Mexico

A 500-Year History

By: Paul Gillingham

Narrated by: Ben Cura

From acclaimed and prizewinning historian Paul Gillingham, the rich and fascinating history of one of the world’s most diverse, politically groundbreaking, and influential of countries

From its outset, “Mexico was more profoundly, globally hybrid than anywhere else in the prior history of the world,” writes Paul Gillingham at the beginning of this masterful work of scholarship and narration. Over the ensuing five centuries, Mexicans have prefigured and shaped the course of human lives across the globe.

Mexico begins in 1511 with the dramatic shipwreck of two Spanish sailors near the Yucatán Peninsula. Ten years later Hernán Cortés led an army of European adventurers and indigenous rebels to seize the legendary island city of Tenochtitlán, the largest in the Americas and the center of Montezuma’s empire. The capture of the future Mexico City was, more than an extraordinary military event, the collision of two long-separated worlds, radically different in everything from biota to urban planning. Spaniards discovered tomatoes, chocolate, and a city larger and more sophisticated than anything they had ever seen. Mexicans discovered horses, wheels, and new lethal germs, sparking a cataclysmic century of disease that wiped out much of the preexisting population and led to a unique recombination of European and indigenous cultures.

Mexico’s independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821 led to a calamitous mid-century war with the United States and then one of the first great social revolutions that brought peace for Mexicans throughout many of the global horrors of the twentieth century, before the country itself slipped into the violence of the cartels and a refugee crisis in the 2000s.

Through it all, Mexico set new standards for inclusivity, for progressive social policies, for artistic expression, for adroitly balancing dictatorship and democracy. While racial divides endured, so too did indigenous peoples, who enjoyed rights unthinkable for native peoples in the United States. Mexico was among the first countries to abolish slavery in 1829, and since then Mexicans have elected North America’s first Black president, Vicente Guerrero; the region’s only indigenous president, Benito Juárez; and its only woman president, Claudia Sheinbaum.

As elegantly written as it is powerful in scope, rich in character and anecdote, Mexico uses the latest research to dazzling effect, showing how often America’s southern neighbor has been a dynamic and vital shaper of world affairs.

Engrossing history and captivating performance!

This sweeping epic of Mexican history covers so much, connects threads over 500 years, and provides an enlightening take on a country that doesn’t always get the respect it deserves from American academics. The scope is ambitious and it delivers. I learned so much and it challenges preconceptions I had about Mexico and Mexican history. Ben Cura’s performance is incredible and just so easy to listen to. Will certainly listen to it again!

Mexican tribulations

This encyclical history of Mexico is a masterpiece of a warrior society that simultaneously loves each other and hates each other. The biggest surprise to me, a white USA Citizen was the parallel government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador refusing to accept his narrow election defeat in 2006.

An Approachable Introduction To Mexico’s History

Mexico: A 500-Year History is a fantastic read for a wide audience, whether you’re interested in Mexico and its history, if you’re studying the region, or if you’re from the U.S. and would like to stop being ignorant on our southern neighbor. This book gives a great introductory summary of Mexican history, starting from just before the Spanish conquest and going up to current day and age. In this book, you’ll hear story of the “Many Mexicos”, the exceptionally diverse and wide ranging history, how the country has been pushed and pulled by the U.S. and other countries, and how it has responded. Mexico was arguably one of the first diverse globalized nations and has always been a major player in every chapter of history. You’ll learn about all of them, and more, in this book.

great reader

great reader. awfully long listen, but good. i guess i would listen again ans recommend

Broad overview, but with an agenda

The author's polical bias and "wokeness" becomes more evident as the book gets more contemporary, with his anti-Americanism dripping from the final chapters.