South By Southwest Essay, Research Paper

The setting of this story covers an immense number of years of conquering and

colonization in the Southwest areas we now know as California, Arizona, New

Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. It begins in the early 15 and 1600?s, in a time

when many important Spaniards, such as Juan Bautista de Anza (in 1775 he led the

longest overland migration of a colony in North American history before Oregon),

were moving into the Southwest in search of gold, silver, bread, and jobs. It

also talks about the Indians, who were already living in the area we now know as

Mexico, that did not get along real well with the Spaniards(Anglos) when they

came in to invade their land. The two main Indian tribes of that time were the

Mayas(a peaceful people who were interested in science, invented a calendar to

grow maize, and were later believed to be wiped out by a great natural

catastrophe), and the Aztecs(a powerful bloodthirsty tribe who feared no human

only their gods). Next it went on to the 1800?s and early 1900?s, when

Mexico decided to fight the Spaniards for their independence. Finally, the book

went on into the mid to late 1900?s, where Mexico began to modernize and

become a good neighbor to the United States. 6. The major conflict was between

the Anglos and the Mexicans. It began with the Spaniards and the Indians(Aztecs)

fighting over the Valley of Anahuac. The Spaniards(led by Cortez) ended up

winning the battle over the Aztecs(led by Moctezuma). Due to the cruel and

ruthless Spanish rule, a new social system was set up where the Spanish-born

whites were the rulers, the Mexican-born whites were the aristocracy, and the

Indians lived lives of poverty and slavery. Another class grew called

mestizos(Mexican-Indian), and out of all these were the forces that created

Mexico. Next, Mexico(led first by Padre Miguel Hidalgo, then by Jose Maria

Morelos, and finally by a traitor D. Augustin de Iturbide) fought the Spaniards

for their independence. The first two lost and were killed, but they ignited a

spark that later led to victory with the help of Iturbide and his army. For a

while Mexico was in chaos, but with the help of many leaders,(Benito Juarez,

Porfirio Diaz, and Lazaro Cardenas to name a few) they were able to start making

laws and bring Mexico to become a modern society, free from slavery and

dictatorship. Now, like the rest of the world, Mexico is developing into an

urban area with cities that are modern and spreading out in many directions. 7.

I believe the theme of this story to be that although Mexico and the United

States had very different histories, they have grown together. They share such a

long border that they need to maintain a peaceful border, otherwise many

problems can occur. Mexico and U.S. rely on each other for many important

imports and exports. In many cases, other than a political one, the line that

runs between Brownsville, Texas and San Diego, California is considered an

invisible one. Many cross it often, as in some areas it is only a barbed wire

fence or a river easily crossed. Also there is said to be about as many

"Mexican-Americans" in the Southwest as there are in the Mexican

states just south of the border, which makes it seem, in many ways, as if it is

all one region. 8. The main characters were more groups than anything: the

Spaniards, the Mexicans, the Indians, and the Anglos, however, there were some

important ones? within the groups to be mentioned. These are: Cortez(the

leader of the Spaniards when fighting the Aztecs), Moctezuma(the leader of the

Aztecs), Padre Miguel Hidalgo, Jose Maria Morelos, and D. Augustin de

Iturbide(leaders of Mexico in their revolution against the Spaniards), and

Benito Juarez, Porfirio Diaz, and Lazaro Cardenas(all leaders of Mexico helping

to organize and modernize Mexico). 9. I would recommend this book to many of my

friends and relatives. I have many Mexican American relatives that are very

interested in all I am learning in this class, and whenever I find a good book,

they are all very eager to learn about it. This book was an excellent read. It

was full of history that was not taught to me before, and I really enjoyed

learning about the history of the Mexican American.

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