A Brief History of Mexico, Fourth Edition brings readers up to date on developments in Mexico, helping them understand the deeper significance of recent events. Since Felipe Calderon took office in 2006 amidst violent protests, his reforms have been aimed at drug cartels, poverty, restructuring the role of government in private businesses, and attempts to foster trade agreements with other nations. Despite the many obstacles it faces today, Mexico has become a democratic nation with checks and balances, free elections, and the ability to build a better future.

Table of Contents

• List of Illustrations
• List of Maps
• List of Tables
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1 The First Peoples: Pre-Columbian Mexico
• 2 Diversity of Mesoamerican Civilization
• 3 The Age of Conquest
• 4 The Founding of an Empire: Sixteenth-Century Mexico
• 5 The Colony of New Spain
• 6 The Bourbon Reforms and Independence (1700-1821)
• 7 Years of Chaos (1823-1876)
• 8 The Porfiriato Dictatorship (1876-1910)
• 9 The Revolution of 1910 (1910-1940)
• 10 The Institutionalized Revolution (1940-1988)
• 11 The March toward Democracy (1988-2000)
• 12 A More Democratic Mexico (2000-2009)
• Appendixes
• 1 Basic Facts about Mexico
• 2 Chronology
• 3 Bibliography
• 4 Suggested Reading