The first evidence of inhabitation dates back to around 8000BC; with agriculture being key to thousands of years’ worth of development. This formed the basis of the first villages in Mesoamerica, with the Olmecs settling along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico at around 1200BC.

Whilst co-existing with other empires such as the Teotihucanos, by 500BC, the Mayans began to take over the Yucatan peninsula and then, over the years, areas which are today’s Belize, Guatemala and some parts of Honduras and El Salvador. The civilisation flourished between 250 and 900AD and was characterised by a complex society with a rich culture and impressive feats of architecture, art, economy and science. They also had the most sophisticated hieroglyph-based writing system and were also responsible for inventing the number zero which allowed them to do astrological predictions that were very accurate and build architectural masterpieces that were far more complex than the Aztecs’, including a 365-day calendar that is only off by 27 seconds! The downfall of the empire is usually attributed to climate change and unfavourable geographical factors, trade problems, epidemics and foreign invasion, resulting in them migrating or dying by around 900AD.

The Mayans were followed by the Aztecs, or, Mexica at around 1200AD, who mostly populated from the Gulf to the centre of Mexico; or, what is more commonly known as the Valley of Mexico. They too were an impressive people, assimilating other cultures from surrounding ethnic groups and making significant advancements in the context of agriculture and even drainage systems. They were at the height of their power at around 1400AD, until, of course, the Spanish Conquest in 1519AD. At this point, in contrast, the Mayans were found in small communities and kingdoms scattered in Yucatan and Guatemala. With help from captured Mexicas and illnesses brought from Europe, the Aztec empire was brought down within a few years, but, it took them around a hundred years to bring down the Mayan empire. Both cultures have co-existed since the classic period and are still present to this day!

In 1519 Hernan Cortés arrived in Mexico at the port city of Veracruz with some 500 men in search of gold, sinking his own ships in order to prevent his army from turning back. Many of the Amerindians, with the Aztecs being in power, believed that Cortés might have been the god Quetzalcoatl himself, allowing him to gain allies in the process. The Aztec emperor Montezuma II, residing in the capital of Tenochitlan, invited Cortés as his guest. He was manipulated into abiding by the Spaniard’s rule and when this was found out by his people, he was branded as a traitor, killed, and the Spanish forces were kicked out. This was followed by a siege of the capital by the Spaniards which was successful – in part thanks to Cortés’ strategies and, also, thanks to smallpox which battered the already worn-down Aztecs even more. As soon as the capital fell in 1521, other surrounding cities followed lead.

The fall of the Aztec empire was followed by a 300-year period of colonialism. Mexico became known as Nueva Espana, Roman Catholicism became the only recognised religion and racial separation, with the indigenous at the bottom of the social food chain, became the new norm.

Spain’s invasion by Napoleon during the Peninsular War destabilised the monarchy and, in turn, Mexico and other Latin countries’ ruling. An insurgency inspired by Miguel Hidalgo; a secular priest, sparked an uprising against Spanish rule in 1810. With Napoleon’s defeat, the Spanish monarchy tried to reclaim Mexico, however, the damage had already been done and its people wanted Mexico to be its own entity. The Army of the Three Guarantees was forged by the insurgents which paved way to Mexico’s independence from the Spanish monarchy. This is how the First Mexican Empire under the rule of Agustín I came to be, with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala being annexed to it before its dissolution after a few years due to revolts.

This was followed by further political turmoil as the republic was established, with foreign invasions and civil wars breaking out throughout the period. In 1857, a constitutional reform favouring more liberal principles was enacted by Benito Juarez, separating church and state. The conservatives sought help from the French military who were successful in their endeavour. In a battle fought in Puebla, the republicans had the upper hand; a date celebrated by Mexicans as the Cinco de Mayo; inspiring hope and victory. The return of the monarchy lasted only a few years, that is, until the US government helped the republic government earn back its well-deserved position. Juarez’s regime ended after his passing, and was followed by Porfirio Diaz’ which featured a long period of economic stability and growth, using scientists as advisors.

In 1910, following his tenure in office, Diaz claimed he wouldn’t run for a re-election. This had Francisco Madero running as Diaz’ only competitor, however, Diaz quickly went back on his words and jailed Madero. Madero called for an armed uprising sparking a decade-long revolution, resulting in destabilisation of the entire country and Diaz’ resignation after a year. Madero’s relative inexperience led to further regional rebellions, resulting in his dismissal and subsequent assassination and a series of other revolutionaries taking over. By 1920, Venustiano Carranza had consolidated his power and gave rise to a new constitution before he too was murdered.

From the end of the Mexican Revolution in 1929 to 2000, the country was ruled by the right-wing Institutional Revolutionary Party in unison with the government, providing stability through repression, corruption and violence. Successive governments had proven worse than the PRI in some ways, resulting in the latter’s re-election in 2016. In 2018, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico’s first left-wing president was elected and is still in power – with his government focusing on conciliation and moderate discourse. That said, there is much to be done with regards to political rights and social liberties, with the country still being considered one of the most dangerous in the entire world especially with regards to crime rates, narcotrafficking and corruption.

Much can be said about the country’s sociopolitical history. However, when talking about Mexico’s past, there is way more to it than that. Originating in the Yucatan region around 2500BC were the first Mayan people – one of the most impressive civilizations on Earth, with their mythological and religious beliefs captivating the rest of the world.

Mayan mythology refers to pre-Hispanic polytheistic religious beliefs. Central to Mayan mythology is a deep understanding of cosmology and symbolism. The four primary compass directions are each related to certain attributes which are displayed by different Mayan deities, of which at least 150 have been documented, with 13 ruling the heavens and 9 ruling the underworld, each having dualistic natures (such as representing either the sun or the moon). The two most important gods in Mayan mythology are Chaac; god of rain, and Kukulkan; the feathered serpent. The directions are also given the four colours of corn, with north being white, south being yellow, east being red and west being black, and each is associated with a sky-bearer called bacab – jaguar gods that were related to Chaac. The centre of the compass is sometimes referred to as the fifth direction and is portrayed as the Tree of Life; a great ceiba tree which stands as a nexus connecting our world to the heavens and the underworld. Its roots were nested in the underworld, growing into the earthly realm which is represented by a two-headed caiman or a giant turtle, and rose up to the heavens.

The influence of religion in Mayan culture can especially be seen in the civilisation’s art and architecture; most notably the pyramids which were built as temples in which the gods could reside. Priests were considered as intermediaries between humans and gods and were often at the top of the food chain along with kings who were revered as direct descendants of the gods. Lesser in status were the warriors followed by the middle class and then the slaves. Central to their religious beliefs were also offerings to the gods; usually animals, but on occasion, humans. They believed the gods gave up part of their bodies to create the world and as such, this would be a form of retribution and would benefit the civilisation in times of hardships and of plenty. Of course, the gods wouldn’t be appeased by any kind of human, and as such, the heart of a king defeated in battle would by far be a better gift.

The Popol Vuh; also known as the Book of the Community recounts the story of creation and was written by the royal K’iche lineages in Guatemala to withstand the Spaniard’s colonial rule. The Creator gods, amongst which are Huracan, Tepeu and Kukulkan, decided that they needed something in order to preserve their legacy, and this would be through a race that would have hearts and minds of their own and that could keep track of history and venerate them. As such, they decided to first create the Earth and then humans. After a series of unsuccessful attempts, mainly trying to make man out of mud and wood, the gods finally come together to create humans out of yellow and white corn, and this time, they were successful.

One of the most important sagas in Mayan mythology is that of the Hero Twins; Hunahpu and Xbalanque. These two were conceived when their father’s skull spat on their mother (don’t question it). They were then begrudgingly taken in by their father’s mother but were ill-treated throughout their childhood, with their brothers always being given preferential treatment. However, the kid’s intelligence allowed them to overcome such problems, so much so that often times they were asked by other gods to resolve their issues. The twins eventually find out their father used to play pelote; a traditional Mexican ball game, and follow in his footsteps, however, the noise disturbed the lords of Xibalba; the Mayan underworld. Provoked, the gods invited the twins to play pelote against them in Xibalba. They lose every successive game on purpose in order to be allowed to proceed through the nine stages of the underworld, with Hunahpu’s head being severed before the last in order to be used instead of a ball. However, Xbalanque cleverly replaced the head for a gourd, saving his brother and securing a win in the process. The gods, in a last-ditch attempt to end their humiliation, trick the twins into going into a furnace in order to burn them alive. Little did they know that the two brothers were already in on their ruse and that their ashes would be reborn in the form of a catfish and then a young boy once they’d be cast into the river. The twins, completely unrecognisable after their transformation, end up back in Xibalba performing all kinds of miracles. Upon hearing of the notorious duo, the gods invite them to their court and have them entertain them with more of said miracles. Two gods ask that they kill them and then resurrect them but, much to their surprise, the twins do not perform the latter. The Xibalbans finally admit defeat and concede any rights to being worshipped by humans. The twins head back to the surface of our planet, but then keep on flying up to become the sun and the moon; allowing corn to grow and humans to live. This also provides a metaphor for the agricultural cycle and the annual rebirth of ¬crops. Nifty, huh? To add to all of this, the Mayans believed that this entire cycle repeats itself every day, with the sun dying every night, going through to the nine stages of the underworld only to be reborn again the following day. For this reason, in some Mayan cultures, the sun was portrayed as a jaguar bearing a shield.

In contrast, the Aztecs, or Mexica people, are a more modern group of Nahuatl-speaking people who arose in the mythical city of Aztlan. The priest Mexitl, following the guidance of Huitzilopochtli, in turn guided his people southward where they saw an eagle perched on top of nopal in the middle of the lake Texcoco, with a rattlesnake ensnared in its beak. This is where they built Tenochtitlan; which is today’s Mexico City. When they arrived here, they started taking up and adapting other Mesoamwrican ethnic groups’ cultures and customs. They have different versions of the story of creation and venerated gods that are similar to those in other religions, such as Tlaloc instead of Chaac and Quetzalcoatl instead of Kukulkan, with Huitzilopocthli being their original creation.