The Prevelance of Diabetes in the Hispanic Culture

The earliest inhabitants of Mexico are believed to have been hunters who migrated from Asia approximately 18,000 years ago. Over time they built organized civilizations with distinct cultures like the Olmec, Teotihuacan, Mayan, Toltec, Zapotec, Mixtec, and Aztecs. These societies excelled in the fields of art, architecture, mathematics, astronomy, and agriculture. In 1517 the Spanish explorer Francisco Fernà ¡ndez de Cà ³rdoba landed on the Yucatà ¡n, peninsula and four years later the Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortà ©z conquered the Aztec empire. For the next 300 years, Mexico, or New Spain, would remain under colonial rule. In the Spring of 1846 American forces quickly occupied New Mexico and California, then invaded parts of Northeastern Mexico, Northwest Mexico and captured Mexico City. In the fall of 1847 the war ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This event was the greatest territorial expansion of the United States and was responsible for the annexation of approximately 80,000 Mexican citizens. In 1910 the Mexican Revolution forced Mexicans to cross the border into the United States, in search of safety and employment. In 1917 with the advent of World War 1 factories in war-related industries in the United States desperately need more workers. Latinos from the Southwest begin moving north in large numbers in search of employment (Meyer, Sherman, Deeds, 1995). The migration of people from Mexico to the United States has been a regular occurrence for