See written timeline with the same contents below:

Post-Spanish Colonization & US Imperialism

• 1820: Mexico wins independence

• 1821: Beginning of official Anglo-American settlements in Texas

• 1821-1824: Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Honduras are formed into a federation with Mexico, called the United Provinces of Central America

• 1824: Establishment of the Constitution, which establishes Mexico as a state

• 1835: Battle of the Alamo; fight for Texan independence

• 1836: Independence for Texas is won

• 1838: The United Provinces of Central America collapses

• 1845: Annexation of Texas by the United States

• 1846-1848: Mexican-American War

• 1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; Mexico cedes 55% of land mass to United States through the now-states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and parts of Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming; followed by the Gadsden purchase in 1854

• 1854-1861: Revolution of Ayulta led by Benito Juárez & liberal forces and other liberals; establishment of religious freedom and separation of native & church lands

• 1857: Constitutional revisions lead to securing free speech, assembly, and press rights

• 1858–1861: War of the Reform; civil war between liberals and conservatives over 1857 Constitutional reform, resulting in liberal victory

French Colonization

• 1862: The French arrive in Mexico in April and are defeated in May; this date is now known as “Cinco de Mayo”

• 1863: France occupies Mexico City and claims it as an empire

• 1864: Maximilian of Hapsburg arrives in Mexico, later becomes emperor

• 1865: Alternative capital of Chihuahua City is set up; US pressures France to end occupation of Mexico

• 1867: French troops leave Mexico; Maximilian is executed

Post-French Colonization, Independence, & Contemporary Mexico

• 1876-1911: Rule of Porfirio Díaz’s dictatorship; upholds liberal policy but also practices political repression

• 1910-1917: Mexican Revolution; occurs in response to dictatorship and leads to widespread war, hunger, and fleeing to the US

• 1914: US occupation of Veracruz

• 1916: US search for resistance leader Pancho Villa

• 1917: Constitution of 1917 instated; contains parts of previous constitutions but also incorporates new rights of the people and the state

• 1917-1924: The US takes measures to limit immigration from Mexico, expresses discontentment with oil policy, and sends Mexicans and Mexican-Americans back to Mexico

• 1924-1928: Anti-clerical movement during the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles

• 1929: Establishment of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional, the political party that rules Mexico’s government for 71 uninterrupted years

• 1933: US promises an end to military intervention in Latin America

• Throughout the twentieth century: US institution of harsh, restrictive policy to limit Mexicans crossing the border, working jobs, and living in the United States. Agencies and organizations, such as El Congreso de Pueblos que Hablan Español (Congress of Spanish-Speaking Peoples), have called for amendments or abolishment of these policies.

• 1940-1960: Rise in construction of new churches

• 1960s: Workers resist unequal wealth distribution

• 1994: Protests of government ignorance toward low-income workers and indigenous peoples occur in Chiapas, Mexico