0 1 Mexico is one of the larger countries in America, but its military strength has always been weak, which is nothing compared with neighboring America. As far as the Mexican army is concerned, it has certain "particularity." It is mentioned in the History of Mexico: "For Mexico, it seems that the existence of the army is not to prevent the invasion of big countries such as the United States, but more like the establishment of anti-smuggling and anti-drug trade." In this case, the Mexican army does not have any independent main battle tanks, and the large coastline navy has only three destroyers and eight cruisers, as well as more than 100 small boats. According to the Air Force, there are only 10 F5 fighters.
▲ The wall being built on the US-Mexico border.
If the United States attacks Mexico, it can be said that it is easy, but Mexico is not afraid at all, and there are no military defense facilities on the border. Americans can enter freely at any time. Even the United States spends huge sums of money every year to build barriers on the Mexican border to prevent Mexicans from entering the United States, which is really ironic.
▲ Canadian army
Let's look at Canada in the north. In terms of military strength, it is much stronger than Mexico and a military power in America, but it is still dwarfed by the US military. Canadian troops can't resist American troops, but strangely, the US-Canada border has the longest undefended border in the world.
Although the United States has not been founded for a long time, it has always been ambitious. When the People's Republic of China was founded after the War of Independence, the land area was only about 800,000 square kilometers in 13 states, but now the territory of the United States is 9.37 million square kilometers, which means that the United States has expanded abroad. From A.D. 1803 to A.D. 1898, the United States expanded seven times and acquired more than 8.5 million square kilometers of land in less than a century, making it one of the countries with the fastest territorial expansion in modern history.
▲ War-related paintings in American and Canadian history.
In fact, Americans once wanted to annex Canada, and a fierce war broke out. However, under the stubborn resistance of Canada, the US military finally lost. In addition, the United States invaded Mexico to the south, and Mexico ceded half its territory to the United States, ending the war. For example, New Mexico and other places in the United States were originally Mexican territory.
▲ Hawaii Islands on satellite map
The pace of American foreign expansion did not end until the annexation of Hawaii Island in A.D. 1898. It is worth mentioning that after entering the 20th century, although the United States did not carry out large-scale external expansion, it also won many small islands in the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean around World War II, such as the famous Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. So it is a big mistake for everyone to regard the United States as a peace-loving country.
Why didn't another large-scale external expansion break out? First of all, Canada has always been a member of the British Federation, and the United States must consider the British idea. After World War II, America's main energy was not in America. With the alliance with a large number of western countries, the previous pattern has naturally changed. Canada is no different from the United States in all aspects, and it is also an important supporter of the United States in the international community. It is of little significance for the United States to win Canada in the new century.
▲/kloc-maps of the United States and Mexico in the 0/9th century
As for Mexico, the United States invaded its richest and most important northern and western regions in the19th century, and the rest of the places connected with the Caribbean and South America were very chaotic, with all kinds of smuggling and drug trading. It is better to ignore them than to be included in the American territory. At present, there are many problems in the United States, and Mexico will not consider them at all.
▲ Drugs seized by US Customs
Moreover, Mexico and Canada are geographically different. As early as the Cold War, Cuba created a huge domestic threat with the help of the Soviet Union, which made Americans unforgettable. Being with Mexico will not pose a threat to yourself, but also play the role of a geographical buffer. Why not?
Conclusion The United States has not been a country that loves peace and pursues democracy and freedom since its founding. On the contrary, its ambitions are constantly expanding, causing constant harm to other countries. Historically, both Canada and Mexico have suffered losses from the United States. The reason why there was no large-scale annexation war was mainly because the national conditions of the United States and the changes in the international situation did not allow it. For the United States, everything must be good for itself.
References:
Global military review
Evolution of Mexican history