Can you please clarify my confusion as to when Spanish Mexico became Mexican Mexico?

Question

Hi,

This boils down to 5 key questions for me:

1] When and how did conquering Spaniards in indigenously-populated Mexico become "Mexicans?"

2] When did Spanish control of New Spain/Mexico cede to and come under Mexican control?

3] Was this (#2 above) when Mexico became a formal Mexican nation---and no longer a colony of Spain?

4] Was it mostly Spaniards---or later day Mexicans---who originally explored and/or settled areas north of the present border between Mexico and the U.S.?

5] When did Spanish authority/control of present U.S. territory as defined then through land grants, etc---fall under Mexican authority/control?

The dates and circumstances of these 5 particular events would be very much appreciated---as well as the resources.

Thank you muchly.

Answer 1

First: I am no native speaker, so please excuse any language errors. Second: The dates and crude facts were already given here and could be looked up in any encyclopedia. Third: I would like to give some details to some of your points. The Mexican area north of the modern US-Mexican border was at the time of Mexican rule mainly settled by Indians. The white people were a small minority and settled only a tiny part of the territory. Effective Mexican government was not widespread in the northern areas. Then: The people who immigrated from Spain to Mexico and their descendants considered themselves as Spaniards, as many of them still do. But the European Spaniards considered them in the time of colonialism as Creoles. Many posts in the administration were only given to men who were born in one of the Spanish kingdoms (there were five of them). So in New Spain there were Spaniards, Creoles, and Indios. Some of today´s Mexican Indios don´t consider themselves as Mexicans, but think that the Creoles only are Mexicans.

Answer 2

Simple answers to a long question. 1821 - Mexico becomes independent, no longer a colony of Spain. The US "won" the southwestern states from Mexico in the trumped up Mexican War of 1846-1848. We took half of the old Mexico in the treaty of 1848. Mexicans were by then Spanish speaking and Catholic but also mixed racially with the original native "Indians".
Best source - "So Far From God - The US War with Mexico 1846-1848 by John S. D. Eisenhower 1989.