本书为丛书中的一本，介绍了墨西哥从公元前1000多年奥尔梅克人最早定居、1915年西班牙殖民者入侵、1821年获得独立、1910年资产阶级民主革命爆发至2000年一党执政局面的结束长达3000多年的历史，描绘了这期间墨西哥国内各种宗教文化因素、政治经济派别以及社会各阶层之间的矛盾冲突与历史推进的关系，对其与最大邻国——美国的关系也作了着重叙述。

List of illustrations

Preface

  Mexico in perspective

  Nationalism and territory

  Living with the USA

  The border

  Drug trafficking

  Indigenous Mexico

  The pre-Columbian era

  The Olmecs

  Monte Alban and the Zapotec cultures of Oaxaca

  The Mayas

  Teotihuacan

  The north

  The time of troubles, 750-950

  The Toltecs

  The Post-Classic Maya

  The Zapotecs and Mixtecs of the Post-Classic era

  Central Mexico

  The Aztecs

  The European incursion, (1519-1620)

  The impact of the fall of Tenochtitlan

  The imposition of Christianity

Hispanic land acquisition

4 New Spain, 1620-1770: Spanish colonialism and American

society

Spain and the Empire: merchants, financiers, and markets

Indian communities

New Spain's Baroque culture

The cult of the Virgin

The exposed north and far north

The political processes

5 Destabilisation and fragmentation, 177o-1867

Part one: the climax and collapse of New Spain,

  1770-1821

Part two: the failures and successes of a newly

  sovereign state, 1821-1867

6 Reconstruction, 1867-194o

Part one: the Liberal republic: constitutionalism

  or personal rule, 1867-1911?

Part two: the revolutionary system: state power or

  democratisation, 1911-1940?

7 The monopoly party, 194O-2000

Part one: the 'Mexican miracle' and political

  control, 1940-1970

Part two: economic crises and political divisions,

  1970-2000

Final comments

Bibliography

Index