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1810-1821
War of Independence ends with the creation of the short-living Mexican Empire, which includes Central America to the southern border of modern-day Costa Rica, as well as what is now the southwestern US. -
1810-21
War of Independence ends with the creation of the short-living Mexican Empire, which includes Central America to the southern border of modern-day Costa Rica, as well as what is now the southwestern US. -
1824
Mexico becomes a federal republic. Central American provinces secede, becoming Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica -
1836
Former province of Texas, by now increasingly populated by English-speaking Americans, secedes after a war, going on to join the United States nine years later. -
1836
Former province of Texas, by now increasingly populated by English-speaking Americans, secedes after a war, going on to join the United States nine years later. -
1846-1848
Mexican-American War ends with Mexico being forced to sell its northern provinces (including modern-day California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah) to the US. -
1846-8
Mexican-American War ends with Mexico being forced to sell its northern provinces (including modern-day California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah) to the US. -
1855-1872
"La Reforma" period, characterised by liberal reforms limiting the power and landholdings of the Catholic Church. -
1855-72
"La Reforma" period, characterised by liberal reforms limiting the power and landholdings of the Catholic Church. -
1864-1867
Archduke Maximilian of Austria is installed as emperor by France and conservative landowners, but is toppled and executed by Republican rebels. -
1864-7
Archduke Maximilian of Austria is installed as emperor by France and conservative landowners, but is toppled and executed by Republican rebels. -
1876-1911
Porfirio Diaz's 35-year-long dictatorship brings stability, modernisation and economic growth, but at the price of political repression. -
1876-1911
Porfirio Diaz's 35-year-long dictatorship brings stability, modernisation and economic growth, but at the price of political repression. -
1910-1920
Mexican Revolution ends the Porfirio Diaz dictatorship and establishes constitutional government. -
1910-1920
Mexican Revolution ends the Porfirio Diaz dictatorship and establishes constitutional government. -
1913-1914
The liberal Francisco Madero introduces land reform and labour legislation before being assassinated. Victoriano Huerta seizes power. Political unrest continues with Emiliano Zapata leading a peasant revolt in the south. -
1913-14
The liberal Francisco Madero introduces land reform and labour legislation before being assassinated. Victoriano Huerta seizes power. Political unrest continues with Emiliano Zapata leading a peasant revolt in the south. -
1916-17
Inconclusive US incursion against guerrilla leader Francisco "Pancho" Villa. -
1920
President Venustiano Carranza is murdered, followed by a decade of instability. -
1920
President Venustiano Carranza is murdered, followed by a decade of instability. -
1929
Former president Plutarco Elias Calles forms what later becomes the Institutional Revolutionary Party(PRI), which dominates government for 71 years. -
1929
Former president Plutarco Elias Calles forms what later becomes the Institutional Revolutionary Party(PRI), which dominates government for 71 years. -
1934
President Lazaro Cardenas begins programme of oil nationalisation, land reform and industrial expansion. -
1934
President Lazaro Cardenas begins programme of oil nationalisation, land reform and industrial expansion. -
1968
Student demonstration in Mexico City during the Olympic Games is fired on by security forces. Hundreds of protesters are killed or wounded. The extent of the violence shocks the country. -
1968
Student demonstration in Mexico City during the Olympic Games is fired on by security forces. Hundreds of protesters are killed or wounded. The extent of the violence shocks the country. -
1976
Huge offshore oil reserves discovered; the Cantarell field becomes the mainstay of Mexico's oil production. -
1976
Huge offshore oil reserves discovered; the Cantarell field becomes the mainstay of Mexico's oil production. -
1985
Earthquake in Mexico City kills thousands and makes many more homeless. -
1985
Earthquake in Mexico City kills thousands and makes many more homeless. -
1993
Parliament ratifies the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) with the US and Canada. -
2000 July
Vicente Fox of the conservative Alliance for Change wins presidential elections, the first opposition candidate ever to do so. Parliamentary elections see the Alliance emerge as the strongest party, narrowly beating the PRI -
2006 July
Conservative candidate Felipe Calderon is declared the winner of presidential elections with a razor-thin majority over his leftist rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. -
2014 August
Mexico's Congress approves sweeping reforms to the country's energy sector that will open the market to foreign oil firms and strip state-owned energy group Pemex of the monopoly it has held since nationalisation in 1938. -
2018 October
The US, Canada and Mexico reach a new trade deal - the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) - to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).