Heather Blackstone
Wst 200
08 February 2010
Mexican History is not something studied by many students, due to the fact that we live in the United States and many times teachers are not required to teach it. However, this does not mean that some students do not learn about some of the great leaders and warriors who have helped shape not only Mexico’s history, but America’s history as well. Men like Quetzalcoatl, Moctezuma, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Pancho Villa, and Don Benito Juárez are all men who have made strong impacts on both Mexico and the United States. It is mind boggling to me however, to know that the women who stood along side them through out the years are never mentioned. Long before Mexico was even a country, Indigenous women played a huge role in the shaping of Mexican history not only on the sidelines, but in battles as well.
Women did not merely support the men in their tribes; they stood shoulder to shoulder with them and fought with them as well. Proof of these women fighting with the men of their tribes dates back all the way to 1035 A.D. with the Aztec warrior princesses that they worshiped. The times of battle for women did not stop there, later on when Spaniards came to Mexico, the native women all fought to defend their villages against the Spanish invaders. The Spaniards would later name these women Soldaderas (women who fought along side men in battle).
With this project I will hopefully be able to give recognition to the women who have fought so bravely for Mexico. It is important that I know more about my heritage than just what the curriculum has taught me. Thousands of women have risked and lost their lives for my country, it is important that they are recognized. It is also very important that I get a better understanding of why these women have not been discussed in our history classes.
Work Cited
Elizabeth Salas, ES. (1990). Soldaderas in the mexican military: myth and history. Austin, TX: University of Texas .
Linhard, TL. (2005). Fearless women in the mexican revolution and the spanish civil wa. Columbia, Missouri : University of Missouri .
Usandizaga, Aránzazu, & Monnickendam, Andrew. (2001). Dressing up for war. 2001.
Heather,
ReplyDeleteThis is a strong beginning. I too am often amazed by the limits of our state-driven education which is often slanted in its narrative about the state and the formation of the state. Mexico has a much longer history as a colony, a mining project, and a state, in which numerous European empires, republics and nations were deeply involved in the struggles between Indigenous peoples to retain their lands, rights, and customary institutions. There are many wonderful texts in contemporary history and social sciences which help us to analyze with more critial lenses these relationships between U.S. history and how much it has been shaped by Indigenous peoples, politics, and forces in Mexico, since the 16th century. Here is a link to some of those sources about Indigenous women, and Mexican history sources to help you as well:
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=mexico+indigenous+women+colonial+history+economics+law+&btnG=Search&as_sdt=100000000000000&as_ylo=&as_vis=0
Enjoy!
Margo Tamez