Zapata Project 1

Questions and Answers:
(Support with info from overview and chronology. See scene index for cross-reference guide.)
1. Who was Emiliano Zapata?
He was a leading figure in the Mexican revolution of 1910 against the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz.
He spent his life defending the rights of poor farmers to be justly compensated for their work and
fighting for the restitution of lands usurped by the wealthy landowners of pre-revolutionary Mexico.
2. When and where was Zapata born?
Zapata was born on August 8th, 1879 in Anenecuilco, in the southern state of Morelos.
3. How old was he when he became an orphan?
He was 16 years old.
4. What did his family do for a living?
He was born to a family of cattle ranchers.
5. How do you think these two circumstances influenced his ideals?
This is a subjective question with a number of possible answers, but the overview text based on
historic accounts suggests that because Zapata’s family worked the land, he was exposed to the
plight of the poor farm worker from an early age. Losing his parents so young would have made him
identify with those who'd had everything taken from them but the love of their country.
6. What happened on September 12th 1909?
Zapata was elected president of the Committee for the Defense of Anenecuilco Territories.
7. What did Zapata demand from the landowners?
He wanted them to pay the workers justly, share profits with those whose lands they had taken or
restitute the lands to their rightful owners.
8. Who was Porfirio Diaz?
He was a Mexican dictator who ruled the country for 35 years, and was overthrown in the 1910
revolution led by Francisco Madero.
9. What is a revolution?
A sudden or drastic change in a condition; overthrow of a government by the people who are
governed and replacement of that government with another; may be a cultural revolution, as in the
Industrial Revolution.
10. Who was Francisco Madero?
He launched the revolution that brought the Porfirio Diaz dictatorship to an end and served as President
of Mexico from 1911 to 1913. He was overthrown by the head of his own army, Victoriano Huerta.
11. Why did Zapata decide to join Francisco Madero’s movement?
Because Madero’s movement was based on the San Luis Potosi Plan, which included a clause to
return lands to the people of Mexico.
12. When was Diaz overthrown?
May 25, 1911.
13. What made Zapata declare war on Madero?
When Madero did not return the lands to the peasants, Zapata declared Madero an enemy of the
people’s revolution and called for his destitution.