Hispanics and Latinos in New Mexico
The mainland part of New Spain won independence from Spain in 1821 and New Mexico became part of the new nation of Mexico. After independence from Spain, the Spanish population began to mix somewhat with the indigenous populations. The new 'Mexican' élite attempted to create a common identity out of all the classes and different ethnicities. Nationalists attempted to establish equality, if only legally, between these different groups. The Spanish settlers of New Mexico and their descendants adapted to Mexican citizenship somewhat. In 1836, after the Republic of Texas gained independence, Texas claimed part of the Province of New Mexico, which was disputed by Mexico. In 1841, the Texians sent an expedition to occupy the area, but the expedition was captured by Mexican troops;
Mexican–American War
Mexico obtained independence from Spain and the Spanish Empire with the Treaty of Córdoba in 1821. It briefly experimented with monarchy, but became a republic in 1824. This government was characterized by instability, leaving it ill-prepared for international conflict when war broke out only two decades later, in 1846. In the decades preceding the war, Native American raids in Mexico's sparsely settled north prompted the Mexican government to sponsor migration from the United States to the Mexican province of Texas to create a buffer. However, the newly named "Texians" revolted against the Mexican government of President/dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna, who had usurped the Mexican Constitution of 1824, in the subsequent 1836 Texas Revolution, creating a republic not recognized by Mexico, which still claimed it as part of its national territory. In 1845, the Texan Republic agreed to an offer of annexation by the U.S. Congress and became the 28th state in the Union on December 29 that year.