The ENTIRE History of Mexico in 18 Minutes

The history of Mexico in one fast story: how a land of pyramids and empires became a republic, lost half its territory, survived revolution and one-party rule, and emerged as a democracy of one hundred and thirty million people. From the Olmec heads to the megacity on the lake, this is the complete story of Mexico. The numbers behind the nation: Mexico is home to more than 130 million people, and Mexico City's metropolitan area holds more than 20 million. The Olmec carved their giant heads around 1200 BC, Tenochtitlan was founded in 1325, Cortes landed in 1519, Tenochtitlan fell on August 13, 1521, Hidalgo rang his bell on September 16, 1810, independence came in 1821, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in 1848, Maximilian was executed in 1867, Diaz ruled from 1876 to 1911, the Constitution was written in 1917, the PRI ruled for 71 years, NAFTA began on January 1, 1994, and Claudia Sheinbaum took office on October 1, 2024. In this video: the Olmec and their colossal heads; Teotihuacan, the city of gods, and the Pyramid of the Sun; the Maya, Chichen Itza, and the 365-step pyramid; the founding of Tenochtitlan in 1325; the great market of Tlatelolco; Moctezuma II and his tribute empire; Cortes, his ships, and his Tlaxcalan allies; the Night of Sorrows in 1520 and the fall of Tenochtitlan in 1521; New Spain, its silver, and its cathedrals; colonial ranks and Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz; the Grito de Dolores of September 16, 1810; Morelos and the congress; independence in 1821 and the republic of 1824; Santa Anna and Texas in 1836; the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848 and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; Benito Juarez, Cinco de Mayo in 1862, and Maximilian's empire; the Porfiriato and its railroads; Madero and the revolution of 1910; Zapata and the Plan of Ayala; Pancho Villa and the Division of the North; the Constitution of 1917 and Diego Rivera's murals; the PRI's 71 years; Tlatelolco on October 2, 1968; the earthquake of September 19, 1985; NAFTA and the Zapatistas of 1994; the democratic breakthrough of 2000; the drug war from 2006; Mexico's factories, farms, and visitors; the Day of the Dead, mariachi, and Frida Kahlo; Mexico City today; the border and the families across it; AMLO and the transformation; Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico's first woman president; and Mexico today, ancient and young at once. From the Olmec heads to the megacity, from Tenochtitlan to the Zocalo, Mexico has been conquered, liberated, broken, and rebuilt. Five centuries after Cortes landed, the story is still being written, by the people of Mexico themselves. This video was researched and written from standard histories and encyclopaedia sources; every date and claim was checked against widely accepted historical records before recording. 00:00 Look at Mexico 00:26 The Olmec 00:54 Teotihuacan 01:25 The Maya 01:55 Tenochtitlan is founded 02:53 Moctezuma II 03:22 Cortes lands 03:49 The fall of Tenochtitlan 04:21 New Spain 05:25 The Grito de Dolores 06:20 Independence 07:15 The Mexican-American War 07:47 Juarez and Maximilian 08:24 The Porfiriato 09:25 Zapata 09:58 Villa 10:30 The Constitution of 1917 11:29 Tlatelolco 1968 12:22 NAFTA and the Zapatistas 12:50 Democracy arrives 13:21 The drug war 14:17 The culture 15:17 Two countries, one story 16:10 Mexico's first woman president 16:42 Mexico today #HistoryOfMexico #MexicanHistory #EntireHistory #MexicoDocumentary #HistoryExplained #Aztec #Maya #Moctezuma #MexicanRevolution #Zapata #FridaKahlo #EchoesOfTime #Tenochtitlan #Cortes #Juarez #DayOfTheDead #MexicoCity #MexicoHistory #HistoryDocumentary #EntireHistory MUSIC: "Eastern Thought" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) — Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) SOURCES: Encyclopaedia Britannica (entries on the history of Mexico, the Aztec Empire, the Maya, the Mexican Revolution, Benito Juarez, Porfirio Diaz); Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) for population figures. This video is an original documentary production. All narration, script, editing, and visual compositions are original works created for this channel. Historical images are AI-generated illustrations created for educational purposes. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.