Mexico City

Historical Background Information

Mexico City was established on March 18th 1325, but at that time was commonly known as Tenochitlan. The Aztecs had a prophecy that the site for their new city would be determined when they saw an eagle eating a snake while perched atop a cactus. The Aztecs saw this vision on what was then a small swamp-infested island in Lake Texcoco, a vision that is now shown in Mexico's coat of arms and on the Mexican flag. It later would become the center of a growing empire. The overall city covered near 8 to 13 1/2 square kilometers. They built artificial islands and canals to allow the growth of the metropolis. The lakes near-by were salty, so the Aztecs built dams to keep the city surrounded by rivers with fresh water. Causeways or canals were connected in every direction of the city allowing traffic to pass throughout Tenochtitlan.

The Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes firts arrived in 1519. The city was not truely conqured until august 13, 1521. Sadly though, the overthrow came at a great cost, most of the ancient city was destroyed. By 1525 the ancient city was rebuilt to serve as the capitial of the entire region, New Spain.

Later, the city would be involved in a revolution, which began with a rebellion from Father Miguel de Hidalgo y Costilla, in 1810. After the long war, Mexico City's independence was gained on September 27, 1821. The independence was shortly followed by the formation of a republic form of government in 1823. The feud with the United States would eventually blow into a full-out war, ceding part of Mexico's land toward the end after a siege of Mexico City by General Winfield Scott on September 14, 1847.

Layout of the City

Tenochtitlan was divided into four areas, with twenty distrcits in each area. The entire city was connected by three main streets, wide enough for ten horses across. Economically built, each district had its own marketplace. Public buildings included temples, schools, ceremonial centers and the temple of Quetzalcoatl, with the palace of Moctezuma nearby. All construction plans had to be approved by a committee in charge of city planning, while the city itself was symmetrical.

The city itself was heavily maintained. Latrines were often cleaned out of public and private buildings, while boats went through the city collecting garbage. At least 1,000 mean were dispatched regularly to clean the massive town. The most common estimates put the population at over 200,000 people, so a task of this magnitude would most likely take quite a few hours.

Pictures

Mexico City in 1628

Ancient Mexico City

Valley of Mexico 1519

Group members

Tim Anderson

Travis Coffman

David Hayward

Sources

Mexico City. (2006). In Wikipedia Web. Wikipedia. Retrieved

08/29/06, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico_city

Mexico History and Culture. Retrieved August 30, 2006, Web site:

http://geographia.com/mexico/mexicohistory.htm

Tenochtitlan. (2006). In Wikipedia Web. Retrieved August

30 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenochtitlan