A Traveller's History of Mexico

Kenneth Pearce begins with life before the major civilisations of the area took hold, and then shows the growth of the first elite groups of the Olmecs and Mayans; their culture was finally subsumed into the mighty Aztec Empire which, in its turn, was tragically ended by the arrival of Cortes and might of Spain. The crushing burden of colonial rule driven by greed and oppression leads to further unrest for many centuries. The 19th century War of Independence finally leads to the founding of the Mexican Republic. The author ends his survey with a portrait of the coutnry facing the next millennium with a rising population and problems with drugs and corruption.