The Legacies Of Colonialism In Modern Day Mexico
Introduction
Mexico, our neighbor to the south, is known for it’s beautiful landscapes, rich culture and emerging economy. Yet because of the characteristics of their inadequate infrastructure or their dependence on countries like the US, it is still considered a developing country. During pre-colonial times, Mexico was home to the Aztec civilization, an indigenous group of people with a complex organized social and political structure.
They were known for the understanding and development of astronomy, mathematics, illustrated language (hieroglyphics), calendar system as well as building elaborate architecture such as temples, pyramids, ceremonial towers and palaces (“Aztecs”, 2005). This was until around 1519, when the Spanish inquisition of what is currently known as Mexico began — by 1521 that land no longer belonged to the Aztec.
The goal of the Spanish colonizers was to conquer the land in the name of the Spain Empire and impose their language, religion and culture on the people living there. To this day, the legacy of colonization continues to dictate the religion, culture and development of Mexico. Although Mexico is one of the largest economies in the world (International Monetary Fund, 2017) it is still considered to be a developing country because of its high levels of corruption (Rosenmuller, 2017), inadequate infrastructure (Starkl, Brunner, Stenström, 2013), gender inequality (Aguiar, Gutiérrez, 2017), national debt and high levels of poverty (World Bank 2016).
Religion
The Legacy of Spanish Missionaries. One of the most prominent legacies of Spanish colonialism in Mexico was Catholicism. A few years after the Spanish conquered Mexico, Catholic missionaries arrived with the intent of converting the native population to Christian faith. There were different two kinds of Missions with different objectives, the Jesuits Mission and the Mendicant Mission. The Mendicant missionaries were focused on traveling through Mexico and establishing resources to help alleviate poverty and educate the native population.
The Mendicant missionaries particularly “sought equality between Indians and Spanish through education” and believed that education was the key to helping the population out of poverty. At the same time, they were committed to a life of poverty and generally renounced their worldly possessions. They also had an egalitarian political system with elected officials who were treated with high respect and could be voted into or out of their position by fellow friars. Between 1524 and 1810 the Mendicant order established 942 missions throughout Colonial Mexico (Waldinger, 1970). The Jesuit missionaries on the other hand had a set of different priorities in which they were only focused on strengthening the Catholic religion and ensuring that only the sons of Spanish elite were provided an education and taught Christianity, while completely disregarding the needs of the native population (Feldmann, 2016).
The long term effects of Mendicant missions can still be felt in modern day Mexico. Places that are within 5 kilometers of established historical Mendicant missions have significantly higher rates of literacy, total years of schooling and participation in secondary and higher education than places with no history of missions. Likewise, the opposite effect can be seen from places within 5 kilometers of Jesuit missions which have lower literacy rates, less years of schooling and decreased participation in higher education as well as a higher Catholic population within 5 kilometers where these missions were established (Waldinger, 1970). This is one of the best legacies that have resulted from the colonization of Mexico because it continues to positively impact people today. The Legacy of the AztecAnother legacy that is remains alive in Mexico is the celebration of “El Dia De Los Muertos” or “The Day of the Dead”.
This holiday originated from Aztec culture and was meant to honor family members and friends who had died and to celebrate the life they had once lived. El Dia de los Muertos continues to be celebrated in modern day Mexico (S. , & M. , 1990), it is a three day celebration during which people visit the graves of their loved ones and cover them with flowers, food and other gifts (“Celebrating”, 2017). They also clean and repair the graves of their loved ones and generally spend the day praying for them. People also decorate the streets with candles, skulls, flowers and crowns (Espinoza & Lopez, 1991). Even though this holiday is meant to celebrate the dead, it is in no way is it a gloomy and somber occasion, in fact it is a cheerful and gleeful holiday where people reminisce about the memories and good times spent with their loved ones. El Dia de los Muertos is a major part of Mexican identity and a staple in the relationship between the Spanish conquistadors and the native population. Although the Aztec population was forced to convert to Christianity by the Spanish colonizers, it never stopped them from continuing the tradition of celebrating El Dia de los Muertos and eventually it became a part of Catholicism in Mexico (Sue, 2012). Today, it represents the merging of Meso-American and Spanish culture in Latin America as well as the indigenous identity and culture in Mexico.
Architecture and Development
The Legacy of Spanish Architecture
Spanish colonization also had a major influence on the urbanization and development of cities in Mexico, much of it can still be seen in the style of buildings and towns. By the time the Spanish had arrived in Mexico, the Aztecs had already established their own cities with town squares, temples, roads and government buildings. When the Spanish took over Aztec empire, they destroyed their cities and insisted on rebuilding cathedrals, palaces, government buildings and plazas over the same land where Aztec towns once stood. One aspect of Spanish influence can particularly be seen in the symmetry of buildings, prominent domes and arches and detailed styles of design. Spanish colonial architecture is most notable for the Baroque style, which is defined by intricately designed buildings with heavily decorated walls covered in angels and saints, geometry carved into stone, and ceramic tiles used to create beautiful patterns.
Many of the buildings that were ordered to be built by the Spanish, were built by indigenous people, and their native influence can be seen in the style and design of buildings. Another prominent style of colonial architecture in Mexico the Churrigueresque style which encompassed an even more intricate attention to detail and was meant to represent the newly acquired wealth of the Spanish empire. One of legacies left by colonization is the prominent Spanish influence on the style of historical buildings and towns throughout Mexico and the lack of ancient Aztec architecture.
The Legacy of Spanish Development
Another developmental legacy left by the Spaniards was the style of organization of towns called “La Traza”. La Traza refers to a style of development in which towns were established with a church in the center, followed by a plaza or town square next to it, surrounded by government buildings or a court, and then residencies surrounding the whole town in the form of a grid. Prior to the Spanish inquisition, the city of Tenochtitlan was the center of the Aztec empire and it was designed as a grid that contained temples, a town square, and housing for the natives. When Hernan Cortes, the leader of the Spanish conquest, took over the Aztec empire he demanded that all Spanish settlements be built where the Aztec empire once stood, but chose to incorporate the existing grid into the structure of the new city. This method was mainly used to account for future growth, since it allows for growth outward from the town center. Mendicant orders also played a key role in the development of trazas, they established missions throughout Mexico with the intent of going around converting the native population to Christianity and did so by building churches in densely populated indigenous areas.
Generally the churches they built served as living quarters for the friars and from then on they would establish the rest of the town. The Spanish would then force the natives to move into these towns that replicated the grid-like structure of towns in Spain so that they could better manage and educate them. There were three types of Mendicants who each had an individual style for building churches, the Franciscans, the Dominicans and the Augustinians. The Franciscans were known for their large churches what were intended to make room for newly converted people, the Dominicans were known for being highly decorative and ornamental with their churches, and the Augustinians were known for grandiose and excessively lavish churches (Altman, Cline, S. , Pescador, 2003).
The majority of towns established in Mexico and Latin America continue to follow this kind of urban organization and a central church remains as the staple to every town. The legacy left by colonialism was a blueprint for how cities and towns should be structured which a strong religious presence in the center.
Conclusion
The legacy left by the Spanish Empire nearly dictated the entire development of modern day Mexico from the language, to religion, urban development, architecture and even language. It has done both positive and negative things for Mexico, but it also affected Mexico’s ability to reach its fully developed status. The negative impacts have led to the current day issues faced by Mexico such as high levels corruption, inadequate infrastructure, gender inequality, high national debt and approximately 50% of the population living poverty (World Bank, 2016), which are all characteristics of developing countries.
Colonization played a key role in the establishment of Christianity in the New World, the merging of the indigenous population with the Spanish, the architectural design of new cities and the urban development of New Spain. These legacies will continue to play a role in Mexico’s future development; ensuring that the citizens of Mexico are receiving an education, keeping the dominant religion as Catholicism, integrating Spanish colonial architecture with modern day architecture and continuting the sprawl of developing in form of a grid.
