purpose of enforcing satisfaction. In 1861 the Spaniards dis embarked a force at Vera Cruz; and this step was soon followed by the ar rival before that city of the allied fleet. Preparations to advance at once upon the capital alarmed the provisional govern ment, and brought about an armistice, with a view of negotiating a treaty for the future regulation of commercial in tercourse between Mexico and the Eu ropean powers. This treaty was drawn i'u and provisionally ratified by the dif ferent commanders_ but was not con firmed on the part of France, and con sequently the French troops retained oc cupation of Mexican territory after the Spaniards and English had declined to oin in further hostile demonstrations. In April, 1862, Emperor Napoleon for mally declared war against Mexico; but the French never met with the wel come they expected from the people and finally had to withdraw, without perma nent success, in 1867, largely because of the attitude of the United States. MAXI MILIAN (q. v.), who had become Em peror of Mexico under French support, was executed in the same year, and Juarez returned to practically absolute power. On the death of Juarez in 1872, the chief justice, Lerdo de Tejada, as sumed the presidency, in which, after a revolution, he was succeeded in 1876 by Gen. Porfirio Diaz, one of the ablest of Mexican soldiers and administrators, who was re-elected in 1884, 1888, 1892, 1896, 1900, and 1904.