How has Mexico's culture been shaped by conflict?

Answer 1

Nowadays, most Mexican Culture can be traced to three sources: the Mesoamerican culture (especially of Mayan and Aztec origin), the Spanish culture which was brought by Spanish conquistadors until Mexican independence on 1821, and the Mexican culture, which has lasted since 1821.

Almost since Mexico started its war of independence, it has been plagued by internal turmoil, as well as constant "interventions" by foreign powers. The conflicts that have affected Mexico since its independence include:

• Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821)

• Central American Federation War of independence (1822-1823)

• Texas War of Independence (1835-1836)

• First Franco-Mexican War ("The Pastry War") (1838)

• Yucatan Secession (1839-1843)

• Mexican-American War (1846-1848)

• Yucatan Rebellion (1847)

• Second Franco-Mexican War (1862-1867)

• Yaqui Indian War (1899-1904)

• Mexican Revolution (1910-1921)

• US Occupation of Veracruz (1914)

• US Punitive Expedition (1916-1917)

• World War Two (1942-1945)

• Chiapas Uprising (1994-Present)

• EPR Marxist Guerrilla Conflict (1996-Present)

• Mexico's Drug War (2006-Present)

Mexico didn't really consider itself a nation until the Second Franco-Mexican War (1862-1867), after the "Cinco de Mayo" or "Battle of Puebla" (May 5, 1862) when 4,500 Mexicans defeated a better-supplied, better-trained fighting force of 6,500 French troops -- which at the time, were deemed unstoppable. Ever since, a sense of nationalism grew among Mexican people.

The Mexican Revolution (1910-1921) is the bloodiest conflict that ever occurred in Mexico, resulting in 1-2 million deaths at a time when Mexican population was no larger than 15.2 million. It is also considered the most important socio-political event in Mexican history, and one of the most notable of the 20th century, resulting in extensive changes on Mexican culture, society, economy and politics. From an agrarian society full of workers earning little more than slave wages, Mexico laid the foundations of what would later become the Mexican Miracle (1940-1970).