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Nov 3, 1521
Aztec
After a bloody series of conflicts–involving the Aztecs, the Tlascalans and other native allies of the Spaniards, and a Spanish force sent by Velásquez to contain Cortés–Cortés finally defeats the forces of Montezuma’s nephew, Cuauhtémoc to complete his conquest of Tenochtitlán. His victory marks the fall of the once-mighty Aztec empire. Cortés razes the Aztec capital and builds Mexico City on its ruins; it quickly becomes the premier Europ -
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Mexico
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Independence
In the midst of factional struggles within the colonial government, Father Manuel Hidalgo, a priest in the small village of Dolores, issues his famous call for Mexican independence. El grito de Dolores set off a flurry of revolutionary action by thousands of natives and mestizos, who banded together to capture Guanajuato and other major cities west of Mexico City. -
Porfirio Diaz
Diaz was a dictator for 30 years. He allowed foreign companies to take many of Mexico's natural resources.He jailed Francisco Indalecio Madero, his opponent for the presidency. A rebellion broke out against Diaz in Mexico. The revolt spread across the country and eventually became against the government. -
Madero comes to power
Victoriano Huerta, a member of Madero's government, betrayed him and took control of the government. The murder of Madero caused more rebellion. Then Venustiano Carranza led revolt against Huerta. A war started and over one million lives were lost. An important part of the war was over land. -
U.S. gets involved
The U.S. finally decided to get involved with Mexico when some American soldiers were arrested in Mexico. The Marines took control of Veracruz, which was an important port on the Gulf of Mexico. Supplies and money were cut off to the Huerta government. This helped Carranza's forces win the war. -
Poncho Villa
Villa moved his troops into the United States for unknown reasons. He invaded Columbus, New Mexico killing more than a dozen Americans. President Wilson sent troops in to capture Villa. There was a threat of war between Mexico and the U.S., until the U.S. withdrew its troops from Mexico. -
Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas, another former revolutionary general, is elected president. He revives the revolutionary-era social revolution and carries out an extensive series of agrarian reforms, distributing nearly twice as much land to peasants as had all of his predecessors combined. -
Miguel Aleman
Miguel Alemán becomes the first civilian president of Mexico since Francisco Madero in 1911. In the post-World War II years, Mexico undergoes great industrial and economic growth, even as the gap continues to grow between the richest and poorest segments of the population. The ruling government party, founded in 1929, is renamed the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), and will continue its dominance for the next 50 years. -
Olympic Games
As a symbol of its growing international status, Mexico City is chosen to host the Olympic Games. Over the course of the year, student protesters stage a number of demonstrations in an attempt to draw international attention to what they see as a lack of social justice and democracy in Mexico under the PRI government and its current president, Gustavo Díaz Ordaz. On October 2, ten days before the Games were to open, Mexican security forces and military troops surround a demonstration at the hist -
Oil
Huge oil reserves are discovered in the Bay of Campeche, off the shores of the states of Campeche, Tabasco and Veracruz, at the southernmost end of the Gulf of Mexico. The Cantarell oil field established there becomes one of the largest in the world, producing more than 1 million barrels per day by 1981. Jose López Portillo, elected in 1976, promises to use the oil money to fund a campaign of industrial expansion, social welfare and high-yield agriculture. To do this, his government borrows huge
