Nearly 4000 years before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, the land of Mexico began to give rise to a long list of civilizations, such as the Olmec, Izapa, Teotihuacan, Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, Huastec, Tarascan, Toltec and Mexica (Aztecs), which flourished at different times. The Spanish conquest began in 1519 AD and took nearly two centuries to complete. Following the French invasion of Spain in 1807, Mexico began a long civil war to gain its independence finally in 1821.

About Mexico | Mexican History | Mexican Culture

Pre-Columbian history of Mexico is known through archaeology, since few written records of the original peoples that once inhabited the territory of today's Mexico has survived. These peoples began to selectively breed corn plants around 8,000 BC. And evidence of pottery works by 2300 B.C. and the beginning of intensive corn farming between 1800 and 1500 B.C are found.  Between 1800 and 300 BC, complex cultures began to form. Cultures such as the: Olmec, Izapa, Teotihuacan, Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, Huastec, Tarascan, "Toltec" and Mexica (Aztecs), which flourished for nearly 4,000 years before first contact with Europeans.

These indigenous civilizations are credited with many inventions including  pyramid-temples, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, theology, and the wheel. An advanced Metallurgy was founded, focused on copper, gold, and silver. Archaic inscriptions on rocks and rock walls all over northern Mexico demonstrate an early propensity for counting in Mexico. These very early and ancient count-markings were associated with astronomical events.

In 1519, the native civilizations of Mexico were invaded by Spain, and two years later in 1521, the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was conquered. The most important of the early Conquistadores was Hernán Cortés, who entered the country in 1519 from a native coastal town which today is Veracruz). Contrary to popular opinion, Spain did not conquer all of Mexico when Cortes conquered Tenochtitlan in 1521. It would take another two centuries before the Conquest of Mexico would be complete.

Another important factor for the fall of the native civilizations were the plagues and epidemics brought to the Americas by sick Spaniards. These diseases took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Aztecs and other natives in a few weeks. These epidemics may have killed over half the approximate 8,000,000 natives who lived in Mexico in the course of a few years time.

During the colonial period, which lasted from 1521 to 1810, Mexico was known as "Nueva España", whose claimed territories included today's Mexico, the Spanish Central America islands, Central America as far south as Costa Rica, an area comprising today's southwestern United States, and the Philippine Islands. After Napoleon I invaded Spain in 1807 and put his brother on the Spanish throne, Mexican colonials took advantage of the fact that Spain was severely handicapped under the occupation of Napoleon's army, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest, declared Mexico's independence from Spain in the small town of Dolores on September 16, 1810. This started the long war that eventually led to the official recognition of independence from Spain in 1821.

In 1821, Agustín de Iturbide, a former Spanish general who switched sides to fight for Mexican independence, proclaimed himself emperor – officially as a temporary measure until a member of European royalty could be persuaded to become monarch of Mexico. A revolt against Iturbide in 1823 established the United Mexican States. In 1824, Guadalupe Victoria became the first president of the new country.