For questions about the nation of Mexico, including its people, history, and politics. Also use this tag for questions about the indigenous cultures and settlers that occupied the same area but predate the modern nation.
Mexico is a nation in North America, bordered on the north by the Unites States, on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by Belize and Guatemala, and on the east by the Caribbean Sea.
Pre-Columbian cultures on the site of modern-day Mexico include the Olmec, Toltec, Aztec, and Maya, among others.
At the time of the arrival of the early European explorers, the Aztec were the only one of these groups still largely active. Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés defeated the Aztec, and paved the way for Spanish colonization of Mexico in the year 1521. The area was administered as the Viceroyality of New Spain until Mexico achieved independence in 1821.
The capital and largest city of Mexico is Mexico City, built on the former site of Tenochtitlan.
