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The Cry of Dolores
On September 16, 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo took to the pulpit in the town of Dolores and announced that he was taking up arms against the hated Spanish—and invited his congregation to join him. His army swelled to hundreds, then thousands, and would carry this unlikely rebel to the gates of Mexico City itself. Ths "Cry of Dolores" marks Mexico's Independence Day. -
The Siege of Guanajuato
Father Miguel Hidalgo's rag-tag rebel army was moving towards Mexico City, and the city of Guanajuato would be their first stop. Spanish soldiers and citizens barricaded themselves inside the massive royal granary. Although they defended themselves valiantly, Hidalgo's mob was too large, and when the granary was breached, the slaughter began. -
The Battle of Monte de las Cruces
As Miguel Hidalgo, Ignacio Allende and their rebel army marched on Mexico City, Spanish in the capital were terrified. Spanish Viceroy Francisco Xavier Venegas rounded up all available soldiers and sent them to delay the rebels as best they could. The two armies clashed at Monte de Las Cruces on October 30, and it was another resounding victory for the rebels. -
The Battle of Calderon Bridge
On January 17, 1811, a rebellious army of peasants and workers led by Father Miguel Hidalgo and Ignacio Allende fought a smaller but better equipped and better trained Spanish force at Calderon Bridge, outside of Guadalajara. The stunning defeat led to the capture and execution of Allende and Hidalgo but helped drag out Mexico's War of Independence for years. -
The Battle of Puebla
The famous "Cinco de Mayo" celebrates an unlikely victory by Mexican forces over French invaders in 1862. The French, who had sent an army to Mexico to collect on a debt, were advancing on the city of Puebla. The French army was massive and well-trained, but heroic Mexicans—led in part by a dashing young General named Porfirio Diaz—stopped them in their tracks. -
The Mexican Revolution
Mexico's 1910 elections was a sham designed to keep long-term dictator Porfirio Diaz in power. Francisco I. Madero "lost" the election, but he was far from through. He went to the United States, where he called on Mexicans to rise up and overthrow Diaz. The date he gave for the beginning of the revolution was November 20, 1910. Madero could not foresee the years of strife that would follow and claim the lives of hundreds of thousands of Mexicans—including his own. -
The Battle of Zacatecas
Surrounded by angry warlords, Mexican usurper President Victoriano Huerta sends his best troops to defend the city and railway junction at Zacatecas in a desperate effort to keep rebels out of the city. Ignoring orders from self-appointed rebel leader Venustiano Carranza, Pancho Villa attacks the town. Villa's resounding victory cleared the path to Mexico City and begins the downfall of Huerta. -
The Battle of Celaya
On April 6, 1915, two titans of the Mexican Revolution collided outside of the town of Celaya. Alvaro Obregon got there first and dug himself in with his machine guns and trained infantry. Pancho Villa arrived not long after with a massive army including the best cavalry in the world at the time. Over the course of 10 days, these two fought it out and Obregon emerged the victor. Villa's loss marked the beginning of the end of his hopes for further conquest. -
Pancho Villa Attacks the United States
On March 9, 1916, the legendary Mexican bandit and warlord Pancho Villa led his army across the border and attacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico, hoping to secure money and weapons. Although the raid was a failure and led to an extensive U.S.-led manhunt for Villa, it greatly increased his reputation in Mexico. -
Zapata Assassinated
On April 10, 1919, rebel leader Emiliano Zapata, who had been the moral conscience of the Mexican Revolution fighting for land and freedom for the poorest Mexicans, was betrayed and assassinated in Chinameca. -
The Assassination of Pancho Villa
On July 20, 1923, legendary bandit warlord Pancho Villa was gunned down in the town of Parral. He had survived the Mexican Revolution and had been living quietly at his ranch. Even now, almost a century later, questions linger over who killed him and why. -
Lázaro Cárdenas is elected president.
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. -
Cárdenas nationalizes the country’s oil industry
In 1938, Cárdenas nationalizes the country’s oil industry, expropriating the extensive properties of foreign-own companies and creating a government agency to administer the oil industry. He remains an influential figure in government throughout the next three decades. -
Elected of Manual Ávila Camacho
Elected in 1940, Cárdenas’ more conservative successor, Manual Ávila Camacho, forges a friendlier relationship with the U.S., which leads Mexico to declare war on the Axis powers after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. During World War II, Mexican pilots fight against Japanese forces in the Philippines, serving alongside the U.S. Air Force. -
The Tlatelolco Massacre
On October 2, 1968, thousands of Mexican civilians and students gathered in The Plaza of the Three Cultures in the district of Tlatelolco to protest repressive government policies. Inexplicably, security forces opened fire on the unarmed protestors, resulting in the death of hundreds of civilians, marking one of the lowest points in recent Mexican history. -
The 1968 Summer Olympics
Not long after the tragic Tlatelolco Massacre, Mexico hosted the 1968 Summer Olympics. These games would be remembered for Czechoslovakian gymnast Věra Čáslavská being robbed of gold medals by Soviet judges, Bob Beamon's record long jump, and American athletes giving the black power salute. -
Carlos Salinas
President Carlos Salinas joins George H.W. Bush of the U.S. and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of Canada in signing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which goes into effect January 1, 1994. -
Banking crisis
The latest PRI candidate, Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon, is elected president and immediately faces a banking crisis when the value of the Mexican peso plunges on international markets. The United States loans Mexico $20 billion, which, along with a plan of economic austerity, helps stabilize its currency. -
PRI suffers a shocking defeat
The corruption-plagued PRI suffers a shocking defeat, losing the mayoralty of Mexico City (also known as the Distrito Federal, or DF) to PRD candidate Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, son of former president Lázaro Cárdenas, by an overwhelming margin. -
Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox, of the opposition Partido de Acción Nacional (PAN) wins election to the Mexican presidency, ending more than 70 years of PRI rule. Parliamentary elections also see the PAN emerge victorious, beating the PRI by a slight margin.
