Intellectual and cultural life of colonial Mexico Essay

Mexico is a land whose history is as juicy and diverse as its muckle. Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards to Mexico the natives enjoy great hand and applied science. Theyve printed books, made paper and pigments, painted murals and manuscripts, cultivated crops, made structures and lavish designs in architecture that some historians say even prohibiteddates that of Egypt, engaged in checkup practice and planted botanical crops.However with the invasion of the Spanish pudding stone that happened between the year 1521 to 1600 the natives who posses such technologies were suppressed by the Colonialist. Various indigenous crowds disappe ared since the Spaniards pushed to promote Catholicism in the country in their attempt to make pass anything that links the people from their Pagan past. They also brought with them superior technology from Europe which hindered the progress of technologies that they have developed before.The diversity and development of endemic Mexico is sho wn as manuscripts of maps of the assorted areas in Mexico are found in the half-dozen Relaciones Geograficas maps. The rich text combines native and European colorants a clear saying of their rich technology even before the colonialist came to the country. The inhabitants of Mexico today can be classified into two groups, the Indigenous Peoples who lived before the 14th century and the immigration people who arrived with the Spanish conquest.The former, which are the indigenous peoples are the Toltec, Omeca, Zapotec, Maya, Aztec, Huichol, Purapecha, Tarahumara and etc. The later on on the other hand are a mix of different cultures due to the wave of migration brought about by the Spanish Conquerors. For us to in full understand the impact that colonization has brought to the natives, we need to discuss their culture and practices in terms of social stratification, culture, religion and economy prior to the coming of the Spaniards. infixed MexicoMexico was the site of some of the earliest and most advanced civilizations in the western hemisphere. Its human history began with the aboriginal people we call American Indians or Amerids. Archeological records date back to older than that civilization of Egypt. They were scattered groups of roving hunters. The Amerids then became diverse and divided into sub classes differentiating in culture, legend and practices. These are the Toltec, Maya, Omeca, Zapotec, Aztec, Purapecha, Huichol, Tarahumara and etc.Clash of cultural minorities happened and led to the fall of different empires. When the Spaniards came to Mexico the Maya and Aztec groups where prevalent in the region. Their economy greatly relies on agriculture and herding. It was a community divide into three classes slave, commoner and nobility. However, far different from that of the Spaniard, the slaves can bargain for their freedom and when he manages to escape from his master and makes his was safely to the royal rook he is then given immediate freedom.Social mobility was also near by all the classes regardless of race as long as one has enough money and resources to do so. With regards to religion, they have numerous Gods. In Aztec society in particular, their gods are Uitzilopochtli (sun god), Tlaloc (rain god), Coyolxauhqui (moon goddess), and Quetzalcoatl (inventor of writing and the calendar and also associated with the artificial satellite Venus and with resurrection) . Animal and human sacrifices were also made to honor state of warriors during the war and for religious ceremonies.Prisoners were also sacrificed for less important rituals. The Spaniards found the ritual direful since it involves human sacrifices which are against Catholic faith. The ritual would take place on top of a pyramid where the human sacrifice is placed on a convex stone and the priest would reap their hearts out using a knife (Almanac, 2005). As of press time, the modern Aztecs people number for over a million and are the largest aborigi nal group in the country. Most of them are farmers who have no access to program line and most are illiterate.