Glen Pinchbeck Lecture

Glen Pinchbeck is an engineer in transportation by profession and a learned historian in Oaxacan culture. She was born in Oaxaca to European parents, and is a member of the Institute of National Anthropology. She lectured on the history of Oaxaca, which was settled over 10,000 years ago by 16 ethnic groups of Mexican Indians including the Zapotec and Mixtec. There were thousands of microclimates and cultural differences during that time. The size of each community was controlled by the available land and the water supply.

The Zapotec Indians built temples atop Monte Alban to house their priests and worship their gods. Huge stones were somehow transported from Etla to build the pyramids at Monte Alban some 15 kilometers away. It took them at least 500 years to build the pre-classical period. Between 500 and 700 BCE the capitol of Oaxaca was moved to Monte Alban. During its peak, 30,000 people were living there in the largest settlement of Oaxaca.

At the end of the 15^th Century the Aztecs arrived and took control. They wanted the rich land, textiles, plants, gold and silver, and to be able to control the trade route from Central and South America.

The Spanish arrived during the 16^th Century. Cortez conquered Mexico, and in 1519 he sent men to Oaxaca to look for gold and riches. More Spanish arrived along with the Dominican priests and friars in the early 1500’s, and the first church, Santa Domingo, was built. The pre-hispanic temples were razed and built over with Christian churches. Monte Alban remains only because the Spanish didn’t find it.

During the 18^th Century economic conditions became bad in Europe and the Mexicans were forced to sell all their products to Spain. On September 15, 1810 a priest by the name of Delores Aldago began demanding that Mexico be freed from Spain. After almost 300 years of Spanish rule, Oaxaca declared itself a free state in June of 1823, and in December of 1823 Santa Ana declared Mexico a free republic. On January 10, 1825 the first constitution was ratified and on May 12, 1825 the first law in all of Latin America was codified. The first Civil Code of Laws was developed during 1827 and 1828.

One of the first students to graduate from the University was Benito Juarez who later became the president of Mexico. He began some industrialization and was responsible for reform laws and a new constitution in 1857. He died in 1872.

Today Oaxaca is made up of 18 groups (16 original ethnic groups, Africans, and Spanish. It has many microclimates that grow 10,000 varieties of flora. The population in 1995 was 442,000, and in 2000 it is roughly 500,000. The uncontrolled growth of the city is increasing the greenhouse effect, and the water supply and sewage control are insufficient. The primary source of revenue in Oaxaca today is tourism.

-Linda