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Santa Anna
Santa Anna, also known as Antonio López de Santa Anna, was a Mexican army officer and statesman who was the center of Mexico’s politics during events such as the Texas Revolution (1835-36) and the Mexican-American War (1846-48). He served as president of Mexico five times. -
Benito Juarez
Benito Juarez was a national hero for Mexico and served as president of Mexico (1861-1872). He created a series of major reforms that reduced the power of the Catholic Church and the military which started a civil war in Mexico because of the outrage of Conservatives. Juarez, though, defeated the conservatives which started the revolutionary changes made in Mexico. -
Napoleon III
A French emperor that served as a powerful ally in Europe for the conservatives of Mexico. His intentions were to restore a French empire in the Americas. In 1861, he sent troops to Mexico, overthrew the Mexican government, and installed Austrian archduke Maximilian as emperor of Mexico. -
Austrian Archduke Maximilian
The French emperor of Mexico, appointed by Napoleon III. He initially gained support from Mexican conservatives because they believed he would restore the church’s power. Maximilian decided to alienate both conservatives and liberals and was eventually forced to surrender his power and executed by Mexican troops. -
Jose Marti
Jose Marti, an exiled leader from the Cuban revolt, urged other Cubans in New York City to continue fighting for independence from Spain. Marti utilized his writing skills from his poet and journalist background. Marti founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party and returned to Cuba in 1895. Marti died in the uprising he inspired and many other Cubans were captured and used by the Spanish. -
Francisco Madero
Madero was Porfirio Diaz's opponent when Diaz reran for president. To eliminate the competition, Diaz put Madero in jail. After being released from jail after the 1910 election, Madero fled to Texas and announced that he was the president of Mexico. When returning to Mexico, he called for a revolution against the Diaz government. -
Porfirio Diaz
A former Mexican president who ruled with an “iron fist” maintaining law and order in Mexico. He imprisoned his opponents and used the army to maintain peace. He modernized Mexico by encouraging financial investment. In the election of 1910, Diaz controlled the outcome by jailing his opponent, Francisco Madero. -
Emilio Zapata
Zapata was in charge a group of indigenous peasants that would later be called the Liberation Army of the South. He called for land reforms amongst the conflict of removing Diaz from office, contributing to his resign. He also revolted against Huerta after he took office. Image: Battle of Cuautla -
Pancho Villa
The leader of a rebel group who supported the ideas of Madero and disgraced Diaz’s government by capturing the city of Juarez in May 10, 1911. Image: Battle of Ciudad Juarez -
Victoriano Huerta
After Madero was elected president, army chief Victoriano Huerta became the Mexican president. Huerta was not accepted by many of Madero's former followers and was forced to resign in July of 1914 after the US intervened with Mexican affairs and sent Marines to occupy the city of Veracruz. Image: American occupation of Veracruz -
Theodore Roosevelt
American President Theodore Roosevelt sent US warships to support an uprising against Colombia to finish the construction of the Panama Canal. The canal was built between 1904 and 1914 after the States helped grant Panama independence and a treaty was signed. To protect American interests in Latin America, Roosevelt added the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, a document that prohibited additional European colonization in the Americas. -
Venustiano Carranza
After Huerta fled, Carranza declared himself president. He lacked support from Zapata and Villa, who took the country into another civil war. At the end of the conflict in 1915, Carranza had eliminated his rivals. Once his political position was secure, in 1917, Carranza passed a new constitution that allowed the government to redistribute land, limit the power of the church, and protect the rights of the citizens. Image: Constitution of 1917 -
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo was a Filipino rebel leader who had fought against the Spanish with the help of the United States. After the States reformed the Philippines to be an American colony, an unsuccessful revolt against the United States took place. The Philippines was ruled by the United States through an appointed governor until 1935 and the country was not granted independence until 1946.
