Hispanic Americans are defined as people 
originating from Mexico and Spain, but has
now expanded past the outdated meaning
to include many people.  These people could
be from small spanish speaking towns in 
South America, people indigenous to Latin
America, including everyone with Hispanic 
heritage.  Since Hispanic Americans are so 
varied, their history is also very complex.  
This page contains the basic history of how 
Hispanic Americans came to the United States.  
This does not include, however, the personal
immigration of Hispanics to America that
takes place everyday.  That struggle should
also be considered.

Mexico

Nomadic people from Asia crossed the Bering land 
bridge to Alaska about 50,000 years ago.  By the 
1400's the people had settled in South America 
and established the Aztec Empire.  The Aztecs then
conquered the surrounding lands because of their 
advanced army.  The Mayas lived south of the 
Aztecs and excelled in science and math.  The 
Aztecs and their conquered people called themselves 
the "Mexica", creating the modern name for the 
place and people who live there.  The Mexicans 
were evolved from the Aztecs and surrounding 
lands.
  

 Funded by the Spanish royalty, Christopher Columbus came to
 America in route of finding spices.  He stumbled upon Cuba and
 Puerto Rico, discovering new Native tribes previously unknown to 
 the rest of the world.  However, these people soon disappeared, 
 having been killed by Columbus and his crew.  Columbus was the 
 first explorer to bring Spaniards to America.  Cuba had become a 
 huge spanish port, and recieved visits from a man named Hernan 
 Cortez.
   Hernan Cortez was a spanish explorer looking for riches in the new
 land.  He discovered the Yucatan Peninsula by exploring lands
 around Cuba.  He also fell upon Mexico, and was greeted by hostile
 indigenous people.  Cortez and his crew faught against the natives,
 and won, giving him acess to the Aztec Empire.  He marched into 
 Tenochtitlan and destroyed the city.  This however was not a 
 disaster, because the Mestizos came from it, forming present day 
 Mexico.
   These two men helped bring Hispanic people from Spain to
 America, but also created new groups of Hispanics by intermarrying
 and mixing cultures.  The extensive blend of people is a result of the
 explorers' conquest of the land
.
  


  

Hispanic History Links