When I was in the seventh grade, part of our course on Texas history was on the history of Mexico and Latin America, and when I got into world history in high school, we learned even more. What I discovered very early on is that Latin American history is rich and goes back a long, long way.
One of the most fascinating things that I remember reading about Latin American history is that of the Mayan ruins in Mexico. The story that I read said that some archaeologists theorize that these ruins pre-date the pyramids in Egypt. Most of us assume that the ancient cultures of the world were centered in Africa, Asia and Europe, but there was obviously a thriving civilization in Central Mexico at the time of the pharaohs in Egypt.
I have always found this to be so interesting, because the Americas have so often been referred to as the New World, and you start to realize that it may not be so new after all. If you look at the Mayan calender, after all, you realize that the Central American civilization understood astronomy and the solar system in ways that had to be considered very sophisticated at the time.
One of the things I loved studying the most about Latin American History was the Aztec civilization, and Montezuma. I loved learning about the city the Aztecs created on the land which is today Mexico City, and all of the sophisticated engineering the city had, even back in the 1500's.
Moving forward several hundred years, as a Texan, I always remember studying about the Texas Revolution and the Republic of Texas, when the state claimed its independence and defeated an army led by the Mexican President Santa Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto. This, of course, was one of those occasions where Latin American history and U.S. history intertwined.
Texas gained its independence in 1836, and 10 years later, the United States and Mexico were at war over the U.S.'s annexation of Texas, where the United States won a decisive victory and claimed a large portion of Mexico's territory, making it part of the United States.
While I always felt I received great exposure to Latin American history, I always felt like there could have been a lot more that was taught. I am a great lover of history, and while we seem to study European, Asian and African history to a pretty good extent, it does not seem like the history of Latin America is covered as completely as it should be.
This is our part of the world, and there is a rich history in Mexico and most of the countries of Central America. I really feel that we as Americans should do more to preserve that history.