1.
History of Mexico City
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At its height, Tenochtitlan had enormous temples and palaces, a huge ceremonial center, residences of political, religious, military, and merchants. Its population was estimated at least 100,000 and perhaps as high as 200,000 in 1519 when the Spaniards first saw it, during the final stage of the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, Tenochtitlan was besieged and essentially razed. Some of the oldest structures in Mexico City date from the early conquest era, many colonial-era buildings remain standing and have been re-purposed government buildings and museums. It was where the merchant houses were located and the economic elites of the country lived. It was also an educational center, with the University of Mexico founded in 1553 as part of the complex of the Plaza Mayor. Many religious institutions for the education of the sons of Spanish elites were also based in the capital, Mexico City had the colonys largest concentration of those of Spanish heritage, as well as the largest concentration of mixed race casta population in the colony. Many Indians also lived outside the center of the capital, following independence in 1821 to the current era, Mexico City remains the countrys largest and most important city. Post-independence, Mexico City was captured by U. S. forces during the Mexican–American War and saw violence during the Reform War, at the beginning of the 20th century, the citys population stood at about 500,000. The citys history in the 20th and 21st centuries has been marked by population growth. And the government has had problems keeping up with basic services, smog became a serious problem as the shanty towns evolved, formed by the poor of the country migrating to the city. Since the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, which caused significant damage to the center of the city, in the 2000s, businessman and philanthropist Carlos Slim created a foundation to revitalize the historic center as well as sites near the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The Aztecs were one of the last of the Nahuatl-speaking peoples who migrated to part of the Valley of Mexico after the fall of the Toltec Empire. Their presence was resisted by the peoples who were already there, the Aztecs themselves had a story about how their city was founded after being led to the island by their principal god, Huitzilopochtli. According to the story, the god indicated their new home with a sign, between 1325 and 1521, Tenochtitlan grew in size and strength, eventually dominating the other city-states or altepetl around Lake Texcoco, and in the Valley of Mexico. When the Spaniards arrived, the Aztec Empire reached much of Mesoamerica, there are two overlapping narratives about the founding to the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, which would become modern Mexico City. The first is told by the archeological and historic record, and the second comes from the Mexica themselves, the central highlands of what is now Mexico were occupied for many centuries before the founding of the city. To the northeast are the ruins of Teotihuacan, whose empire, after that, the Toltecs ruled the area in and around the Valley of Mexico until about 1200 CE. After the fall of the Toltec capital of Tollan, large migrations of people moved into the Valley of Mexico and this led to the founding of a number of semi-autonomous urban centers around Lake Texcoco each claiming legitimacy as descendants of the Toltecs
2.
Town square
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A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, piazza, plaza, most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets, music concerts, political rallies, and other events that require firm ground. Being centrally located, town squares are surrounded by small shops such as bakeries, meat markets, cheese stores. At their center is often a fountain, well, monument, many of those with fountains are actually called fountain square. In urban planning, a city square or urban square is an open area in a city. Red Square in Moscow was originally used as a marketplace and later became the stage for Soviet military parades. Similarly, Beijings Tiananmen Square was the scene of both communist parades and anti-government protests, john-F. -Kennedy-Platz was the site of the West Berlin town hall and John F. Kennedys famous Ich bin ein Berliner speech. New York Citys Times Square as well as Bryant Park, Washington, D. C. s National Mall, trafalgar Square in London does the same for the United Kingdom. Saint Peters Square in Vatican City, the enclave within Rome. Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto is a renowned and famous square in Canada, nathan Phillips Square is a popular square in front of Torontos landmark City Hall. Hviezdoslavovo námestie is one of the squares in Bratislava and a centre of a social life. Dam Square in Amsterdam for the Netherlands, Main Market Square in Kraków, Market Place in Warsaw and Wrocław Main Square for Poland. The City Hall Square, Copenhagen for Denmark, praça do Comércio, in Lisbon, Portugal, was formerly known as the Terreiro do Paço. It was destroyed after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake but was rebuilt, the symmetrical buildings around the square hold government bureaus and ministries. Wenceslas Square is one of the city squares in the New Town of Prague. In Mainland China, Peoples Square is a designation for the central town square of modern Chinese cities. These squares are the site of government buildings, museums and other public buildings, the probably best-known and largest such square in China is Tienanmen Square. The German word for square is Platz, which also means Place and these have been focal points of public life in towns and cities from the Middle Ages to today
3.
Mexico City
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Mexico City, or City of Mexico, is the capital and most populous city of Mexico. As an alpha global city, Mexico City is one of the most important financial centers in the Americas and it is located in the Valley of Mexico, a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres. The city consists of sixteen municipalities, the 2009 estimated population for the city proper was approximately 8.84 million people, with a land area of 1,485 square kilometres. The Greater Mexico City has a domestic product of US$411 billion in 2011. The city was responsible for generating 15. 8% of Mexicos Gross Domestic Product, as a stand-alone country, in 2013, Mexico City would be the fifth-largest economy in Latin America—five times as large as Costa Ricas and about the same size as Perus. Mexico’s capital is both the oldest capital city in the Americas and one of two founded by Amerindians, the other being Quito. In 1524, the municipality of Mexico City was established, known as México Tenochtitlán, Mexico City served as the political, administrative and financial center of a major part of the Spanish colonial empire. After independence from Spain was achieved, the district was created in 1824. Ever since, the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution has controlled both of them, in recent years, the local government has passed a wave of liberal policies, such as abortion on request, a limited form of euthanasia, no-fault divorce, and same-sex marriage. On January 29,2016, it ceased to be called the Federal District and is now in transition to become the countrys 32nd federal entity, giving it a level of autonomy comparable to that of a state. Because of a clause in the Mexican Constitution, however, as the seat of the powers of the federation, it can never become a state, the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan was founded by the Mexica people in 1325. According to legend, the Mexicas principal god, Huitzilopochtli indicated the site where they were to build their home by presenting an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak. Between 1325 and 1521, Tenochtitlan grew in size and strength, eventually dominating the other city-states around Lake Texcoco, when the Spaniards arrived, the Aztec Empire had reached much of Mesoamerica, touching both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. After landing in Veracruz, Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés advanced upon Tenochtitlan with the aid of many of the native peoples. Cortés put Moctezuma under house arrest, hoping to rule through him, the Aztecs thought the Spaniards were permanently gone, and they elected a new king, Cuitláhuac, but he soon died, the next king was Cuauhtémoc. Cortés began a siege of Tenochtitlan in May 1521, for three months, the city suffered from the lack of food and water as well as the spread of smallpox brought by the Europeans. Cortés and his allies landed their forces in the south of the island, the Spaniards practically razed Tenochtitlan during the final siege of the conquest. Cortés first settled in Coyoacán, but decided to rebuild the Aztec site to erase all traces of the old order and he did not establish a territory under his own personal rule, but remained loyal to the Spanish crown
4.
European colonization of the Americas
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European colonization of the Americas began as early as the 10th–11th century, when West Norse sailors explored and briefly settled limited areas on the shores of present-day Canada. These Norsemen were Vikings who had discovered and settled Greenland, then sailed up the Arctic region of North America alongside Greenland, according to Icelandic Sagas, violent conflicts with the indigenous population ultimately made the Norse abandon those settlements. Running aground on the part of Hispaniola on December 5,1492, which the Taino people had inhabited since the 7th century. European conquest, large-scale exploration, colonization and industrial development soon followed, Columbus first two voyages reached the Bahamas and various Caribbean islands, including Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Cuba. In 1497, sailing from Bristol on behalf of England, John Cabot landed on the North American coast, other powers such as France also founded colonies in the Americas, in eastern North America, a number of Caribbean islands, and small coastal parts of South America. Portugal colonized Brazil, tried colonizing the coasts of present-day Canada, the Age of Exploration was the beginning of territorial expansion for several European countries. Eventually, the entire Western Hemisphere came under the control of European governments, leading to profound changes to its landscape, population. In the 19th century alone over 50 million people left Europe for the Americas, Norse journeys to Greenland and Canada are supported by historical and archaeological evidence. It was named a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1978, Early explorations and conquests were made by the Spanish and the Portuguese immediately following their own final reconquest of Iberia in 1492. Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés took over the Aztec Kingdom and Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire, over this same timeframe, Portugal claimed lands in North America and colonized much of eastern South America, naming it Santa Cruz and Brazil. Other European nations soon disputed the terms of the Treaty of Tordesillas, England and France attempted to plant colonies in the Americas in the 16th century, but these failed. England and France succeeded in establishing permanent colonies in the following century, in the 18th century, Denmark–Norway revived its former colonies in Greenland, while the Russian Empire gained a foothold in Alaska. Denmark-Norway would later make claims in the Caribbean, starting in the 1600s. As more nations gained an interest in the colonization of the Americas, colonists often faced the threat of attacks from neighboring colonies, as well as from indigenous tribes and pirates. He was followed by other such as John Cabot, who was sponsored by England. Pedro Álvares Cabral reached Brazil and claimed it for Portugal, amerigo Vespucci, working for Portugal in voyages from 1497 to 1513, established that Columbus had reached a new set of continents. Cartographers still use a Latinized version of his first name, America, in 1513, Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and led the first European expedition to see the Pacific Ocean from the west coast of the New World. In an action with enduring historical import, Balboa claimed the Pacific Ocean and it was 1517 before another expedition, from Cuba, visited Central America, landing on the coast of Yucatán in search of slaves
5.
Tenochtitlan
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Mexico-Tenochtitlan, commonly known as Tenochtitlan was a Mexica located on an island in Lake Texcoco, in the Valley of Mexico. Founded on June 20,1325, it became the capital of the expanding Aztec Empire in the 15th century, at its peak it was the largest city in the Pre-Columbian Americas. It subsequently became a cabecera of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, today the ruins of Tenochtitlan are located in Mexico Citys downtown. Tenochtitlan was one of two Nahua āltēpetl on the island, the other being Tlatelolco, traditionally, the name Tenochtitlan was thought to come from Nahuatl tetl and nōchtli and is often thought to mean, Among the prickly pears rocks. However, one attestation in the late 16th-century manuscript known as the Bancroft dialogues suggest the second vowel was short, Tenochtitlan covered an estimated 8 to 13.5 km2, situated on the western side of the shallow Lake Texcoco. At the time of Spanish conquests, Mexico City comprised both Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco, the city was connected to the mainland by causeways leading to the north, south, and west. The causeways were interrupted by bridges that allowed canoes and other traffic to pass freely. The bridges could be pulled away, if necessary, to defend the city, the city was interlaced with a series of canals, so that all sections of the city could be visited either on foot or via canoe. Lake Texcoco was the largest of five interconnected lakes, since it formed in an endorheic basin, Lake Texcoco was brackish. During the reign of Moctezuma I, the levee of Nezahualcoyotl was constructed, estimated to be 12 to 16 km in length, the levee was completed circa 1453. The levee kept fresh spring-fed water in the waters around Tenochtitlan and kept the brackish waters beyond the dike, two double aqueducts, each more than 4 km long and made of terracotta, provided the city with fresh water from the springs at Chapultepec. This was intended mainly for cleaning and washing, for drinking, water from mountain springs was preferred. Most of the population liked to bathe twice a day, Moctezuma was said to take four baths a day. According to the context of Aztec culture in literature, the soap that they most likely used was the root of a plant called copalxocotl, and to clean their clothes they used the root of metl. Also, the classes and pregnant women washed themselves in a temazcalli, similar to a sauna bath. This was also popular in other Mesoamerican cultures, and some of our soldiers even asked whether the things that we saw were not a dream. I do not know how to describe it, seeing things as we did that had never heard of or seen before. The city was divided into four zones, or campan, each campan was divided into 20 districts, there were three main streets that crossed the city, each leading to one of the three causeways to the mainland of Tepeyac, Ixtapalpa, and Tlacopan
6.
Constitution of Mexico
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The Constitution of Mexico, formally the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States is the current constitution of Mexico. It was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro, in the State of Querétaro, by a constitutional convention and it was approved by the Constitutional Congress on 5 February 1917. It is the successor to the Constitution of 1857, and earlier Mexican constitutions, the current Constitution of 1917 is the first such document in the world to set out social rights, serving as a model for the Weimar Constitution of 1919 and the Russian Constitution of 1918. Constitution Day is one of Mexicos annual Fiestas Patrias, commemorating the promulgation of the Constitution on 5 February 1917, although the official anniversary is on 5 February, the holiday takes place on the first Monday of February regardless of the date. Carranza convoked a congress specifically to draft the new constitution and it replaced the liberal Constitution of 1857, extending that constitutions restrictions on the Roman Catholic Church in Mexico. Its innovations were in expanding the Mexican states power into the realms of economic nationalism, political nationalism, the constitution was a means to confer legitimacy on a shaky regime. The Liberal Party of Mexicos 1906 political program proposed a number of reforms that were incorporated into the 1917 Constitution, Article 27 of the Constitution incorporated some of the PLMs demands for land reform in Mexico. Points in the PLMs call for improvement in education were also incorporated, such as completely secular education, compulsory attendance up until age 14, not surprisingly, the PLM also called for restrictions on the Roman Catholic Church, which were incorporated in the constitution. These included treating religious institutions as businesses and required to pay taxes, nationalization of religious institutions real property, the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States was drafted by the Constitutional Congress in Querétaro, not the capital. Carranza chose the site because it was where Emperor Maximilian of Mexico was executed, delegates to the congress were to be elected, with one per jurisdiction that had existed in 1912, when congressional elections had been held during the Francisco I. Those who had been hostile to the Constitutionalist Cause were banned from participating, Carranza was pressured to amnesty those who had been hostile as well as allow those who had gone into exile to return to Mexico, but he refused. The congress formally opened in November 1916, with delegate elections, the final draft was approved on 5 February 1917. The membership of the congress was not representative of all regions, classes, the 220 delegates were all Carrancistas, since the Constitutionalist faction had been victorious militarily. However, that did not mean they were of one mind, most delegates were middle class, not workers or peasants. Middle class professionals predominated, with lawyers, teachers, engineers, doctors, villas home state of Chihuahua had only one delegate. The predominantly civilian composition of the Constituent Congress was in contrast with the place of power in revolutionary Mexico. Most senior generals did not participate directly in the congress, an important group of delegates elected to the congress were the Bloc Renovador, who had been elected in 1912 to the Mexican legislature during Maderos presidency. Some considered them tainted for their continuing to serve during Victoriano Huertas regime, some congressmen fled Mexico, others were jailed by Huerta
7.
Spanish Constitution of 1812
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The Spanish Constitution of 1812 was established on 19 March 1812 by the Cádiz Cortes, Spains first national sovereign assembly, the Cortes Generales, in refuge in Cádiz during the Peninsular War. It established the principles of universal suffrage, national sovereignty, constitutional monarchy and freedom of the press. This constitution, one of the most liberal of its time, was effectively Spains first, on 24 March 1814, six weeks after returning to Spain, Ferdinand VII abolished the constitution and had all monuments to it torn down. The Constitution Obelisk in Saint Augustine, Florida survived, the constitution was reinstated during the Trienio Liberal, and again briefly 1836—1837 while the Progressives prepared the Constitution of 1837. The Spaniards nicknamed the Constitution La Pepa, possibly because it was adopted on Saint Josephs Day, from a Spanish point of view, the Peninsular War was a war of independence against the French Empire and the king installed by Napoleon, his brother Joseph Bonaparte. While many in elite circles in Madrid were willing to accept Josephs rule, the war began on the night of 2 May 1808, and was immortalized by Francisco Goyas painting The Second of May 1808, also known as The Charge of the Mamelukes. The Junta first met on 25 September 1808 in Aranjuez and later in Seville, in any event, Floridablancas strength failed him and he died on 30 December 1808. When the Cortes convened in Cádiz in 1810, there appeared to be two possibilities for Spains political future if the French could be driven out. The first, represented especially by Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, was the restoration of the absolutist Antiguo Régimen, the origins of the Cortes did not harbor any revolutionary intentions, since the Junta saw itself simply as a continuation of the legitimate government of Spain. The opening session of the new Cortes was held on 24 September 1810 in the now known as the Real Teatro de las Cortes. Few of the most conservative voices were at Cádiz, and there was no communication with King Ferdinand. Three basic principles were soon ratified by the Cortes, that sovereignty resides in the nation, the legitimacy of Ferdinand VII as king of Spain, and the inviolability of the deputies. Although the Cortes was not unanimous in its liberalism, the new Constitution reduced the power of the crown, the Catholic Church, the Cortes of Cádiz worked feverishly and the first written Spanish constitution was promulgated in Cádiz on 19 March 1812. The Constitution of 1812 is regarded as the document of liberalism in Spain. Suffrage, which was not determined by property qualifications, favored the position of the class in the new parliament. Repeal of traditional property restrictions gave liberals the freer economy they wanted, the first provincial government created under the Constitution was in the province of Guadalajara con Molina. Its deputation first met in the village of Anguita in April 1813, among the most debated questions during the drafting of the constitution was the status of the native and mixed-race populations in Spains possessions around the world. Most of the provinces were represented, especially the most populous regions
8.
Mexican War of Independence
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The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict, and the culmination of a political and social process which ended the rule of Spain in 1821 in the territory of New Spain. September 16 is celebrated as Mexican Independence Day, the movement for independence was inspired by the Age of Enlightenment and the liberal revolutions of the last part of the 18th century. By that time the elite of New Spain had begun to reflect on the relations between Spain and its colonial kingdoms. Changes in the social and political structure occasioned by Bourbon Reforms, political events in Europe had a decisive effect on events in most of Spanish America. In 1808, King Charles IV and Ferdinand VII abdicated in favor of French leader Napoleon Bonaparte, the same year, the ayuntamiento of Mexico City, supported by viceroy José de Iturrigaray, claimed sovereignty in the absence of the legitimate king. That led to a coup against the viceroy, when it was suppressed, despite the defeat in Mexico City, small groups of conspirators met in other cities of New Spain to raise movements against colonial rule. From 1810 the independence movement went through stages, as leaders were imprisoned or executed by forces loyal to Spain. Secular priest José María Morelos called the separatist provinces to form the Congress of Chilpancingo, after the defeat of Morelos, the movement survived as a guerrilla war under the leadership of Vicente Guerrero. By 1820, the few rebel groups survived most notably in the Sierra Madre del Sur, the reinstatement of the liberal Constitution of Cadiz in 1820 caused a change of mind among the elite groups who had supported Spanish rule. Monarchist Creoles affected by the constitution decided to support the independence of New Spain, agustín de Iturbide led the military arm of the conspirators and in early 1821 he met Vicente Guerrero. Both proclaimed the Plan of Iguala, which called for the union of all insurgent factions and was supported by both the aristocracy and clergy of New Spain and it called for monarchy in an independent Mexico. Finally, the independence of Mexico was achieved on September 27,1821, after that, the mainland of New Spain was organized as the Mexican Empire. This ephemeral Catholic monarchy changed to a republic in 1823, due to internal conflicts. After some Spanish reconquest attempts, including the expedition of Isidro Barradas in 1829, after the suppression of that mid-16th-century conspiracy, elites raised no substantial challenge to royal rule until the Hidalgo revolt of 1810. Elites in Mexico City in the century did force the removal of a reformist viceroy. The crowd was reported to shout, Long live the King, the attack was against Gelves as a bad representative of the crown and not against the monarchy or colonial rule itself. There was also a conspiracy in the mid-seventeenth century to unite creole elites, blacks. The man pushing this notion called himself Don Guillén Lampart y Guzmán, lamports conspiracy was discovered, and he was arrested by the Inquisition in 1642, and executed fifteen years later for sedition
9.
Plinth
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In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Sempers The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, the plinth usually rests directly on the ground or stylobate. According to Semper, the plinth exists to negotiate between a structure and the ground, Sempers theory has been influential in the development of architecture. Many houses in rural areas of Bangladesh are built on plinths. The word is used for the base of a cabinet or an audio turntable. In dam engineering, the plinth is the link between the ground and the dam, for the case of arch dams, the term is changed to pulvino
10.
Oaxaca City
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The city and municipality of Oaxaca de Juárez, or simply Oaxaca, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of the same name. It is located in the Centro District in the Central Valleys region of the state and this city relies heavily on tourism, which is based on its large number of colonial-era structures as well as the native Zapotec and Mixtec cultures and archeological sites. It, along with the site of Monte Albán, were named a World Heritage Site in 1987. It is also the home of the cultural festival called the Guelaguetza, which features Oaxacan dance from the seven regions, music. It is nicknamed la Verde Antequera due to its prior name, the coat of arms for the municipality bears the image of the decapitated Donaji, who was an indigenous princess in the years immediately after the Conquest. The Aztecs entered the valley in 1440 and named it Huaxyacac, when the Spanish arrived in 1521, the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs were involved in one of their many wars. Spanish conquest would end this fighting, the first Spanish expedition here arrived late in 1521, headed by Captain Francisco de Orozco, and accompanied by 400 Aztecs. Hernán Cortés sent Francisco de Orozco to Oaxaca because Moctezuma II said that the Aztecs gold came from there, the Spanish expedition under Orozco set about building a Spanish city where the Aztec military post was at the base of the Cerro de Fortín. The first mass was said here by Chaplain Juan Díaz on the bank of the Atoyac River under a large huaje tree and this group of Spaniards chose their first mayor, Gutierres de Badajoc, their first town council and began construction of the cathedral of Oaxaca in 1522. Their name for the settlement was Guajaca, a Hispanization of the Nahuatl name, the establishment of the relatively independent village did not suit Hernán Cortes, who wanted power over the entire region for himself. Cortés sent Pedro de Alvarado, who proceeded to drive out most of the villages population, the original Spanish settlers appealed to the Spanish crown to recognize the village they founded, which it did in 1526, with land divided among the Spaniards of Orozcos expedition. However, this did not stop Cortés from driving out the population of the once again. Once again, the founders appealed to Spanish royal authority. This viceroy also sided with the founders, and the town was refounded in 1529 as Antequera. Francisco de Herrera convened the new, Crown-approved town council, in the meantime, Cortés was able to obtain from the crown the title of the Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca, which contains the disputed village. This permitted him to tax the area heavily, and to have control of the territory that surrounded the village, the village was then in a position of having to survive surrounded by villages which answered to Cortés. These villages not only did not take orders from Antequera, they were hostile to it, to counter this, the village petitioned the Crown to be elevated to the status of a city, which would give it certain rights, privileges and exceptions. It would also ensure that the settlement would remain under the control of the king
11.
Guadalajara
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Guadalajara is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is in the region of Jalisco in the Western-Pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,495,189 it is Mexicos fourth most populous municipality, the municipality is the second most densely populated in Mexico, the first being Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl in the State of Mexico. It is a business and economic center in the Bajio region. Guadalajara is the 10th largest city in Latin America in population, urban area, the city is named after the Spanish city of Guadalajara, the name of which came from the Andalusian Arabic wād l-ḥijāra, meaning river/valley of stones. Other, more industries, such as shoes, textiles. Guadalajara, one of the most popular clubs in Mexico. This city was named the American Capital of Culture for 2005, Guadalajara hosted the 2011 Pan American Games. The city was established in five other places before moving to its current location, the first settlement in 1532 was in Mesa del Cerro, now known as Nochistlán, Zacatecas. This site was settled by Cristóbal de Oñate as commissioned by Nuño de Guzmán, with the purpose of securing recent conquests, the settlement did not last long at this spot due to the lack of water, in 1533 it was moved to a location near Tonalá. Four years later, Guzmán ordered that the village be moved to Tlacotán, while the settlement was in Tlacotán, the Spanish king Charles I granted the coat of arms that the city still has today. This settlement was attacked during the Mixtón War in 1543 by Caxcan, Portecuex. The war was initiated by the due to the cruel treatment of Indians by Nuño de Guzmán. Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza had to control of the campaign to suppress the revolt after the Spanish were defeated in several engagements. The conflict ended after Mendoza made some concessions to the Indians such as freeing the Indian slaves, the village of Guadalajara barely survived the war, and the villagers attributed their survival to the Archangel Michael, who remains the patron of the city. It was decided to move the city again, this time to Atemajac. The city has remained there to this day, in 1542, records indicate that 126 people were living in Guadalajara and, in the same year, the status of city was granted by the king of Spain. Guadalajara was officially founded on February 14,1550 in the Valley of Atemajac, the settlements name came from the Spanish hometown of Nuño de Guzmán
12.
Aztec
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The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to 16th centuries. The Nahuatl words aztecatl and aztecah mean people from Aztlan, a place for the Nahuatl-speaking culture of the time. Often the term Aztec refers exclusively to the Mexica people of Tenochtitlan, situated on an island in Lake Texcoco, who referred to themselves as Mēxihcah Tenochcah or Cōlhuah Mexihcah. From the 13th century, the Valley of Mexico was the heart of Aztec civilization, here the capital of the Aztec Triple Alliance, the Triple Alliance formed a tributary empire expanding its political hegemony far beyond the Valley of Mexico, conquering other city states throughout Mesoamerica. At its pinnacle, Aztec culture had rich and complex mythological and religious traditions, as well as achieving remarkable architectural and artistic accomplishments. Subsequently, the Spanish founded the new settlement of Mexico City on the site of the ruined Aztec capital, the term extends to further ethnic groups associated with the Aztec empire such as the Acolhua and Tepanec and others that were incorporated into the empire. In older usage the term was used about modern Nahuatl speaking ethnic groups. In recent usage these ethnic groups are referred to as the Nahua peoples. Linguistically the term Aztecan is still used about the branch of the Uto-Aztecan languages that includes the Nahuatl language and its closest relatives Pochutec, to the Aztecs themselves the word aztec was not an endonym for any particular ethnic group. Rather it was a term used to refer to several ethnic groups, not all of them Nahuatl speaking. In the Nahuatl language aztecatl means person from Aztlan and this usage has been the subject of debate in more recent years, but the term Aztec is still more common. For the same reason the notion of Aztec civilization is best understood as a horizon of a general Mesoamerican civilization. Particular to the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan was the Mexica patron God Huitzilopochtli, twin pyramids, the Aztec Empire was a tribute empire based in Tenochtitlan that extended its power throughout Mesoamerica in the late postclassic period. Soon Texcoco and Tlacopan became junior partners in the alliance, which was de facto led by the Mexica of Tenochtitlan, the empire extended its power by a combination of trade and military conquest. The political clout of the empire reached far south into Mesoamerica conquering cities as far south as Chiapas and Guatemala, the Nahua peoples began to migrate into Mesoamerica from northern Mexico in the 6th century. They populated central Mexico, dislocating speakers of Oto-Manguean languages as they spread their influence south. As the former nomadic hunter-gatherer peoples mixed with the civilizations of Mesoamerica, adopting religious and cultural practices. During the Postclassic period they rose to power at such sites as Tula, in the 12th century the Nahua power center was in Azcapotzalco, from where the Tepanecs dominated the valley of Mexico
13.
Mexica
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The Mexica or Mexicas were an indigenous people of the Valley of Mexico, known today as the rulers of the Aztec Empire. The Mexica were a Nahua people who founded their two cities Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco on raised islets in Lake Texcoco around AD1300, after the rise of the Aztec Triple Alliance, the Tenochca Mexica assumed a senior position over their two allied cities, Texcoco and Tlacopan. The Mexica are eponymous of the placename Mexico Mēxihco and this area was expanded upon in the wake of the Spanish conquest and administered from the former Aztec capital as New Spain. Like many of the peoples around them, the Mexica spoke Nahuatl, the form of Nahuatl used in the 16th century, when it began to be written in the alphabet brought by the Spanish, is known as Classical Nahuatl. Nahuatl is still today by over 1.5 million people
14.
Viceroy
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A viceroy /ˈvaɪs. rɔɪ/ is a regal official who runs a country, colony, city, province, or sub-national state, in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning in the place of, a viceroys territory may be called a viceroyalty, though this term is not always applied. The adjectival form is viceregal, less often viceroyal, the term vicereine is sometimes used to indicate a female viceroy suo jure, although viceroy can serve as a gender-neutral term. Vicereine is more used to indicate a viceroys wife. The title was used by the Crown of Aragon, where beginning in the 14th century, it referred to the Spanish governors of Sardinia. In Europe, until the 18th century, the Habsburg crown appointed viceroys of Aragon, Valencia, Catalonia, Navarre, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, with the ascension of the House of Bourbon to the Spanish throne, the historic Aragonese viceroyalties were replaced by new captaincies general. At the end of War of the Spanish Succession, the Spanish monarchy was shorn of its Italian possessions and these Italian territories, however, continued to have viceroys under their new rulers for some time, Sardinia would have a viceroy until 1848. These large administrative territories became known as Viceroyalties, New viceroyalties were created for New Granada in 1717 and the Río de la Plata in 1776. These units gathered the local provinces which could be governed by either a crown official, audiencias primarily functioned as superior judicial tribunals, but unlike their European counterparts, the New World audiencias were granted by law both administrative and legislative powers. The Bourbon Reforms introduced the new office of the intendant, which was appointed directly by the crown and had broad fiscal and administrative powers in political and military issues. The government started six years after the discovery of sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, in 1505, however the post was centered by governor Afonso de Albuquerque, who became plenipotentiary, and remained so. The duration in office was three years, possibly longer, given the power represented, of the thirty-four governors of India in the 16th century. After the end of the Iberian Union in 1640, the governors of Brazil that were members of the Portuguese high nobility started to use the title of Viceroy. Brazil became a permanent Viceroyalty in 1763, when the capital of the State of Brazil was transferred from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro, the designation Viceroy, although it was most frequently used in ordinary parlance, had no statutory authority, and was never employed by Parliament. The Governor-General continued to be the representative of the Crown. The viceroys reported directly to the Secretary of State for India in London and were advised by the Council of India, alongside the Commander-in-Chief, India, the viceroy was the public face of the British presence in India, attending to many ceremonial functions as well as political affairs. During the offices history, the Governors-General of India were based in two cities, Calcutta during the 19th century and New Delhi during the 20th century, additionally, whilst Calcutta was the capital of British India, the viceroys spent the summer months at Simla. The two historic residences of the viceroys still stand, the Viceroys House in New Delhi and Government House in Calcutta and they are used today as the official residences of the President of India and the Governor of West Bengal, respectively
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Holy Week in Mexico
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Holy Week in Mexico is an important religious observance as well as important vacation period. Holy Week proper begins on Palm Sunday, with the used on this day often woven into intricate designs. Holy Saturday is marked by the Burning of Judas, especially in the center and south of the country, several locations have notable observances related to Holy Week including Iztapalapa in Mexico City, Taxco, San Miguel de Allende and San Luis Potosí. Holy Week is one of the most widely celebrated and important religious observances in Mexico, almost all towns and cities in the country have some kind of public observance during a two-week period that starts from Palm Sunday at least to Easter Sunday and can extend into the week after. Mexican television features movies, documentaries and other focused on the religious event and other topics related to the Catholic faith. Like most Mexican Catholic traditions, those related to Holy Week, Holy Week is preceded by Lent and Ash Wednesday, which itself is preceded by Carnival. However, a number of traditions and customs have developed over the centuries, as most Holy Week related events occur outside and in large gatherings, “antojitos” is the most associated with the holiday. Candies are a street food at this time, especially traditional and regional ones made from coconut, tamarind. Holy Week was also the start of the ice cream and flavored ice season. Ice cream fairs are held at this time. Today’s frozen treats include ice cream in tubs, as well as made from both fruit and cream, as well as snow cones called “raspados. ”Another popular refreshment is called “aguas frescas” or sugared drinks made from fruit or other natural flavorings such as tamarind or hibiscus flowers. The reason for the popularity of both frozen desserts and flavored drinks is that spring to summer is generally the warmest part of the year in many parts of Mexico. Just before Holy Week proper, there are two events celebrated in parts of the country. The first is the feast of the Virgin of Sorrows and this occurs the Friday before Good Friday and focuses on the pain and sacrifice of Mary knowing that Jesus had to die to save mankind. This image of the Virgin is usually dressed in purple and altars are set up to her on this day, on the Wednesday before Easter, a mass called the “vespers of darkness” recalls the disciples’ abandonment of Jesus. The altar of the church will have a candelabra with fifteen candles, with one candle extinguished after the singing of a Psalm until only the center candle, representing Jesus, remains lit. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, and many communities have special dedicated to the blessing of palm fronds. These fronds are woven into crosses and other designs, sometimes quite intricate
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Corpus Christi (feast)
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The Feast of Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite liturgical solemnity celebrating the belief in the body and blood of Jesus Christs Real Presence in the Eucharist. It emphasizes the joy of the institution of the Eucharist, the latter had previously been observed only on Maundy Thursday, in the somber atmosphere leading to Good Friday. It was reported in 2017, however, that Pope Francis had moved the feast from Thursday to the following Sunday, when it is celebrated in Italy. At the end of Holy Mass, there is often a procession of the Blessed Sacrament, the procession is followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The celebration of the feast was suppressed in Protestant churches during the Reformation, the Church of England abolished it in 1548 as the English Reformation progressed, but later reintroduced it. Guided by exemplary priests, they lived together, devoted to prayer and she always longed for a feast day outside of Lent in its honour. Her vita reports that this desire was enhanced by a vision of the Church under the appearance of the moon having one dark spot. In 1208, she reported her first vision of Christ in which she was instructed to plead for the institution of the feast of Corpus Christi, the vision was repeated for the next 20 years but she kept it a secret. When she eventually relayed it to her confessor, he relayed it to the bishop, juliana also petitioned the learned Dominican Hugh of St-Cher, and Robert de Thorete, Bishop of Liège. Hugh of St-Cher travelled to Liège as Cardinal-Legate in 1251 and, jacques Pantaléon of Troyes was also won over to the cause of the Feast of Corpus Christi during his ministry as Archdeacon in Liège. So many other functions took place on this day that the event was almost lost sight of. This is mentioned as the reason for the introduction of the new feast. For this reason, the Feast of Corpus Christi was established to create a feast focused solely on the Holy Eucharist. E. I,7 and represents the work of St. Thomas Aquinas following or during his residency at Orvieto from 1259 to 1265. The office can also be found in the 1343 codex Regimen Animarum and this liturgy may be used as a votive Mass of the Blessed Sacrament on weekdays in ordinary time. The hymn Aquinas composed for Vespers of Corpus Christi, Pange Lingua or another eucharistic hymn, is used on Holy Thursday during the procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the altar of repose. The last two verses of Pange Lingua are also used as a hymn, Tantum Ergo, which is sung at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. O Salutaris Hostia, another hymn sung at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, Aquinas also composed the propers for the Mass of Corpus Christi, including the sequence Lauda Sion Salvatorem. The epistle reading for the Mass was taken from Pauls First Epistle to the Corinthians, when Pope Pius V revised the General Roman Calendar, Corpus Christi was one of only two feasts of devotion that he kept, the other being Trinity Sunday
17.
Old Portal de Mercaderes (Mexico City)
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Old Portal de Mercaderes in the historic center of Mexico City was and is the west side of the main plaza. This side of the plaza has been occupied by commercial structures since the Spanish Conquest of Mexico in 1521. Today the west side of the square is dominated by two sets of buildings with Madero Street dividing them as it runs west from the Zocalo to the Palace of Bellas Artes. The buildings on the side of Madero is occupied by offices on the upper floors. The southside buildings are dominated on the floor by fine jewelry stores. This center extends west for two block engulfing Palma Street between Madero and 16 de Septiembre streets, most of the upper floors of the buildings here are occupied by rooms associated with the Hotel de Ciudad de Mexico and the Hotel Majestic. The first colonial building was built on side of the square by Melchor Davila, dedicated to selling food. From this building stretched street vendors west and as far north as Santo Domingo, much of the land here was granted to Don Rodrigo de Albornoz, Count of Santiago, secretary to King Carlos V and named the accountant for New Spain. The reason for this ordinance was that the Zocalo still had severe flooding problems at this time and these covered archways would provide an alternative to the open Zocalo, especially during the rainy season. Much, but not all, of the west side of the Zocalo was owned by Albornoz, including the portion at the southwest corner of the plaza, near the city council building. It was nearly impossible to build covered archways here because of a gulley running very close to the facade of the houses here. Albornoz made an arrangement with the city, the city would install better drainage for this corner of the Zocalo, the task was completed in 1529. The resulting archway ran almost the entire side of the Zocalo, through all of the colonial period into the post-Independence period, the west side was known as the Portal de Mercaderes. In 1629, massive flooding in the Zocalo required almost all of the surrounding the plaza to be rebuilt. The Portal was again reconstructed in the mid 18th century by one of Albornoz heirs, during the 17th century, this area mostly sold silk and brocade cloth as well as fruit and medicinal herbs. In the 19th century, hat shops established themselves here, at night, the archway would sell candy to those taking walks the area. In the mid century, the Portal was divided into two with the opening of Plateros street, now Madero. This essentially ended the Portal being considered a single entity, from the beginning of the colonial period, the Zocalo and the area west has been an area covered in vendors’ stalls
18.
National Palace (Mexico)
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The National Palace is the seat of the federal executive in Mexico. It is located on Mexico Citys main square, the Plaza de la Constitución and this site has been a palace for the ruling class of Mexico since the Aztec empire, and much of the current palaces building materials are from the original one that belonged to Moctezuma II. Used and classified as a Government Building, the National Palace, with its red tezontle facade, fills the entire east side of the Zócalo and it is home to some of the offices of both the Federal Treasury and the National Archives. The facade is bordered on the north and south by two towers and include three main doorways, each of which lead to a different part of the building, the southern door leads to the Patio of Honor and presidential offices. The northern door is known as the Mariana Door, named in honor of Mariano Arista who had it constructed in 1850, the area next to this door used to be the old Court Prison, with courtrooms and torture chambers. It is now occupied by the Finance Ministry and it contains the Treasury Room, constructed by architects Manuel Ortiz Monasterio and Vicente Mendiola. The iron and bronze door is the work of Augusto Petriccioli, part of this ceremony includes ringing the bell that hangs above the balcony. This bell is the one that Father Miguel Hidalgo rang to call for rebellion against Spain. It originally hung in the church of Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, in the niche containing the bell, there is the Mexican coat of arms. On each side there is an Aztec eagle knight and his Spanish counterpart and these were sculpted by Manuel Centurion and symbolize the synthesis of Mexican culture and Spanish culture. The central door leads to the patio which is surrounded by Baroque arches. Only the balustrade of this area has been remodeled, conserving the murals by Diego Rivera that adorn the main stairwell, in the stairwell is a mural depicting the The History of Mexico from 1521 to 1930, and covers an area of 450 m2. These murals were painted between 1929 and 1935, jointly titled The Epic of the Mexican People, the work is divided like a triptych with each being somewhat autonomous. The right-hand wall contains murals depicting pre-Hispanic Mexico and centers around the life of the Aztec god Quetzalcóatl, Quetzalcóatl appears in the mural as a star, a god, and a human being. Created by serpents, he sails through space as a star that accompanies the sun at night, Quetzalcóatl then assumes a human body to teach the Aztec people as their king and patriarch. Last, when he sacrifices his blood to give life to men, once he leaves the earth, Quetzalcóatl assumes the shape the morning star, called Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli. The cycle that he undergoes signifies the cycle of life. Riveras creation of a Mexican identity helps to continue the reform began with the Mexican Revolution of 1910
19.
Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral
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The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven is the largest cathedral in the Americas, and seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico. It is situated atop the former Aztec sacred precinct near the Templo Mayor on the side of the Plaza de la Constitución in Downtown Mexico City. The cathedral was built in sections from 1573 to 1813 around the church that was constructed soon after the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan. Spanish architect Claudio de Arciniega planned the construction, drawing inspiration from Gothic cathedrals in Spain, the cathedral has four façades which contain portals flanked with columns and statues. The two bell towers contain a total of 25 bells, the tabernacle, adjacent to the cathedral, contains the baptistery and serves to register the parishioners. There are two large, ornate altars, a sacristy, and a choir in the cathedral, fourteen of the cathedrals sixteen chapels are open to the public. Each chapel is dedicated to a different saint or saints, the chapels contain ornate altars, altarpieces, retablos, paintings, furniture and sculptures. The cathedral is home to two of the largest 18th-century organs in the Americas, there is a crypt underneath the cathedral that holds the remains of many former archbishops. Over the centuries, the cathedral has suffered damage, a fire in 1967 destroyed a significant part of the cathedrals interior. The restoration work that followed uncovered a number of important documents, although a solid foundation was built for the cathedral, the soft clay soil it is built on has been a threat to its structural integrity. Dropping water tables and accelerated sinking caused the structure to be added to the World Monuments Fund list of the 100 Most Endangered Sites, reconstruction work beginning in the 1990s stabilized the cathedral and it was removed from the endangered list in 2000. Hernán Cortés and the conquistadors used the stones from the destroyed temple of the Aztec god of war Huitzilopochtli, principal deity of the Aztecs. Cortés ordered the churchs construction after he returned from exploring what is now Honduras. Architect Martín de Sepúlveda was the first director of project from 1524 to 1532. Juan de Zumárraga, the first Bishop of the first See of the New World, established in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, zumárragas Cathedral was located in the northeast portion of what is now the cathedral. It had three naves separated by three Tuscan columns, the central roof was ridged with intricate carvings done by Juan Salcedo Espinosa and gilded by Francisco de Zumaya and Andrés de la Concha. The main door was probably of Renaissance style, the choir area had 48 seats made of ayacahuite wood crafted by Adrian Suster and Juan Montaño. However, this church was considered inadequate for the growing importance of the capital of New Spain
20.
Federal District buildings
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The Federal District buildings are two buildings on the south side of the Zócalo in Mexico City divided by the avenue Avenida 20 de Noviembre. They house offices of the authority of Mexico City. The building to the west of 20 de Noviembre is the one and has been the site of city administration since the Conquest. The one to the east is newer, built in the 20th century, similar to other capital cities, like Washington, D. C. Mexico City is considered as belonging to the nation, rather than being part of a particular state, what is now the federal district used to be principally part of the State of Mexico until 1824, when the Mexican Congress decided to put the capital in Mexico City. At the time, the State of Mexico had its headquarters in the old Palace of the Inquisition, the government of Mexico City and the Federal District are one and the same, causing Mexicans to use the terms interchangeably. While it is considered under federal jurisdiction, recently, changes have been made. The first local authority in New Spain was the ayuntamiento of Villa Rica in Veracruz and this governing council was moved to Coyoacán, near Mexico City after the fall of the Aztec city Tenochtitlan. The ayuntamiento was moved here after the first town hall was built between 1526 and 1532, with the first recorded council meeting here in 1526 and it was built as a fortress against the Indians, who were forbidden to settle in the area. It had a meeting room, a scriveners room to keep records, another for accounting, and audience hall, a chapel. The building was expanded in 1582, in 1582, a jail was added, the first such in New Spain. Other functions were added to the such as a coin-making facility. This building was destroyed, along with the National Palace in the uprising in 1692. Work began in 1720 under viceroy Baltasar de Zúñiga, 1st Duke of Arión, the rest of the building was completed in 1724 under viceroy Juan de Acuña, marqués de Casafuerte. The official corn and meat markets located here were abolished and the market was allowed to take control of these commodities. This resulted in a market in what was the Alley of the Diputación. However, these stalls disappeared by 1888, in 1910, the building was remodeled for the upcoming centennial of Independence by architect Manuel Gorozope and engineer Guillermo Beltrán. The remodeled building was inaugurated on 16 September 1910, however, remodeling work went on from 1912 to 1930 with the addition of the main staircase, the library and the archives, even though work was periodically halted because of the Mexican Revolution
21.
Nacional Monte de Piedad
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The Nacional Monte de Piedad is a not-for-profit institution and pawnshop whose main office is located just off the Zócalo, or main plaza of Mexico City. It was established between 1774 and 1777 by Don Pedro Romero de Terreros, the Count of Regla as part of a movement to provide interest-free or low-interest loans to the poor and it was recognized as a national charity in 1927 by the Mexican government. In the first decade of the 21st century, it is an institution, with over 200 branches all over Mexico. The main office is located on the northwest corner of the Zocalo on the corner of Monte de Piedad and 5 de Mayo Streets, despite having gone through considerable modifications, it once was part of the estate owned by Hernán Cortés. In the area were the Old Houses of Moctezuma IIs father, at the time of Cortes’ arrival, Moctezuma lived in the New Houses across what is now the main plaza where the National Palace now stands. Other observers compared the complex to the Cretan labyrinth where the Minotaur was imprisoned, the original structure had two floors and a series of smaller buildings that Cortes rented to traders. The main building used to house the Royal Tribunal and was the residence of two of the viceroys of New Spain. In 1615, it was divided into lots for sale, the tezontle stone façade of the current building dates from 1775, and at the peak above the main door is the coat of arms of the Count of Regla. In the main doorway there is the coat of arms of Mexico, the inside of the building has been completely modified except for a few details. The third floor was added in 1948, what had been Cortés’s accounting room while he was the Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca, became a chapel and remained so until 1926. This building was remodeled in 1984, with a number of projects. The outside walls of the building were cleaned, refurbishing the wood and ironwork of the portals and balconies, floors, patios and columns were stripped and polished. Protections were placed on each window and the art salon was enlarged. A fire, due to a circuit, damaged this building on 17 April 2004. It began in the cashiers and appraisers’ rooms where 10 people were working on remodeling project at the time, fire was seen on the ground and first floors of the building, however, no pawned items were damaged. The Monte di Pietà movement began in Perugia, Italy, in 1450 with the Orden de Menores Observantes de San Francisco and it had the aim of providing financial assistance to people in the form of no-interest loans. Instead of interest, borrowers were urged to make donations to the Church and it spread first through Italy then in other parts of Europe. Terreros was born in Spain and arrived to Mexico in 1730, Terreros initially funded the project by donating 300,000 pesos of gold
22.
Templo Mayor
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The Templo Mayor was one of the main temples of the Aztecs in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City. Its architectural style belongs to the late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica, the spire in the center of the adjacent image was devoted to Quetzalcoatl in his form as the wind god, Ehecatl. The Great Temple devoted to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, measuring approximately 100 by 80 m at its base, construction of the first temple began sometime after 1325, and it was rebuilt six times. The temple was destroyed by the Spanish in 1521 to make way for the new cathedral, today, the archeological site lies just to the northeast of the Zocalo, or main plaza of Mexico City, in the block between Seminario and Justo Sierra streets. The site is part of the Historic Center of Mexico City, after the destruction of Tenochtitlan, the Templo Mayor, like most of the rest of the city, was taken apart and covered over by the new Spanish colonial city. The Temple’s exact location was forgotten, although by the 20th-century scholars had an idea where to look for it. This was based on the work done at the end of the 19th century. Leopoldo Batres did some work at the end of the 19th century under the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral because at this time. In the first decades of the 20th century, Manuel Gamio found part of the southwest corner of the temple, however, it did not generate great public interest in excavating further because the zone was an upper-class residential area. In 1933, Emilio Cuevas found part of a staircase and beam, in 1948, Hugo Moedano and Elma Estrada Balmori excavated a platform containing serpent heads and offerings. In 1966, Eduardo Contreras and Jorge Angula excavated a chest containing offerings that was first explored by Gamio, the push to fully excavate the site did not come until late in the 20th century. On 21 February 1978, workers for the company were digging at a place in the city then popularly known as the island of the dogs. It was so named because it was elevated over the rest of the neighborhood. Just over two meters down, the diggers struck a pre-Hispanic monolith and this stone turned out to be a huge disk of over 3.25 meters in diameter,30 centimeters thick and weighing 8.5 metric tons. The relief on the stone was later determined to be Coyolxauhqui, Huitzilopochtlis sister, from 1978 to 1982, specialists directed by archeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma worked on the project to excavate the Temple. Initial excavations found many of the artifacts were in good enough condition to study. Efforts coalesced into the Templo Mayor Project, which was authorized by presidential decree, to excavate,13 buildings in this area had to be demolished. Nine of these were built in the 1930s and four dated from the 19th century and these objects are housed in the Templo Mayor Museum
23.
Flag of Mexico
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The flag of Mexico is a vertical tricolor of green, white, and red with the national coat of arms charged in the center of the white stripe. The form of the coat of arms was most recently revised in 1968, but the design has been used since 1821. Red, white, and green are the colors of the liberation army in Mexico. The central emblem is the Mexican coat of arms, based on the Aztec symbol for Tenochtitlan and it recalls the legend of an eagle sitting on a cactus that signaled to the Aztecs where to found their city, Tenochtitlan. A ribbon in the colors is at the bottom of the coat of arms. Throughout history, the flag has changed several times, as the design of the coat of arms and the length-width ratios of the flag have been modified. The coat of arms is derived from an Aztec legend that their gods told them to build a city where they spot an eagle on a nopal eating a serpent, which is now Mexico City. The current law of symbols, Law on the National Arms, Flag, and Anthem. The current national flag is used as the Mexican naval ensign by ships registered in Mexico. Before the adoption of the first national flag, various flags were used during the War of Independence from Spain, the Standard became the initial symbol of the rebel army during the Mexican War of Independence. Various other Standards were used during the war, josé María Morelos used a flag with an image of the Virgin to which was added a blue and white insignia with a crowned eagle on a cactus over a three-arched bridge and the letters V. V. M. The Revolutionary Army also used a flag featuring the white, blue. The first use of the modern colors—green, white and red—was in the flag of the unified Army of the Three Guarantees after independence from Spain was won. While similar to the flag that is used today, the eagle in these arms is not holding a serpent in his talons. Variants of this flag appeared in this period also included a naval flag that had the tricolor pattern. The military also used a square flag, but the eagle was larger than on the national flag. The national flag was officially decreed by Agustín de Iturbide in November 1821 and this flag was no longer used upon the abolishment of the empire. The first national flag was established in 1821, the first year of Mexican recognized sovereignty, the imperial government that was set up chose a tricolor flag of green, white and red and charged with the national coat of arms
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Mexico City Metro
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It is the second largest metro system in North America after the New York City Subway. In 2015, the system served 1.623 billion passengers, the inaugural STC Metro line was 12.7 kilometres long, serving 16 stations, and opened to the public on 4 September 1969. The system has expanded since then in a series of fits and starts, as of 2015, the system has 12 lines, serving 195 stations, and 226.49 kilometres of route. Ten of the lines are rubber-tyred, instead of steel wheels, they use pneumatic traction. The system survived the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, of the STC Metros 195 stations,24 serve two or more lines. Many stations are named for figures, places, or events in Mexican history. It has 115 underground stations,54 surface stations and 26 elevated stations, all lines operate from 5 am to midnight. This line opened on 30 October 2012, the metro has figured in Mexicos cultural history, as the inspiration for a musical composition for strings, Metro Chabancano and the 1982 Rodrigo Rockdrigo Gonzálezs 1982 song, Metro Balderas. It has also been a site for the 1990 Hollywood movie Total Recall, public intellectual, Carlos Monsiváis has commented on the cultural importance of the metro, a space for collective expression, where diverse social sectors are compelled to mingle every day. 65 of the 91 lines of bus and electric transport served this area, with four thousand units in addition to 150,000 personal automobiles peak hours, the average speed was less than walking pace. The principal promoter of the construction of the Mexico City Metro was engineer Bernardo Quintana and he carried out a series of studies that resulted in a draft plan which would ultimately lead to the construction of the Mexico City Metro. On 19 June 1967, in the crossroad of Chapultepec Avenue with Avenida Bucareli, two years later, on 4 September 1969, an orange train made the inaugural trip between stations Zaragoza and Insurgentes, thus beginning daily operation up to today. The first stage of construction comprised the construction and inauguration of lines 1,2 and 3. Between 1,200 and 4,000 specialists and 48,000 workers participated, building at least one kilometer of track per month, during this stage of construction workers uncovered two archaeological ruins, one Aztec idol, and the bones of a mammoth. By the end of the first stage, namely on 10 June 1972, the STC Metro had 48 stations and a total length of 41. Construction of lines 4 and 5 was begun and completed on 26 May and 30 August 1982, respectively, the first one from Martín Carrera to Santa Anita and the latter from Politécnico to Pantitlán. Line 4 was the first STC Metro line built as an elevated track and this construction stage took place from the beginning of 1983 through the end of 1985. Lines 1,2 and 3 were expanded to their current lengths, the length of the network was increased by 35.29 kilometres and the number of stations to 105
25.
Moctezuma II
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During his reign the Aztec Empire reached its greatest size. Through warfare, Moctezuma expanded the territory as far south as Xoconosco in Chiapas and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and he changed the previous meritocratic system of social hierarchy and widened the divide between pipiltin and macehualtin by prohibiting commoners from working in the royal palaces. The portrayal of Moctezuma in history has mostly been colored by his role as ruler of a defeated nation, the biases of some historical sources make it difficult to understand his actions during the Spanish invasion. Moctezuma had many wives and concubines but only two women were his Queens – Tlapalizquixochtzin and Teotlalco and he was also a King Consort of Ecatepec because Tlapalizquixochtzin was Queen of that city. His many children included Princess Isabel Moctezuma — and sons Chimalpopoca, the Nahuatl pronunciation of his name is. It is a compound of a noun meaning lord and a meaning to frown in anger. The Aztecs did not use numbers, they were given retroactively by historians to more easily distinguish him from the first Moctezuma. The Aztec chronicles called him Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, while the first was called Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina or Huehuemotecuhzoma, the descriptions of the life of Moctezuma are full of contradictions, and thus nothing is known for certain about his personality and rule. He did not wear his hair long but just over his ears and his face was rather long and cheerful, he had fine eyes, and in his appearance and manner could express geniality or, when necessary, a serious composure. He was very neat and clean, and took a bath every afternoon and he had many women as his mistresses, the daughters of chieftains, but two legitimate wives who were Caciques in their own right, and only some of his servants knew of it. He was quite free from sodomy, the clothes he wore one day he did not wear again till three or four days later. He had a guard of two hundred chieftains lodged in rooms beside his own, only some of whom were permitted to speak to him. It was stated that he had reigned for seventeen years, and was the best king they ever had in Mexico, I have spoken of the sorrow we all felt when we saw that Montezuma was dead. We even blamed the Mercederian friar for not having persuaded him to become a Christian, Moctezuma in particular is depicted unfavorably as a weak-willed, superstitious, and indulgent ruler. Historian James Lockhart suggests that the people needed to have a scapegoat for the Aztec defeat, unlike Bernal Díaz, who was recording his memories many years after the fact, Cortés wrote his Cartas de relación to justify his actions to the Spanish Crown. His prose is characterized by descriptions and explanations, along with frequent personal addresses to the King. They came in two columns, pressed very close to the walls of the street, which is wide and beautiful. Mutezuma came down the middle of street with two chiefs, one on his right hand and the other on his left
26.
Ahuitzotl
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Ahuitzotl was the eighth Aztec ruler, the Hueyi Tlatoani of the city of Tenochtitlan, son of princess Atotoztli II. He was responsible for much of the expansion of the Mexica domain and he took power as tlatoani in the year 7 Rabbit, after the death of his predecessor and brother, Tizoc. His sons were kings Chimalpilli II and Cuauhtémoc and he also had one daughter and he conquered the Mixtec, Zapotec, and other peoples from Pacific Coast of Mexico down to the western part of Guatemala. Ahuizotl also supervised a major rebuilding of Tenochtitlan on a scale including the expansion of the Great Pyramid or Templo Mayor in the year 8 Reed. He presided over the introduction of the great-tailed grackle into the Valley of Mexico, Ahuizotl died in the year 10 Rabbit and was succeeded by his nephew, Moctezuma II. Ahuizotl took his name from the animal ahuizotl, which the Aztecs considered to be a creature in its own right rather than a mere mythical representation of the king. On 3 August 2007, Mexican archaeologists announced discovery of what is believed to be the tomb of Ahuizotl beneath a sculpture of Tlaltecuhtli near the Zócalo in Mexico City, the Aztecs. revised ed. Thames and Hudson, New York. Hassig, Ross Aztec Warfare, Imperial Expansion and Political Control, the Aztecs, Maya, and Their Predecessors, Archaeology of Mesoamerica
27.
Tepeyac
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Tepeyac or the Hill of Tepeyac, historically known by the names Tepeyacac and Tepeaquilla, is located inside Gustavo A. Madero, the northernmost delegación or borough of the Mexican Federal District. According to the Catholic tradition, it is the site where Saint Juan Diego met the Virgin of Guadalupe in December 1531, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe located there is one of the most visited Catholic shrines in the world. Spanish colonists erected a Catholic chapel at the site, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Tepeyac Hill had been a place for worshipping Aztec earth goddesses. Tepeyac is believed to have been a Pre-Columbian worship site for the mother goddess Tonantzin. In Nahuatl, Tepeyacac is a noun, a combination of tepetl, yacatl. According to scholars of the language of Nahuatl, The term would generally be expected to mean a settlement on the ridge or brow of a hill. Since yacatl often implies antecedence, here the word may refer to the fact that the hill is the first and most prominent of a series of three, Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe El Tepeyac National Park
28.
Iztapalapa
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Iztapalapa is one of the Federal Districts of Mexico City’s 16 boroughs, located on the east side of the entity. The borough is named after and centered on the independent municipality of Iztapalapa. The rest is made up of a number of communities which are governed by the city of Iztapalapa. With a population of 1.8 million as of 2010, Iztapalapa is the most populous borough of Mexico City, over 90% of its territory is urbanized. This is the result of an influx of people into the borough starting from the 1970s. The area has a level of socioeconomic marginalization, with a significant number of people lacking sufficient access to clean potable water. Crime is also a problem, with much of it related to drug trafficking. However, the borough is home of one of Mexico City’s major cultural events, Iztapalapa today is a borough of the Federal District of Mexico City, centered on what used to be an independent settlement with its origins in the pre-Hispanic period. It has a territory of 116. 67km2, and is located on the east side of the Federal District bordering the boroughs of Iztacalco, Xochimilco, Tláhuac, Coyoacán and Benito Juárez. The State of Mexico borders the borough on the east side, the modern borough is made up of 15 “barrios” or neighborhoods, considered to be part of city of Iztapalapa, and 18 other “pueblos” or communities outside of it. To distinguish the city of Iztapalapa from the rest of the borough. Records of the barrios of Iztapalapa” go back at least until 1898. Borough authorities have sought “Barrios Mágicos Turísticos” status for these, for a similar to the “Pueblos Mágicos” tourism program run by the federal government. The borough has an elevation of 2240 masl and extends over firm land. These are recent geological formations, with evidence of lava flow still existent, culturally, the most important of these elevations is the Cerro de la Estrella, which was the site of the New Fire ceremony. Since the pre-Hispanic period, Lake Texcoco has been drained, leaving only two natural river called the Churubusco and La Piedad, which unite to form the Unido River. However, the rivers are encased in tubes as is one of the canals, for this reason, there are no longer any naturally occurring surface water. The climate of the area is divided into four zones, one consists of a warm wet climate with temperatures above 18C in the coldest months
29.
Tlacopan
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Nearby was the city of Tiliuhcan. Founded by Tlacomatzin, Tlacopan was a Tepanec kingdom subordinate to nearby Azcapotzalco, Tlacopan sided with Tenochtitlan and Texcoco in their conquest of Azcapotzalco, becoming a member of the Triple Alliance which formed the nucleus of the Aztec Empire. The ruler of Tlacopan, Totoquihuaztli, then took the title Tepaneca tecuhtli, Tlacopan was to remain a junior partner in the alliance, receiving only a fifth of the tribute gained from joint campaigns with its more powerful allies. The Triple Alliance ended with the Spanish conquest of Mexico by Hernán Cortés, over the centuries, Mexico City expanded to include the former site of Tlacopan, todays neighborhood of Tacuba in the Mexico City borough of Miguel Hidalgo
30.
Jousting lance
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Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horsemen wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The joust became a characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The participants experience close to three and a quarter times their weight in G-forces when the lances collide with their armor. The term is derived from Old French joster, ultimately from Latin iuxtare to approach, the word was loaned into Middle English around 1300, when jousting was a very popular sport among the Anglo-Norman knighthood. Jousting is based on the use of the lance by heavy cavalry. It transformed into a sport during the Late Middle Ages. In England, jousting was the highlight of the Accession Day tilts of Elizabeth I and James I, Jousting was discontinued in favour of other equestrian sports in the 17th century, although non-contact forms of equestrian skill-at-arms disciplines survived. There has been a revival of theatrical jousting re-enactment since the 1970s. The medieval joust has its origins in the tactics of heavy cavalry during the High Middle Ages. From the 11th to 14th centuries when medieval jousting was still practised in connection to the use of the lance in warfare, by 1400, knights wore full suits of plate armour, called a harness. In this early period, a joust was still a meeting, i. e. a duel in general and not limited to the lance. Combatants would begin riding on one another with the lance, Tournaments in the High Medieval period were much rougher and less gentlemanly affairs than in the late medieval era of chivalry. The rival parties would fight in groups, with the aim of incapacitating their adversaries for the sake of gaining their horses, with the development of the courtly ideals of chivalry in the late medieval period, the joust became more regulated. This tendency is reflected in the pas darmes in general. This romanticised chivalric revival was based on the romances of the high medieval period. The development of the term dates to this period. Before the 12th century, cniht was a term for a servant, in the 12th century, it became used of a military follower in particular. Also in the 12th century, a class of noblemen serving in cavalry developed
31.
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
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The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most significant events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Many of those on the Cortés expedition of 1519 had never seen combat before, in fact, Cortés had never commanded men in battle before. However, there was a generation of Spaniards who participated in expeditions in the Caribbean and Tierra Firme, learning strategy. The Spanish conquest of Mexico had antecedents with established practices, in their advance, the allies were tricked and ambushed several times by the people they encountered. When Cortés left Tenochtitlan to return to the coast and deal with the expedition of Pánfilo de Narváez, Alvarado allowed a significant Aztec feast to be celebrated in Tenochtitlan and on the pattern of the earlier massacre in Cholula, closed off the square and massacred the celebrating Aztec noblemen. The biography of Cortés by Francisco López de Gómara contains a description of the massacre, the Alvarado massacre at the Main Temple of Tenochtitlan precipitated rebellion by the population of the city. When the captured emperor Motecuhzoma II, now seen as a puppet of the invading Spaniards, attempted to calm the outraged populace. Cortés had returned to Tenochtitlan and his men fled the city during the Noche Triste in June,1520. The Spanish, Tlaxcalans and reinforcements returned a year later on August 13,1521 to a civilization that had wiped out by famine. This made it easier to conquer the remaining Aztecs, the fall of the Aztec Empire was the key event in the formation of the Spanish overseas empire, with New Spain, which later became Mexico, a major component. The Spanish conquerors could and did write accounts that narrated the conquest from the first landfalls in Mexico to the victory over the Mexica in Tenochtitlan on August 13,1521. Indigenous accounts are from particular native viewpoints and as the events had a impact on their polity. All accounts of the conquest, Spanish and indigenous alike, have biases, in general, Spanish accounts do not credit their indigenous allies support. Individual conquerors accounts exaggerate that individuals contribution to the conquest, downplaying other conquerors, indigenous allies accounts stress their loyalty to the Spanish and their particular aid as being key to the Spanish victory. Their accounts are similar to Spanish conquerors accounts contained in petitions for rewards and these were almost immediately published in Spain and later in other parts of Europe. Interestingly, Cortéss right-hand man, Pedro de Alvarado did not write at any length about his actions in the New World, two letters to Cortés about Alvarados campaigns in Guatemala are published in The Conquistadors. Rather than it being a petition for rewards for services, as many Spanish accounts were, the account was used by eighteenth-century Jesuit Francisco Javier Clavijero in his descriptions of the history of Mexico. On the indigenous side, the allies of Cortés, particularly the Tlaxcalans, wrote extensively about their services to the Spanish Crown in the conquest, the most important of these are the pictorial Lienzo de Tlaxcala and the Historia de Tlaxcala by Diego Muñoz Camargo
32.
Historic center of Mexico City
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The Zocalo is the largest plaza in Latin America. It can hold up to nearly 100,000 people and this section of the capital has just over nine square km and occupies 668 blocks. It contains 9,000 buildings,1,550 of which have been declared of historical importance, Most of these historic buildings were constructed between the 16th and 20th centuries. It is divided into two zones for preservation purposes, zone A encompasses the pre-Hispanic city and its expansion from the Viceroy period until Independence. Zone B covers the areas all other constructions to the end of the 19th century that are considered indispensable to the preservation of the architectural and cultural heritage. This is where the Spaniards began to build what is now modern Mexico City in the 16th century on the ruins of the conquered Tenochtitlan and this has made it a World Heritage Site. What is now the downtown of Mexico City roughly correlates with the ancient Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. During the prehispanic era, the city developed in a fashion, with streets and canals aligned with the cardinal directions. The calpullis were named Cuepopan, Atzacualco, Moyotla and Zoquipan, which had subdivisions, the intersection of these roads was the center of the city and of the Aztec world. Here were the Templo Mayor, the palaces of the tlatoani or emperors, palaces of nobles such as the House of the Demons, also located here were the two most renowned Aztec schools, the Telpuchcalli for secular studies and the Calmecac for priestly training. When the Spaniards arrived, the city had built by Moctezuma Ilhuicamina. After the Spanish conquest, this remained largely intact, mostly due to the efforts of Alonso Garcia Bravo. This reconstruction conserved many of the main thoroughfares such as Tenayuca, renamed Vallejo, Tlacopan, renamed México Tacuba, and Tepeyac, now called the Calzada de los Misterios. They also kept major divisions of the city adding Christian prefixes to the such as San Juan Moyotla, Santa María Tlaquechiuacan, San Sebastián Atzacualco. In fact, most of the centro historicos is built with the rubble of the destroyed Aztec city, a number of people during this time, all Spaniards, accumulated vast wealth mostly through mining and commerce in the 17th and 18th centuries. This wealth is reflected in the various mansions scattered in the such as the Palace of Iturbide. This house was built in the 16th century in Arab style, historically, the Zócalo, or main plaza, has been a venue for fine and popular cultural events. Some example of events held here recently are Spencer Tunicks photo shoot, the Ashes and Snow Nomadic museum, the Festival de México is an annual event with programs dedicated to art and academia
33.
Galleon
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Another possible origin is the Old French word galie meaning galley, also from Byzantine Greek galea. The galea was a warship of the Byzantine navy, and its name may be related to the Greek word galeos, the term was originally given to certain types of war galleys in the Middle Ages. The Annali Genovesi mentions galleons of 80,64 and 60 oars, used for battle and on missions of exploration and it is very likely that the galleons and galliots mentioned in the accounts of the crusades were the same vessels. In the early 16th century, the Venetian galleoni was a new class of galley used to hunt down pirates in the Mediterranean. In Portugal at least, Portuguese carracks were very large ships for their time, while galleons were mostly under 500 tons. One of the largest and most famous of Portuguese galleons was the São João Baptista, there are disputes about its origins and development but each Atlantic sea power built types suited to its needs, while constantly learning from their rivals. It was the captains of the Spanish navy, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and Álvaro de Bazán, the galleon was powered entirely by wind, using sails carried on three or four masts, with a lateen sail continuing to be used on the last masts. They were used in military and trade applications, most famously in the Spanish treasure fleet, and the Manila Galleons. While carracks played the role in early global explorations, galleons also played a part in the 16th and 17th centuries. In fact, galleons were so versatile that a vessel may have been refitted for wartime and peacetime roles several times during its lifespan. The galleon was the prototype of all square-rigged ships with three or more masts for over two and a half centuries, including the later full-rigged ship, Galleons were constructed from oak, pine and various hardwoods for hull and decking. The expenses involved in construction were enormous. Hundreds of expert tradesmen worked day and night for months before a galleon was seaworthy, to cover the expense, galleons were often funded by groups of wealthy businessmen who pooled resources for a new ship. Therefore, most galleons were originally consigned for trade, although those captured by rival states were usually put into military service, the most common gun used aboard a galleon was the demi-culverin, although gun sizes up to demi-cannon were possible. Galleons were a class of blue water sailing ship that combined the easy-to-maneuver fore-and-aft rig of smaller shipping with the rig of late middle ages cargo vessels. On average with three masts, in larger galleons, a fourth mast was added, usually another lateen-rigged mizzen, the oldest known scale drawings in England are in a manuscript called Fragments of Ancient Shipwrightry made in about 1586 by Mathew Baker, a master-shipwright. This manuscript, held at the Pepysian Library, Magdalene College, Cambridge, provides a reference for the size. Based on these plans, the Science Museum, London has built a 1,48 scale model ship that is an exemplar of galleons of this era
34.
Charles IV of Spain
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Charles IV was King of Spain from 14 December 1788, until his abdication on 19 March 1808. Charles was the son of Charles III and his wife. He was born in Naples, while his father was King of Naples and his elder brother, Don Felipe, was passed over for both thrones, due to his learning disabilities and epilepsy. In Naples and Sicily, Charles was referred to as the Prince of Taranto and he was called El Cazador, due to his preference for sport and hunting, rather than dealing with affairs of the state. Charles was considered by many to have been amiable, but simple-minded, in 1788, Charles III died and Charles IV succeeded to the throne. He intended to maintain the policies of his father, and retained his prime minister, the Count of Floridablanca, in office. Even though he had a belief in the sanctity of his office. The affairs of government were left to his wife, Maria Luisa, in 1792, political and personal enemies ousted Floridablanca from office, replacing him with Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Count of Aranda. Humboldts Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain was a key publication from his five-year travels, Godoy continued Arandas policy of neutrality towards France, but after Spain protested the execution of Louis XVI of France, the deposed king, in 1793, France declared war on Spain. After the declaration, Portugal and Spain signed a treaty of protection against France. In 1795 France forced Godoy to enter into an alliance, Spain remained an ally of France and supported the Continental Blockade until the British naval victory at Trafalgar, when Spain became allied with Britain. However, after Napoleons victory over Prussia in 1807, Godoy again steered Spain back onto the French side and this switching of alliances devalued Charles position as a trustworthy ally, increasing Godoys unpopularity, and strengthening the fernandistas, who favoured an alliance with the United Kingdom. Economic troubles, rumours about a relationship between the Queen and Godoy, and the Kings ineptitude, caused the monarchy to decline in prestige among the population. Anxious to take over from his father, and jealous of the prime minister, riots, and a popular revolt at the winter palace Aranjuez, in 1808 forced the king to abdicate on 19 March, in favor of his son. Ferdinand took the throne as Ferdinand VII, but was mistrusted by Napoleon, the ousted King, having appealed to Napoleon for help in regaining his throne, was summoned before Napoleon in Bayonne, along with his son, in April 1808. Napoleon forced both Charles and his son to abdicate, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, as King Joseph I of Spain. Following Napoleons deposing of the Bourbon dynasty, the ex-King, his wife, after the collapse of the regime installed by Napoleon, Ferdinand VII was restored to the throne. The former Charles IV drifted about Europe until 1812, when he settled in Rome
35.
Aztec calendar stone
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The stone is 358 centimetres in diameter and 98 centimetres thick, and it weighs about 24 tons. Shortly after the Spanish conquest, the sculpture was buried in the Zócalo. It was rediscovered on December 17,1790 during repairs on the Mexico City Cathedral, following its rediscovery, the calendar stone was mounted on an exterior wall of the Cathedral, where it remained until 1885. Most scholars think that the stone was carved some time between 1502 and 1521, though some believe that it is several decades older than that, the sculpted motifs that cover the surface of the stone refer to central components of the Mexica cosmogony. In the center of the monolith is the face of the deity, Tonatiuh, which appears inside the glyph for movement. The central figure is holding a human heart in each of his clawed hands. The four squares that surround the central deity represent the four previous suns or eras, each era ended with the destruction of the world and humanity, which were then recreated in the next era. The top right square represents 4 Jaguar, the day on which the first era ended, after having lasted 676 years, due to the appearance of monsters that devoured all of humanity. The top left square shows 4 Wind, the date on which, after 364 years, hurricane winds destroyed the earth, the bottom left square shows 4 Rain. This era lasted 312 years, before being destroyed by a rain of fire, the bottom right square represents 4 Water, an era that lasted 676 years and ended when the world was flooded and all the humans were turned into fish. Placed among these four squares are three additional dates,1 Flint,1 Rain, and 7 Monkey, and a Xiuhuitzolli, or rulers turquoise diadem, glyph. It has been suggested that these dates may have had historical and cosmic significance, and that the diadem may form part of the name of the Mexica ruler Moctezuma II. The exact purpose and meaning of the Calendar Stone are unclear, archaeologists and historians have proposed numerous theories, and it is likely that there are several aspects to its interpretation. The earliest interpretations of the stone relate to its use as a calendar, in 1792, two years after the stones unearthing, Mexican anthropologist Antonio de León y Gama wrote a treatise on the Aztec calendar using the stone as its basis. Some of the circles of glyphs are the glyphs for the days of the month, the four symbols included in the Ollin glyph represent the four past suns that the Mexica believed the earth had passed through. Another aspect of the stone is its religious significance, one theory is that the face at the center of the stone represents Tonatiuh, the Aztec deity of the sun. It is for this reason that the stone known as the Sun Stone. Richard Townsend proposed a different theory, claiming that the figure at the center of the stone represents Tlaltecuhtli, yet another characteristic of the stone is its possible geographic significance
36.
Coatlicue
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Coatlicue, also known as Teteoh innan, is the Aztec goddess who gave birth to the moon, stars, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war. The goddesses Tocih “our grandmother”, and Cihuacoatl “snake woman”, the patron of women who die in childbirth, were seen as aspects of Coatlicue. The goddess Classical Nahuatl name can be rendered both Cōātlīcue and Cōātl īcue, from cōātl “snake” and īcue “her skirt”, roughly meaning “ the skirt of snakes”. The name Tēteoh īnnān, from tēteoh, plural of teōtl “god”, + īnnān “their mother” and she is represented as a woman wearing a skirt of writhing snakes and a necklace made of human hearts, hands, and skulls. Her feet and hands are adorned with claws and her breasts are depicted as hanging flaccid from pregnancy and her face is formed by two facing serpents, referring to the myth that she was sacrificed during the beginning of the present creation. Most Aztec artistic representations of this goddess emphasize her deadly side, because Earth and she represents the devouring mother, in whom both the womb and the grave exist. According to Aztec legend, she was once impregnated by a ball of feathers that fell on her while she was sweeping a temple. Her daughter Coyolxauhqui then rallied Coatlicues four hundred other children together, the instant she was killed, the god Huitzilopochtli suddenly emerged from her womb fully grown and armed for battle. He killed many of his brothers and sisters, including Coyolxauhqui, whose head he cut off, in one variation on this legend, Huitzilopochtli himself is the child conceived in the ball-of-feathers incident and is born just in time to save his mother from harm. The reference is to one version of the creation of the present Sun, the myth relates that the present Sun began after the gods gathered at Teotihuacan and sacrificed themselves. The best-known version states that Tezzictecatl and Nanahuatzin immolated themselves, becoming the moon, however, other versions add a group of women to those who sacrificed themselves, including Coatlicue. Afterwards the Aztecs were said to have worshipped the skirts of these women, Coatlicue thus has creative aspects, which may balance the skulls, hearts, hands, and claws that connect her to the earth deity Tlaltecuhtli. The earth both consumes and regenerates life, Aztec mythology in popular culture Vistas Project at Smith College. Edited by Dana Liebsohn and Barbara Mundy, the Coatlicues at the Templo Mayor. Ancient Mesoamerica,10, 189-206 Cambridge University Press, from Llorona to Gritona, Coatlicue in Feminist Tales by Viramontes and Cisneros. MELUS24 Summer 1999, 53-74 Cisneros, Sandra and it occurs to me I am the creative/destructive goddess Coatlicue. A New Interpretation of the Aztec Statue Called Coatlicue, Snakes Her Skirt, Ethnohistory 55, Coatlicue or How to Write the Dismembered Body. MLN Hispanic Notes Volume 125, Number 2, 259-286 March 2010, quetzalcoatl and Coatlicue in Mexican Mythology
37.
National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico)
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The National Museum of Anthropology is a national museum of Mexico. It is the largest and most visited museum in Mexico, the museum is managed by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, or INAH. Assessments of the museum vary, with one considering it a national treasure, the museum is the synthesis of an ideological, scientific, and political feat. Octavio Paz criticized the museums making the Mexica hall central, saying the exaltation and glorification of Mexico-Tenochtitlan transforms the Museum of Anthropology into a temple, the halls are ringed by gardens, many of which contain outdoor exhibits. The museum has 23 rooms for exhibits and covers an area of 79,700 square meters or 857,890 square feet, on August 25,1790, the Museum of Natural History was established by botanist José Longinos Martínez. During the 19th century, the museum was visited by internationally renowned scholars such as Alexander von Humboldt, in 1825, the first Mexican president, Guadalupe Victoria, advised by the historian Lucas Alamán, established the National Mexican Museum as an autonomous institution. In 1865, the Emperor Maximilian moved the museum to Calle de Moneda 13, in 1906, due to the growth of the museums collections, Justo Sierra divided the stock of the National Museum. The natural history collections were moved to the Chopo building, which was constructed specifically to shelter permanent expositions, the museum was renamed the National Museum of Archaeology, History and Ethnography, and was re-opened September 9,1910, in the presence of President Porfirio Díaz. By 1924 the stock of the museum had increased to 52,000 objects and had received more than 250,000 visitors, the remaining collection was renamed the National Museum of Anthropology, focusing on pre-Columbian Mexico and modern day Mexican ethnography. The construction of the museum building began in February 1963 in the Chapultepec park. The project was coordinated by architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, with assistance by Rafael Mijares Alcérreca, in front of the testimonies of those cultures, the Mexico of today pays tribute to the indigenous people of Mexico, in whose example we recognize characteristics of our national originality. It also has a model of the location and layout of the former Aztec capital Tenochtitlan and they are classified as North, West, Mayan, Gulf of Mexico, Oaxaca, Mexico, Toltec, and Teotihuacan. The permanent expositions at the first floor show the culture of Native American population of Mexico since the Spanish colonization, the museum also hosts visiting exhibits, generally focusing on other of the worlds great cultures. Past exhibits have focused on ancient Iran, Greece, China, Egypt, Russia, doris Heyden Felipe R. Solís Olguín, director 2000–2009 Aveleyra, Luis. Plantación y metas del nuevo Museo Nacional de Antropología, artes de México, época 1, año 12, no. El Museo Nacional de Antropología de México, el Museo Nacional de Arquelogía, Historia, y Etnografía. Mexico, Imprenta del Museo Nacional de Arquelogía, Historia, y Etnografía 1924, Historia de los Museos de México. Mexico, Fomento Cultural del Banco Nacional de México 1987, the Creation of the Museo Nacional de Antropología of Mexico and its scientific, educational, and political purposes
38.
Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation
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The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (Spanish, Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación is the supreme court of Mexico and the head of the judicial branch of the Mexican federal government. It consists of judges, known as ministers, one of whom is designated the courts president. Judges of the SCJN are appointed for 15 years and they are confirmed by the Senate from a list proposed by the President of the Republic. From among their number, the elect the President of the Court to serve a four-year period, a given minister may serve more than one term as president. The court itself is located just off the plaza of Mexico City on the corners of Pino Suarez. It was built between 1935 and 1941 by Antonio Muñoz Garcia, prior to the Conquest, this site was reserved for the ritual known as Dance of the Flyers which is still practiced today in Papantla. It was also the site of a large market known as El Volador. The interior of the building contains four panels painted in 1941 by José Clemente Orozco, there is also one mural done by American artist George Biddle entitled War and Peace at the entrance to the library. While this building is still the home of the Court
39.
Baluster
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Multiplied in this way, they form a balustrade. Individually, a baluster shaft may describe the form taken by a brass or silver candlestick. According to OED, baluster is derived through the French, balustre, from Italian, balaustro, from balaustra, pomegranate flower, from Latin balaustium, from Greek βαλαύστιον. The earliest examples are shown in the bas-reliefs representing the Assyrian palaces. The application to architecture was a feature of the early Renaissance, late fifteenth-century examples are found in the balconies of palaces at Venice and these quattrocento balustrades are likely to be following yet-unidentified Gothic precedents. They form balustrades of colonnettes as an alternative to miniature arcading, sangallo passed the motif to Bramante and Michelangelo, through whom balustrades gained wide currency in the 16th century. Because of its low center of gravity, this vase-baluster may be given the modern term dropped baluster. The baluster, being a structure, tends to follow design precedents that were set in woodworking and ceramic practices, where the turners lathe. The profile a baluster takes is often diagnostic of a style of architecture or furniture. Some complicated Mannerist baluster forms can be read as a vase set upon another vase, modern baluster design is also in use for example in designs influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement in a 1905 row of houses in Etchingham Park Road Finchley London England. The modern term baluster shaft is applied to the shaft dividing a window in Saxon architecture, in the south transept of the Abbey in St Albans, England, are some of these shafts, supposed to have been taken from the old Saxon church. Norman bases and capitals have been added, together with plain cylindrical Norman shafts, balusters are normally separated by at least the same measurement as the size of the square bottom section. Placing balusters too far apart diminishes their aesthetic appeal, balustrades normally terminate in columns, building walls or more properly in heavy newel posts because otherwise they will not be structurally strong enough. Balusters may be formed in several ways, wood and stone can be shaped on the lathe, wood can be cut from square or rectangular section boards, while concrete, plaster, iron, and plastics are usually formed by molding and casting. Turned patterns or old examples are used for the molds, Cast iron Cast stone Hardwoods and softwoods Plaster Polymer stone Polyurethane/polystyrene Wrought iron The word banister refers to the balusters of a stairway. According to many dictionaries - a, a handrail, especially on a staircase. Such a handrail together with its supporting structures, the Renaissance baluster and Palladio in Palladio and English Palladianism
