When did Mexico gain independence?
Mexican War of Independence
Although Mexico gained its independence in September 1821, the marking of this historical event did not take hold immediately. The choice of date to celebrate was problematic, because Iturbide, who achieved independence from Spain, was rapidly created Emperor of Mexico. His short-lived reign from 1821–22 ended when he was forced by the military to abdicate. This was a rocky start for the new nation, which made celebrating independence on the anniversary of Iturbide's Army of the Three Guarantees marching into Mexico City in triumph a less than perfect day for those who had opposed him. Celebrations of independence during his reign were marked on September 27. Following his ouster, there were calls to commemorate Mexican independence along the lines that the United States celebrated in grand style its Independence Day on July 4. The creation of a committee of powerful men to mark independence celebrations, the "Junta Patriótica", organized celebrations of both September 16, to commemorate Hidalgo's grito and the start of the independence insurgency, and September 27, to celebrate actual political independence.
Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
In 1821, after 11 years of struggle, Mexico gained its independence from Spain. The Camino Real maintained an important role in this period, since travelers brought communication about the events that were taking place in the center of the country to the towns and villages of the internal provinces. During the Mexican War of Independence, the Camino Real was used by both forces, rebels and royal forces. For example, after the liberator Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla launched the war of independence, he used the road to retreat from the Battle of the Bridge of Calderón fought on the banks of the Calderón River 60 km (37 mi) east of Guadalajara in present-day Zapotlanejo, Jalisco northward, eventually arriving at the Wells of Baján in Coahuila where he was captured and executed by royal forces.
Costa Rica–Mexico relations
Costa Rica and Mexico are two Latin American nations that share a common history in the fact that both nations were colonized by the Spanish empire. During Spanish colonization, Costa Rica was under the administration of the Viceroyalty of New Spain in Mexico City. In 1821, Mexico gained independence from Spain and Costa Rica became part of the First Mexican Empire. In 1823, the empire dissolved and Costa Rica, along with El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua joined the United Provinces of Central America. In 1838, the union dissolved and Costa Rica became an independent nation. That same year, Costa Rica and Mexico established diplomatic relations.
Miguel Ramos Arizpe
The insurgency for Mexican independence that began with Father Miguel Hidalgo's 1810 uprising and carried on by Father José María Morelos, and Vicente Guerrero during the 1810s was at a military stalemate with royalist forces. With the 1820 Spanish Constitution, the power of the Roman Catholic Church in Mexico was threatened. Royalist military officer Agustín de Iturbide made an alliance with Guerrero, and under the Plan de Iguala declaring Mexico's independence, which was achieved in 1821. The formation of the new Mexican state initially involved a constituent congress, but Iturbide seized power and declared himself Agustín I, emperor of Mexico. Ramos Arizpe returned to Mexico in 1822, when opposition to Iturbide was coalescing. He was "instrumental in mobilizing the provinces and drafting the Plan of Casa Mata," which called for the overthrow of Iturbide.
19th century
Most countries in Central America and South America obtained independence from colonial overlords during the 19th century. In 1804, Haiti gained independence from France. In Mexico, the Mexican War of Independence was a decade-long conflict that ended in Mexican independence in 1821.
Centralist Republic of Mexico
One bright light on the international front was Spain's and the papacy's recognition of Mexico's independence in 1836. However, in addition to domestic uprisings and political turmoil, Mexico faced foreign intervention from France and the United States.
Mission Dolores Park
Until after World War II, the Mission District was largely inhabited by European Americans, which from the 1950s to the 1970s were replaced by an influx of Latino immigrants. Partly as a symbol of this transformation, on 16 September 1966 a replica of the “Mexican Liberty Bell”, presented by Mexican president Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, was installed in the park near a statue of Miguel Hidalgo, the father of Mexican independence, which had been erected four years earlier. The "Mexican Liberty Bell" (today located in the National Palace in Mexico City) is a church bell that Hidalgo rang in 1810 in the Mexican city of Dolores Hidalgo, in what became known as the "Cry of Dolores" (El Grito de Dolores) that launched the Mexican War of Independence. In 2014, the replica was relocated by around 25 feet during the renovations of Mission Dolores Park.
Liberal Party (Mexico)
When Mexico achieved its independence in 1821, the Mexican political life was altered by constant struggles between Liberals and Conservatives. The Liberal Party enacted the Federal Constitution of 1857, which along with the Plan of Ayutla (1854) and other liberal reforms polarized Mexican society to lead the Reform War (1857–1861), the Second French Intervention in México (1862–1867) and the Second Mexican Empire (1863–1867).
Mission Indians
When Mexico gained its independence in 1834, it assumed control of the Californian missions from the Franciscans, but abuse persisted. Mexico secularized the missions and transferred or sold the lands to other non-Native administrators or owners. Many of the Mission Indians worked on the newly established ranchos with little improvement in their living conditions.
Mexican War of Independence
On September 27, 1821 the Army of the Three Guarantees entered Mexico City, and the following day Iturbide proclaimed the independence of the Mexican Empire, as New Spain was henceforth to be called. The Treaty of Córdoba was not ratified by the Spanish Cortes. Iturbide included a special clause in the treaty that left open the possibility for a criollo monarch to be appointed by a Mexican congress if no suitable member of the European royalty would accept the Mexican crown. Half of the new government employees appointed were Iturbide's followers.
Oxnard Plain
Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821. With the secularization of the missions by the Mexican government in June 1836, their lands were granted as rewards for loyal service or in response to petitions by individuals. Most of the arable land was divided up into large ranchos by 1846. This opened up the Oxnard Plain to further settlement by Europeans. Control of the area was transferred to the United States under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 and California became the 31st state in the Union in 1850. Many Mexican residents and residents who had immigrated from European countries became U.S. citizens.
944 Hidalgo
"Hidalgo" was discovered by German astronomer Walter Baade on 31 October 1920 at Bergedorf Observatory in Hamburg, Germany. It is named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811), who was responsible for declaring Mexico's independence in 1810 and the ensuing Mexican War of Independence. German astronomers who were in Mexico to observe a total eclipse on 10 September 1923 had an audience with President Álvaro Obregón. During this meeting, they asked his permission to name the asteroid after Hidalgo ().
Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence () was an armed conflict, and the culmination of a political and social process which ended the rule of Spain in 1821 in the territory of New Spain. The war had its antecedent in Napoleon's French invasion of Spain in 1808; it extended from the Cry of Dolores by Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla on September 16, 1810, to the entrance of the Army of the Three Guarantees led by Agustín de Iturbide to Mexico City on September 27, 1821. September 16 is celebrated as Mexican Independence Day.
Mexican War of Independence
Following the execution of Hidalgo, José María Morelos took over leadership of the insurgency. In January 1812 he arrived at Cuautla, after which followed the 72-day Siege of Cuautla. He achieved the occupation of the cities of Oaxaca and Acapulco. In 1813, he convened the Congress of Chilpancingo to bring representatives together and, on 6 November of that year, the Congress signed the first official document of independence, known as the Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America. In 1815, Morelos was captured by Spanish colonial authorities, tried and executed for treason.
Japan–Mexico relations
In 1874 (fifty-three years after Mexico declared independence from Spain in 1821), a Mexican scientific delegation headed by Francisco Díaz Covarrubias arrived in Japan to witness the transit of the planet Venus through a solar disc. Although the scientific delegation did not have much success, this mission did allow for formal diplomatic relations to begin between the two nations. In 1888 Foreign Ministers Matías Romero and Munemitsu Mutsu signed a Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation; which was to be Japan's first "equal" treaty with a foreign nation and thus formally established diplomatic relations between the two nations.
History of Mexico
By 1823, Mexicans of all classes were fed up with emperor Agustin de Iturbide's corrupt and oppressive rule. They overthrew him and 4 October 1824, the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos) was established. The new constitution was partly modeled on the constitution of the United States. It guaranteed basic human rights and defined Mexico as a representative federal republic, in which responsibilities of government were divided between a central government and a number of smaller units called states. It also defined Catholicism as the official and unique religion. The Federal Republic of Central America was allowed to re-establish its independence, which it had declared on 1 July 1823.
Mexican War of Independence
After 1810 the independence movement went through several stages, as leaders were imprisoned or executed by forces loyal to Spain. At first the rebels disputed the legitimacy of the French-installed Joseph Bonaparte while recognizing the sovereignty of Ferdinand VII over Spain and its colonies, but later the leaders took more radical positions, rejecting the Spanish claim and espousing a new social order including the abolition of slavery. Secular priest José María Morelos called the separatist provinces to form the Congress of Chilpancingo, which gave the insurgency its own legal framework. After the defeat of Morelos, the movement survived as a guerrilla war under the leadership of Vicente Guerrero. By 1820, the few rebel groups survived most notably in the Sierra Madre del Sur and Veracruz.
Treaty of Córdoba
On September 27, 1821, the Army of the Three Guarantees entered triumphantly into Mexico City and on the following day, the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire was widely known. The Spanish Cortes refused to accept the validity of the Plan of Iguala or the Treaty of Córdoba. Spain did not recognize Mexico's independence until December 1836. Therefore, the Mexican Congress elected a Mexican monarch the following year. Iturbide was proclaimed emperor of Mexico on May 18, 1822. The monarchy lasted three years, and after the republican revolution of Casa Mata, the Congress no longer considered the Plan of Iguala or Treaty of Córdoba in effect.
List of Mexican governors of New Mexico
Mexican Governors of New Mexico were the political chief executives of the province and later territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México (New Mexico) between 1822, when Mexico gained independence from Spain, and 1846, when the United States occupied the territory following the Mexican–American War.
Mexico–United Kingdom relations
After Mexico declared its independence in 1810, Britain was the first European "great power" to recognize Mexican sovereignty. Soon afterwards, Emperor Agustín de Iturbide sent a diplomatic envoy to London to establish diplomatic communications between the two nations. In 1837, both nations signed a treaty to abolish the slave trade. The British established a network of merchant houses in the major cities. However, according to Hilarie J. Heath, the results were bleak:
Guerrero
Peoples of the territory of Guerrero immediately supported the cause of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla which would culminate with the Independence of Mexico. During the first part of the Mexican War of Independence, José María Morelos fought on the side of Miguel Hidalgo in the southern part of Mexico, including the Acapulco area and the Costa Grande. However, the insurgents were never able to take the port. They were able to take control of territories in the center of the state. Morelos took Chilpancingo and set up the Congress of Anáhuac, which would publish the document "Sentimentos de la Nación" on 6 November 1813. The Congress of Anáhuac also approved the Act of Independence written by Carlos María Bustamante. Later, the Mexican flag was designed and first sewn in Iguala, after Agustín de Iturbide and Vicente Guerrero joined forces under the Plan of Iguala to end the war in 1821.
List of Mexican states by date of statehood
The effective independence of Mexico reached on September 27, 1821, does not meant the independence of the states, because Mexico was the only Latin American country which became independent from Spain as a monarchy. After the fall of the Mexican Empire, the Federal Republic was established on July 12, 1823.
New Mexico
New Mexico received its name long before the present-day nation of Mexico won independence from Spain and adopted that name in 1821. Spanish explorers recorded this region as New Mexico ("" in Spanish) in 1563. In 1581, the Chamuscado and Rodríguez Expedition named the region north of the Rio Grande "San Felipe del Nuevo México". The Spaniards hoped to find wealthy Mexican Indian cultures there similar to those of the Aztec (Mexica) Empire of the Valley of Mexico. The indigenous cultures of New Mexico, however, proved to be unrelated to the Aztecs, and were not wealthy. Before statehood, the name "New Mexico" was applied to various configurations of the U.S. territory, to a Mexican state, and to a province of New Spain, all in the same general area, but of varying extensions.
Mexico–United States border
In the mid-16th century, after the discovery of silver, settlers from various countries and backgrounds began to arrive in the area. This period of sparse settlement included colonizers from different backgrounds. The area was part of New Spain, but due to the lack of population and the diverse citizenry it had, it did not seem to belong to any country. This period lasted until the early 19th century, at which point the United States bought the lands known as the Louisiana Purchase from France and began to expand steadily (militarily) westward in its pursuit of Manifest Destiny.
The border itself was not clearly defined and remained so until the Mexican colony became independent from Spain and entered a period of political instability. Mexico attempted to create a buffer zone at the border that would prevent possible invasion from the North. The Mexican government encouraged thousands of their own citizens to settle in the region that is now known as Texas and even offered inexpensive land to settlers from the United States in exchange for populating the area. The influx of people did not provide the defense that Mexico had hoped for and instead Texas declared its independence in 1836, which lasted until 1845 when the U.S. annexed it.
Fiestas Patrias (Mexico)
Contrary to common misconception in the U.S.,
"Cinco de mayo" is not Mexico's "Independence Day", but rather commemorates an initial victory of Mexican forces over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
India–Mexico relations
In 1947, Mexico became the first Latin American nation to recognize the independence of India from the United Kingdom. On first 1 August 1950, both nations established diplomatic relations and on the following year, Mexico opened an embassy in Delhi. To show the importance of the new relations between the two nations, the first Mexican ambassador to India was former Mexican President Emilio Portes Gil. In 1962, Nobel Prize laureate Octavio Paz was named ambassador to India.
Mexican Texas
The first violent incident occurred on June 26, 1832, at the Battle of Velasco. On March 2, 1836, Texians declared their independence from Mexico. The Texas Revolution ended on April 21, 1836, when Santa Anna was taken prisoner by Texians following the Battle of San Jacinto. Although Texas declared its independence as the Republic of Texas, Mexico refused to recognize it.
History of North America
Meanwhile, Spain's hold on Mexico was weakening. Independence was declared in 1810 by Miguel Hidalgo, starting the "Mexican War of Independence". In 1813, José María Morelos and the Congress of Anáhuac signed the Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America, the first legal document where the separation of the New Spain with respect to Spain is proclaimed. Spain finally recognized Mexico's independence in 1821.
Celebration of Mexican political anniversaries in 2010
The two dates represent the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence and Mexican Revolution respectively. The anniversary of the War of Independence is called "El Grito" (The Shout or The Cry) and takes place at 11 pm on 15 September, with the following day 16 September officially marking Mexico's Independence. El Grito is a re-enactment of the call made by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato at around 6 am on 16 September 1810 to his parish to take up arms against the Spanish colonial government. Each year, this re-enactment occurs not only on the main square (Zócalo) of the capital, Mexico City, but also on every main plaza in almost all communities in the country.
Chihuahua (state)
During the Napoleonic Occupation of Spain, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest of progressive ideas, declared Mexican independence in the small town of Dolores, Guanajuato on September 16, 1810 with a proclamation known as the "Grito de Dolores". Hidalgo built a large support among intellectuals, liberal priests and many poor people. Hidalgo fought to protect the rights of the poor and indigenous population. He started on a march to the capital, Mexico City, but retreated back north when faced with the elite of the royal forces at the outskirts of the capital. He established a liberal government from Guadalajara, Jalisco but was soon forced to flee north by the royal forces that recaptured the city. Hidalgo attempted to reach the United States and gain American support for Mexican independence. Hidalgo reached Saltillo, Coahuila where he publicly resigned his military post and rejected a pardon offered by Viceroy Francisco Venegas in return for Hidalgo's surrender. A short time later, he and his supporters were captured by royalist Ignacio Elizondo at the Wells of Baján (Norias de Baján) on March 21, 1811 and taken to the city of Chihuahua. Hidalgo forced the Bishop of Valladolid, Manuel Abad y Queipo, to rescind the excommunication order he had circulated against him on September 24, 1810. Later, the Inquisition issued an excommunication edict on October 13, 1810 condemning Miguel Hidalgo as a seditionary, apostate, and heretic.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Mexico had claimed the area in question since winning its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence. The Spanish Empire had conquered part of the area from the American Indian tribes over the preceding three centuries, but there remained powerful and independent indigenous nations within that northern region of Mexico. Most of that land was too dry (low rainfall) and too mountainous to support many people, until the advent of new technology after about 1880: means for damming and distributing water from the few rivers to irrigated farmland; the telegraph; the railroad; the telephone; and electrical power.
First Mexican Republic
The Spanish overseas possession of the Viceroyalty of New Spain lasted for 300 years, from 1521 with the fall of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan and the foundation of Mexico City until the collapse of the viceroyalty in following years of civil war and military stalemate. An insurgency for independence from Spain lasted from the initial 1810 mass revolt, led by secular cleric Miguel Hidalgo and continued under another secular cleric, José María Morelos, and carried on the hot country of Mexico's south by Vicente Guerrero. Augustin Iturbide, a royalist military officer born in New Spain of Spanish parents, made a strategic alliance with Guerrero under the Plan of Iguala, in which the former foes fought in tandem to oust Spanish rule. The plan proclaimed Mexico a nation-state; Roman Catholicism as the sole religion; the equality of Spaniards and American-born Spaniards and abolished legal racial designations, and was to be a constitutional monarchy. On September 27, 1821, Mexico obtained its sovereignty under the Treaty of Córdoba, which recognized New Spain as an independent empire, which took the name the Mexican Empire.
Mexican War of Independence
The reinstatement of the liberal Constitution of Cadiz in 1820 caused a change of mind among the elite groups who had supported Spanish rule. Monarchist Creoles affected by the constitution decided to support the independence of New Spain; they sought an alliance with the former insurgent resistance. Agustín de Iturbide led the military arm of the conspirators and in early 1821 he met Vicente Guerrero. Both proclaimed the Plan of Iguala, which called for the union of all insurgent factions and was supported by both the aristocracy and clergy of New Spain. It called for a monarchy in an independent Mexico. Finally, the independence of Mexico was achieved on September 27, 1821.
Republic of Texas
The region of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas commonly referred to as Mexican Texas declared its independence from Mexico during the Texas Revolution in 1836. The Texas war of independence ended on April 21, 1836, but Mexico refused to recognize the independence of the Republic of Texas, and intermittent conflicts between the two states continued into the 1840s. The United States recognized the Republic of Texas in March 1837 but declined to annex the territory.
British Latin American
The first great power that recognized the independence of Mexico was the United Kingdom in 1824, shortly after the sale of mines from Pachuca and Real del Monte occurred. The majority of migrants to this region came from what is now termed the Cornish "central mining district" of Camborne and Redruth. Real del Monte's steep streets, stairways and small squares are lined with low buildings and many houses with high sloping roofs and chimneys which indicate a Cornish influence. Mexican remittances from these miners helped to build the Wesleyan Chapel in Redruth.
Mexican–American War
In 1834, General Antonio López de Santa Anna became the centralist dictator of Mexico, abandoning the federal system. He decided to quash the semi-independence of Texas, having succeeded in doing so in Coahuila (in 1824, Mexico had merged Texas and Coahuila into the enormous state of Coahuila y Tejas). Finally, Stephen F. Austin called Texians to arms, and they declared independence from Mexico in 1836. After Santa Anna defeated the Texians in the Battle of the Alamo, he was defeated by the Texian Army commanded by General Sam Houston and captured at the Battle of San Jacinto; he signed a treaty recognizing the independence of Texas.
Military history of Mexico
In 1821 Agustín de Iturbide, a former Spanish general who switched sides to fight for Mexican independence, proclaimed himself emperor – officially as a temporary measure until a member of European royalty could be persuaded to become monarch of Mexico (see First Mexican Empire for more information). A revolt against Iturbide in 1823 established the United Mexican States. In 1824 Guadalupe Victoria became the first president of the new country; his given name was actually Félix Fernández but he chose his new name for symbolic significance: Guadalupe to give thanks for the protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and "Victoria", which means Victory.
Republic of the Rio Grande
After a decade of strife, Mexico won its independence from the Kingdom of Spain in 1821. After a failed attempt at a monarchy, Mexico adopted a new constitution, the 1824 Constitution. This new constitution established los "Estados Unidos Mexicanos", or "the United Mexican States," as a federal republic. During the war for independence, many rebels were driven to Coahuila and Nuevo León, where this revolutionary mentality won the hearts and minds of the people.
Mexican War of Independence
In the early 19th century, Napoleon's occupation of Spain led to an outbreak of numerous revolts against colonial government across Spanish America. After the abortive Conspiracy of the Machetes in 1799, a massive revolt in the Bajío region was led by secular cleric Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. His Grito de Dolores was the first stage of the insurgency for Mexican independence. Before 1810, there was no significant support for independence. Once the Hidalgo revolt was underway, it received major support only in the Bajío and parts of Jalisco.
Spanish attempts to reconquer Mexico
Mexican independence was officially achieved on September 27, 1821, under the Treaty of Córdoba. Spain did not recognize the treaties, arguing that the viceroy Juan O'Donojú had no authority to recognize the independence of any overseas province. This situation was dangerous to the newly acquired independent status of the nation, which had not yet been recognized by any of the European powers that could support it, and the threat of Spanish reconquest was a constant worry to the leaders of the nascent regime. On May 13, 1822 decrees were issued by the government to imprison anyone who conspired against Mexico's independence.
History of Mexico
American-born Spaniards (creoles), mixed-race castas, and Indians often disagreed, but all resented the small minority of Iberian-born Spaniards who monopolized political power. By the early 1800s, many American-born Spaniards believed that Mexico should become independent of Spain, following the example of the United States. The man who touched off the revolt against Spain was the Catholic priest Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. He is remembered today as the Father of Mexican Independence.
San Luis Obispo, California
When the Mexican War of Independence from Spain broke out in 1810, all California missions had to become virtually self-sufficient, receiving few funds or supplies from Spanish sources. Beginning soon after Mexico won her independence from Spain in 1821, anti-Spanish feelings led to calls for expulsion of the Spanish Franciscans and secularization of the missions. Because the fledgling Mexican government had many more important problems to deal with than far-off California, actual secularization didn't happen until the mid-1830s.
Alexander von Humboldt
After Mexican independence from Spain in 1821, the Mexican government recognized him with high honors for his services to the nation. In 1827, the first President of Mexico, Guadalupe Victoria granted Humboldt Mexican citizenship and in 1859, the President of Mexico, Benito Juárez, named Humboldt a hero of the nation ("benemérito de la nación"). The gestures were purely honorary; he never returned to the Americas following his expedition.
Centralist Republic of Mexico
Months later, Antonio López de Santa Anna, in response to the declaration of independence, threatened to send in the troops if it was not reversed while also assuring the Tabasco authorities that Federalism would soon be reinstated. This combined threat and promise culminated in the reinstatement of Tabasco into the Mexican Republic on December 2, 1842. But four years later, Tabasco again declared its independence in November 1846 as a protest to the lack of Central government assistance in resisting the American occupation of its coast earlier that same year.
Name of Mexico
In September 1821, the independence of Mexico was finally recognized by Spain, achieved through an alliance of royalist and revolutionary forces. The former tried to preserve the "status quo" of the vice-royalty, menaced by the liberal reforms taking place in Spain, through the establishment of an autonomous constitutional monarchy under an independence hero. Agustín was crowned and given the titles of: Agustin de Iturbide por la divina providencia y por el Congreso de la Nación, primer Emperador Constitucional de Mexico (Agustín de Iurbide First Constitutional Emperor of Mexico by Divine Providence and by the Congress of the Nation). The name chosen for the country was "Imperio Mexicano", "Mexican Empire". The empire collapsed in 1823, and the republican forces drafted a constitution the following year whereby a federal form of government was instituted. In the 1824 constitution, which gave rise to the Mexican federation, "Estados Unidos Mexicanos" (also "Estados-unidos mexicanos")—literally the "Mexican United States" or "Mexican United-States" (official English translation: "United Mexican States")—was adopted as the country's official name. The constitution of 1857 used the term "República Mexicana" ("Mexican Republic") interchangeably with "Estados Unidos Mexicanos"; the current constitution, promulgated in 1917, only uses the latter and "United Mexican States" is the normative English translation. The name "Mexican Empire" was briefly revived from 1863 to 1867 by the conservative government that instituted a constitutional monarchy for a second time under Maximilian of Habsburg.
Fredonian Rebellion
After winning independence in 1821, several of Spain's colonies in the New World joined together to create a new country, Mexico. The country divided itself into several states, and the area known as Mexican Texas became part of the border state Coahuila y Tejas. To assist in governing the large area, the state created several departments; all of Texas was included in the Department of Béxar. The department was further subdivided into municipalities, which were each governed by an alcalde, similar to a modern-day mayor. A large portion of East Texas, ranging from the Sabine to the Trinity Rivers and from the Gulf Coast to the Red River, became part of the municipality of Nacogdoches. Most residents of the municipality were Spanish-speaking families who had occupied their land for generations. An increasing number were English-speaking residents who had immigrated illegally during the Mexican War of Independence. Many of the immigrants were adventurers who had arrived as part of various military filibustering groups, which had attempted to create independent republics within Texas during Spanish rule.
Gun laws in Mexico
Following Mexico's independence as the First Mexican Empire in 1822, the Political Provisional Regulation of the Mexican Empire in Article 54 made a reference to the carrying of prohibited arms (in Spanish: "...el porte de armas prohibidas...") and by 1824, following the establishment of the United Mexican States, it was declared that no person shall carry any type of weapon. The inclination to adopt a complete ban on firearms came as a precaution and attempt to prevent another armed insurrection that would put the new republic in jeopardy. After this measure, four years followed without war under President Guadalupe Victoria.
Military history of Mexico
The Texan struggle for independence marked the beginning of a conflict with the modern U.S. state of Texas, and its independence from Mexico and the state of Coahuila y Tejas. Battles associated with the conflict with Texas include the Alamo, where federal troops led by Antonio López de Santa Anna defeated the Texans, and the Battle of San Jacinto, which allowed secession to take place.
Gun laws in Mexico
It was through the means of armed combat that Mexico achieved its independence from Spain. From then on, the course of history was marked by several armed conflicts, including the American (1846–48) and French (1861–67) conflicts, as well as indigenous struggles due to the several forms of government that ruled over Mexican territory, culminating with the Mexican Revolution (1910–20) and the Cristero War (1926–29).
Alta California
Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821 upon conclusion of the decade-long Mexican War of Independence (not acknowledged by Spain until 1836). As the successor state to the Viceroyalty of New Spain, Mexico automatically included the provinces of Alta California and Baja California as territories. Alta California declared allegiance to the new Mexican nation and elected a representative to be sent to Mexico. On November 9, 1822, the first legislature of California was created. With the establishment of a republican government in 1824, Alta California, like many northern territories, was not recognized as one of the constituent States of Mexico because of its small population. The 1824 Constitution of Mexico refers to Alta California as a "territory".
Mexico
On September 16, 1810, a "loyalist revolt" against the ruling junta was declared by priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, in the small town of Dolores, Guanajuato. This event, known as the Cry of Dolores (Spanish: "Grito de Dolores") is commemorated each year, on September 16, as Mexico's independence day. The first insurgent group was formed by Hidalgo, the Spanish viceregal army captain Ignacio Allende, the militia captain Juan Aldama and "La Corregidora" Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez. Hidalgo and some of his soldiers were captured and executed by firing squad in Chihuahua, on July 31, 1811. Following his death, the leadership was assumed by priest José María Morelos, who occupied key southern cities.
Fiestas Patrias (Mexico)
"Grito de Dolores" (on the evening of September 15) and "Aniversario de la Independencia" (September 16) commemorate Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla's "Grito de Dolores" — on September 16, 1810, in the village of Dolores, near Guanajuato. Hidalgo called for the end of Spanish rule in Mexico. On October 18, 1825, the Republic of Mexico officially declared September 16 its national Independence Day ("Dia de la Independencia").
American frontier
Mexico became independent of Spain in 1821, and took over Spain's northern possessions stretching from Texas to California. Caravans began delivering goods to Mexico's Santa Fe along the Santa Fe Trail, over the journey which took 48 days from Kansas City, Missouri (then known as Westport). Santa Fe was also the trailhead for the "El Camino Real" (the King's Highway), a trade route which carried American manufactured goods southward deep into Mexico and returned silver, furs, and mules northward (not to be confused with another "Camino Real" which connected the missions in California). A branch also ran eastward near the Gulf (also called the Old San Antonio Road). Santa Fe connected to California via the Old Spanish Trail.
Mexican War of Independence
In 1910, as part of the celebrations marking the centennial of the Hidalgo revolt of 1810, President Porfirio Díaz inaugurated the monument to Mexico's political separation from Spain, the Angel of Independence on Avenida Reforma. The creation of this architectural monument is part of the long process of the construction of historical memory of Mexican independence.
Censo General de Población y Vivienda
When Mexican independence from Spain was achieved in 1824, the new Republic sought a process to enumerate the citizens in each of its constituent federative states and entities. Article 12 of the 1824 Constitution of Mexico expressed the intention:
Latin America–United States relations
Texas, which had been settled by colonies of Americans, fought a successful war for independence from Mexico in 1836. Mexico refused to recognize the independence and warned that annexation to the United States meant war. Annexation came in 1845 and the Mexican–American War began in 1846. The American military was easily triumphant. The result was the Mexican Cession of Santa Fe de Nuevo México and Alta California. About 60,000 Mexicans remained in the territories and became US citizens. France took advantage of the American Civil War (1861–65), using its army to take over Mexico. Due to defeats in Europe, France pulled out troops, leaving the Imperialists and Maximilian I of Mexico to face defeat from the Benito Juarez-led Republicans (backed by the US).
Mexico City
The Grito de Dolores ("Cry of Dolores"), also known as El Grito de la Independencia ("Cry of Independence"), marked the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence. The Battle of Guanajuato, the first major engagement of the insurgency, occurred four days later. After a decade of war, Mexico's independence from Spain was effectively declared in the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire on September 27, 1821. Unrest followed for the next several decades, as different factions fought for control of Mexico.
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.
Aboriginal title in California
Mexico declared independence from Spain in 1824. Mexico secularized the Mission system, and granted some of these tribes their land in fee simple.
History of the west coast of North America
After the Spanish possession now known as Mexico (first known as "América Septentrional" or "Northern America") won its War of Independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico initially retained Spain's missions and settlements along the Pacific coast, and continued Spain's claims to territory as far north as today's border between California and Oregon. In the 1830s, Mexico ended Church control of the missions in California and opened the land to secular development, particularly ranching. By the 1840s, there were small Mexican settlements at San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the territorial capital at Monterey. These settlements primarily traded cattle hides and tallow with American and European merchant vessels. This period is vividly portrayed in Bostonian Richard Henry Dana, Jr.'s famous seafaring memoir, "Two Years Before the Mast" and the culture of the great Mexican landowners of this period is often harked back to as exemplifying the height of California's romantic pastoral era. Mexican control of the territory ended after only 25 years, when attempts by local Mexican officials to expropriate the property of American ranchers and drive them out of California in the winter lead to the successful uprising known as the Bear Flag Revolt.
1840s
The Republic of the Rio Grande declared its independence from Mexico in January 1840. However, the border with Texas was never determined (whether the Nueces River or the Rio Grande). The new Republic fought a brief and unsuccessful war for independence, returning to Mexico late in the year.
History of Mexico
The inhabitants of Tejas declared the Republic of Texas independent from Mexico on 2 March 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos. They called themselves Texans and were led mainly by recent English-speaking settlers. At the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, Texan militias defeated the Mexican army and captured General Santa Anna. The Mexican government refused to recognize the independence of Texas.
Fort Point, San Francisco
Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821, gaining control of the region and the fort, but in 1835 the Mexican army moved to Sonoma leaving the castillo's adobe walls to crumble in the wind and rain. On July 1, 1846, after the Mexican–American War broke out between Mexico and the United States, U.S. forces, including Captain John Charles Fremont, Kit Carson and a band of 10 followers, captured and occupied the empty castillo and spiked (disabled) the cannons.
Old Customhouse (Monterey, California)
In 1821 New Spain—Mexico won independence from Spain, in the Mexican War of Independence, and for nearly 25 years Monterey was in the Mexican Territory of Alta California. Under Mexican rule the trade restrictions were lifted and coastal ports were opened to foreign trade. This drew in trade from British, American, and South American traders.
List of ambassadors of the United States to Mexico
Mexico achieved independence from Spain in 1821; so the first three men on this list were sent by President Madison during the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821). William Shaler participated in the 1812–13 Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition, which was a private military campaign to overthrow the Royalists and resulted in the roadside murder of two provincial governors and about a dozen other officials.
Puebla
Cinco de Mayo—or the fifth of May—is a holiday that celebrates the date of the Mexican army's 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867). A relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a commemoration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations. 
Many Americans mistakenly believe that Cinco de Mayo (“May 5th”) is the Mexican equivalent of the United States’ Fourth of July holiday — a date marking the official casting off of colonial rule via the announcement of a new independent country. However, the Mexican version of Independence Day is celebrated on September 16, for it was on that date in 1810 that the commencement of the war for Mexican independence from Spanish rule was pronounced in the small town of Dolores by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (an event now referred to as the “Grito de Dolores” — “Cry of Dolores” — or “El Grito de la Independencia”).
Coahuila y Tejas
From the time Mexico became independent from Spain, there was public support for abolishing slavery. Fears of an economic crisis if all of the slaves were simultaneously freed led to a gradual emancipation policy. In 1823, Mexico forbade the sale or purchase of slaves, and required that the children of slaves be freed when they reached fourteen. Any slave introduced into Mexico by purchase or trade would also be freed. Many of the colonists in Texas, however, had already owned slaves and brought them to the new territory when they immigrated from the United States.
Britons in Mexico
The first great power that recognized the independence of Mexico was the United Kingdom in 1824, shortly after the sale of mines from Pachuca and Real del Monte occurred. The majority of migrants to this region came from what is now termed the Cornish "central mining district" of Camborne and Redruth. Real del Monte's steep streets, stairways and small squares are lined with low buildings and many houses with high sloping roofs and chimneys which indicate a Cornish influence. Mexican remittances from these miners helped to build the Wesleyan Chapel in Redruth.
Guatemala–Mexico relations
Guatemala and Mexico are two neighboring countries who share a common cultural history from the Maya civilization and both nations were colonized by the Spanish empire. In 1821, Mexico gained independence from Spain and administered Guatemala (and most of Central America) during the First Mexican Empire. In 1823, the empire collapsed and Guatemala joined the United Provinces of Central America, however, the Guatemalan region of Chiapas choose to separate from Guatemala and joined Mexico as a state. In 1838 the union dissolved and Guatemala became an independent nation. Both nations established diplomatic relations in 1838 and diplomatic missions were soon opened. In 1926 both nations resident diplomatic missions were elevated to embassies.
Serafin Olarte
With the Treaty of Cordoba in 1821 Mexico gained its independence from Spain. The same year however, Serafin Olarte was killed by Spanish troops in an ambush near Papantla.
First Mexican Republic
The republic was proclaimed on November 1, 1823 by the Constituent Congress, months after the fall of the Mexican Empire ruled emperor Agustin I, a former royalist military officer-turned-insurgent for independence. The federation was formally and legally established on October 4, 1824 when the Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States came into force.
Mexican–American War
The Mexican Army emerged from the war of independence (1810–1821) as a weak and divided force. Before the war with the United States, the military faced both internal and foreign challenges. The Spanish still occupied the coastal fortress of San Juan de Ulúa, and Spain did not recognize Mexico's independence, so that the new nation was at risk for invasion. In 1829, the Spanish attempted to reconquer their former colony and Antonio López de Santa Anna became a national hero defending the homeland. The army had a set of privileges ("fueros"), established in the colonial era, that gave it jurisdiction over many aspects of its affairs. In general, the military supported conservative positions, advocating for a strong central government and upholding privileges of the military and the Catholic Church.
Mexico–Venezuela relations
Both Mexico and Venezuela share a common history in the fact that both nations were once part of the Spanish Empire. During the Spanish colonial period, Mexico was then known as Viceroyalty of New Spain and the capital being Mexico City while Venezuela was governed from the Viceroyalty of New Granada in Bogotá. In 1810, both Mexico and Venezuela declared their independence from Spain with each nation obtaining independence in 1821 and 1830, respectively. Soon after obtaining independence, Emperor Agustín de Iturbide of Mexico contacted President Simón Bolívar by informing him of his ascension to the Mexican throne and telling him of his personal admiration for Bolívar after learning about his heroic valor and successful military campaigns.
Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire
The Ruiz de Velasco family were the original owners for 128 years of the Acta de Independencia del Imperio Mexicano de 1821. This document was passed down through generations from Nicolás Bravo. On August 22, 1987, Pedro Ruiz de Velasco de la Madrid gave the document as a gift to Mexico. José Francisco Ruiz Massieu, Governor of Guerrero, accepted this gift and secured this historical document in the Museo Historico de Acapulco Fuerte de San Diego in Acapulco in the State of Guerrero.
Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America
The Solemn Act of Northern America's Declaration of Independence () is the first Mexican legal historical document which established the separation of Mexico from Spanish rule. It was signed on November 6, 1813, by the deputies of the Congress of Anáhuac, organized by General José María Morelos in the city of Oaxaca in June of that same year, and later installed in the city of Chilpancingo on September 13.
Mexico–Republic of Texas relations
Republic of Texas–Mexico relations refers to the historical foreign relations between the Republic of Texas and Mexico. Relations were unofficially initiated in 1836 at the signing of the Treaties of Velasco, which de facto declared Texas independent from Mexico, though the Mexican Government never fully recognized Texas' Independence. The relations between the two countries, however hostile, continued until 1845 after the annexation of Texas by the United States, and the beginning of the Mexican–American War.
History of New Mexico
The decade that led up to independence was a painful period in the history of Mexico. In 1810 catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo instigated a war for independence in central Mexico, a struggle that quickly took on the character of a class war. The following year, military captain Las Casas instigated a coup within the Imperial regime. Sympathizing with the poor underclass, Las Casas opened up a line of dialogue with the revolutionaries. This caused the Spanish elite to instigate its own counter coup and executed Las Casas. For years afterward the regime failed to regain coherency and the mandate to administrate. These ideological struggles affected peripheral New Mexico much less than they did the national center, but it resulted in a sense of alienation with central authority.
Presidency of James K. Polk
The United States had been the first country to recognize Mexico's independence following the Mexican War of Independence, but relations between the two countries began to sour in the 1830s. In the 1830s and 1840s, the United States, like France and Britain, sought a reparations treaty with Mexico for various acts committed by Mexican citizens and authorities, including the seizure of American ships. Though the United States and Mexico had agreed to a joint board to settle the various claims prior to Polk's presidency, many Americans accused the Mexican government of acting in bad faith in settling the claims. For its part, Mexico believed that the United States sought to acquire Mexican territory, and believed that many Americans filed specious or exaggerated claims. The already-troubled Mexico–United States relations were further inflamed by the possibility of the annexation of Texas, as Mexico still viewed Texas as an integral part of their republic. Additionally, Texas laid claim to all land north of the Rio Grande River, while Mexico argued that the more northern Nueces River was the proper Texan border. Though the United States had a population more than twice as numerous and an economy thirteen times greater than that of Mexico, Mexico was not prepared to give up its claim to Texas, even if it meant war.
Cry of Dolores
The Cry of Dolores has assumed an almost mythical status. Since the late 20th century, the event has come to symbolize Mexican independence and to initiate Independence Day ceremonies the following day (16 September). Independence Day in Mexico is a patriotic holiday, marked by parades, concerts, patriotic programs, drum and bugle and marching band competitions, and special programs on the national and local media outlets.
Mariano Paredes (President of Mexico)
On 1 January 1846, the state of Yucatán declared its independence from Mexico and its neutrality in the war with the United States.
History of Mexico
The fact that there was an existing prehispanic tradition of writing meant that when the Spanish friars taught Mexican Indians to write their own languages, particularly Nahuatl, an alphabetic tradition took hold. It was used in official documents for legal cases and other legal instruments. The formal use of native language documentation lasted until Mexican independence in 1821. Beginning in the late twentieth century, scholars have mined these native language documents for information about colonial-era economics, culture, and language. The New Philology is the current name for this particular branch of colonial-era Mesoamerican ethnohistory.
Mexico
Agustín de Iturbide became constitutional emperor of the First Mexican Empire in 1822. A revolt against him in 1823 established the United Mexican States. In 1824, a Republican Constitution was drafted and Guadalupe Victoria became the first president of the newly born country. Central America, including Chiapas, left the union. In 1829 president Guerrero abolished slavery. The first decades of the post-independence period were marked by economic instability, which led to the Pastry War in 1836. There was constant strife between Liberals, supporters of a federal form of government, and Conservatives, who proposed a hierarchical form of government.
Ignacio Elizondo
The Mexican War of Independence from Spain began with the "grito" of the Roman Catholic priest, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, on September 16, 1810. Initially Elizondo, stationed in Texas, took the side of the rebels in the Casas Revolt. Elizondo had the responsibility of guarding royalist prisoners in Monclova, Coahuila. There, or possibly earlier, he was persuaded to join the royalists. Some historians debate whether General Ramon Díaz de Bustamante or Bishop Primo Feliciano Marín de Porras won Elizondo over to the royalists. Others believe he was converted by Manuel María de Salcedo of Texas and Simón de Herrera of Nuevo León, while the two royalist governors were his prisoners.
Presidio San Agustín del Tucsón
When Mexico achieved its independence from Spain in 1821, the Tucson Presidio still had a Spanish garrison that accepted Mexican freedom, likely because the Spanish aristocracy's hold on northern Sonora wasn't broken as result of the war. The aristocracy supported the independence of their country which fueled the rebellion, many also led the armies that won the war. Since 1775 and even longer due to the Pima villages, Tucson has always been inhabited, unlike several other Spanish settlements in the area. During the Mexican period at least seventy-five percent of Tucson was populated by Native Americans. After independence Mexico slipped into a depression and frontier colonization quickly became under-supplied with both men and food, old alliances between Spain and the natives ended. Other tribes continued to be peaceful, the Pimas remained friendly along with Yaquis and a few other groups in southern Arizona. Apaches remained a serious threat and most of the Spanish frontier settlements in Arizona and New Mexico were abandoned and the populations fled south. Generally the Mexicans remained only in the coastal states of Texas and California, creating more Indian country in between Mexico City and California. Landlocked settlements in what is now northern New Mexico survived with Tucson and a few other mission towns such as the San Xavier and the Tumacacori Mission. Apaches continued raiding and skirmished with Mexicans just outside the Presidio several times, they raided the livestock just like they did the Spanish herds. The Mexicans were less able to defend themselves due to the depression.
Central America
The Captaincy General of Guatemala lasted for more than two centuries, but began to fray after a rebellion in 1811 which began in the intendancy of San Salvador. The Captaincy General formally ended on 15 September 1821, with the signing of the Act of Independence of Central America. Mexican independence was achieved at virtually the same time with the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba and the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire, and the entire region was finally independent from Spanish authority by 28 September 1821.
Battle of Puebla
A common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day, the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico. Mexico celebrates Independence Day on the 16th of September, commemorating the beginning of the war of Independence (September 16, 1810, the "Cry of Dolores"). Mexico also observes the culmination of the war of Independence, which lasted 11 years, on the 27th of September.
Public holidays in Mexico
In Mexico there are three major kinds of public holidays:"Dia de la Independencia" or "Aniversario de la Independencia", September 16, commemorates Mexico's independence from Spain and is the most important patriotic statutory holiday. Parades are held and many schools are closed.
First Mexican Empire
It existed from the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba and the declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire in September 1821 until the emperor's abdication in March 1823 when the Provisional Government took power and the First Mexican Republic was proclaimed in 1824. The first monarch of the state was Agustín de Iturbide, reigning as Agustín I of Mexico.
Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire
The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire () is the document by which the Mexican Empire declared independence from the Spanish Empire. This founding document of the Mexican nation was drafted in the National Palace in Mexico City on September 28, 1821, by Juan José Espinosa de los Monteros, secretary of the Provisional Governmental Board.
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
"Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla had the unique distinction of being a father in three senses of the word: a priestly father in the Roman Catholic Church, a biological father who produced illegitimate children in violation of his clerical vows, and the father of his country." He has been hailed as the "Father of the Nation" even though it was Agustin de Iturbide and not Hidalgo who achieved Mexican Independence in 1821. Shortly after gaining independence, the day to celebrate it varied between 16 September, the day of Hidalgo's Grito and 27 September, the day Iturbide rode into Mexico City to end the war.
Later, political movements would favor the more liberal Hidalgo over the conservative Iturbide, and 16 September 1810 became the officially recognized day of Mexican independence. The reason for this is that Hidalgo is considered to be "precursor and creator of the rest of the heroes of the (Mexican War of) Independence." Diego Rivera painted Hidalgo's image in half a dozen murals. José Clemente Orozco depicted him with a flaming torch of liberty and considered the painting among his best work. David Alfaro Siqueiros was commissioned by San Nicolas McGinty University in Morelia to paint a mural for a celebration commemorating the 200th anniversary of Hidalgo's birth. The town of his parish was renamed Dolores Hidalgo in his honor and the state of Hidalgo was created in 1869. Every year on the night of 15–16 September, the president of Mexico re-enacts the Grito from the balcony of the National Palace. This scene is repeated by the heads of cities and towns all over Mexico. He is the namesake of Hidalgo County, Texas.
First Mexican Republic
The First Mexican Republic, known also as the First Federal Republic (), was a federated republic and nation-state officially designated the United Mexican States (, ). "Independence transformed Mexico from Spain's largest and most prosperous colony to a sovereign nation suffering economic decline and political strife." The First Mexican Republic lasted from 1824 to 1835, when conservatives under Antonio López de Santa Anna transformed it into a centralized state, the Centralist Republic of Mexico.
Álvaro Obregón
Obregón also sought to shape public perceptions of the Revolution and its place in history by staging elaborate celebrations in 1921 on the centenary of Mexico's independence from Spain. There had been such celebrations in 1910 by the Díaz regime, commemorating the start of the insurgency by Miguel Hidalgo. The political fact of independence was achieved by former royalist officer Agustín de Iturbide, who was more celebrated by conservatives in post-independence Mexico than liberals. However, 1921 provided a date for Obregon's government to shape historical memory of independence and the Revolution. After a decade of violence during the Revolution, the centennial celebrations provided an opportunity for Mexicans to reflect on their history and identity, as well as to enjoy diversions in peacetime. For Obregón, the centennial was a way to emphasize that revolutionary initiatives had historical roots and that like independence, the Revolution presented new opportunities for Mexicans. Obregón "intended to use the occasion to shore-up popular support for the government, and, by extension, the revolution itself." Unlike the centennial celebrations in 1910, the one of 1921 had no monumental architecture to inaugurate.
List of constitutions of Mexico
Since declaring independence in 1821, Mexico has adopted a number of constitutions or other documents of basic law with constitutional effects. Not all these can be considered constitutions, and not all of them enjoyed universal application. Those enacted in 1824, 1857, and 1917 are generally considered full-fledged, operational constitutions. The Constitution of 1824 established the framework of a federated republic, following the short-lived monarchy of Agustín de Iturbide (in 1821–22). The Constitution of 1857 was the framework set by Mexican liberals that incorporated particular laws into the constitution. The Constitution of 1917 was drafted by the faction that won the Mexican Revolution, known as the Constitutionalists for their adherence to the Constitution of 1857. It strengthened the anticlerical framework of the 1857 constitution, empowered the state to expropriate private property, and set protections for organized labor. The 1917 Constitution was significantly revised in 1992 under Carlos Salinas de Gortari, eliminating anticlerical restrictions and strengthening private property rights against the State.
California
In 1821, the Mexican War of Independence gave Mexico (including California) independence from Spain. For the next 25 years, Alta California remained as a remote, sparsely populated, northwestern administrative district of the newly independent country of Mexico.
The Mexican Frontier, 1821–1846
The Mexican Frontier, 1821–1846: The American Southwest Under Mexico by historian David J. Weber is a history of the part of Mexico's north and northwest that became part of the United States after the Mexican–American War. The book examines territories on the northern frontier of Mexico, including what is now Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas, in the twenty-five years after Mexico gained its independence from Spain. Weber emphasizes the role of Mexicans in the region through this period of transition, particularly before and during the Texas war of independence, as well as exploring the region as a whole while acknowledging its distinct communities.
Mexico
In 1813 the Congress of Chilpancingo was convened and, on November 6, signed the "Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America". Morelos was captured and executed on December 22, 1815.
In subsequent years, the insurgency was near collapse, but in 1820 Viceroy Juan Ruiz de Apodaca sent an army under the criollo general Agustín de Iturbide against the troops of Vicente Guerrero. Instead, Iturbide approached Guerrero to join forces, and on August 24, 1821 representatives of the Spanish Crown and Iturbide signed the "Treaty of Córdoba" and the "Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire", which recognized the independence of Mexico under the terms of the "Plan of Iguala".
Emperor
In Mexico, the First Mexican Empire was the first of two empires created. After the declaration of independence on September 15, 1821, it was the intention of the Mexican parliament to establish a commonwealth whereby the King of Spain, Ferdinand VII, would also be Emperor of Mexico, but in which both countries were to be governed by separate laws and with their own legislative offices. Should the king refuse the position, the law provided for a member of the House of Bourbon to accede to the Mexican throne.
Celebration of Mexican political anniversaries in 2010
In 2010, Mexico celebrated both the 200th anniversary of its Independence and 100th anniversary of its Revolution. The entire year was proclaimed by President Felipe Calderón as "Año de la Patria", or "Year of the Nation." 16 September 1810 is the day of the "Grito de Dolores" or Miguel Hidalgo's call to take up arms against the Spanish colonial government. The start of the Mexican Revolution is celebrated as being 20 November 1910, when Francisco "Pancho" Villa and Pascual Orozco led the first insurrectionist attack. Events and other promotions of these celebrations were designed to link of Mexico's identity and historic continuity. During a speech at the inauguration of the Casa de Allende (Allende House) Historic Museum, Felipe Calderón called upon Mexico to use the upcoming anniversaries to reflect on where the country has been and to think about what kind of Mexico descendants will inherit in the future. He said the vision of the insurgents of the War of Independence was forward, not backward, so every celebration of these past events must consider the future as well.
History of Mexico
After independence, Mexican politics was chaotic. The presidency changed hands 75 times in the next 55 years (1821–76).
Mexican Cession
Considering the seizures, including all of Texas, Mexico lost 54% of its pre-1836 territory in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. For only fifteen years from 1821 (when Mexican independence was secured) and the Texan Revolt in 1836, the Mexican Cession (excluding Texas) formed approximately 42% of the country of Mexico; prior to that, it had been a part of the Spanish colony of New Spain for some three centuries. Beginning in the early seventeenth century, a chain of Roman Catholic missions and settlements extended into the New Mexico region, mostly following the course of the Rio Grande from the El Paso area to Santa Fe.
Spanish attempts to reconquer Mexico
Finally On December 28, 1836, Spain recognized the independence of Mexico under the Santa María–Calatrava Treaty, signed in Madrid by the Mexican Commissioner Miguel Santa María and the Spanish state minister José María Calatrava. Mexico was the first former colony whose independence was recognized by Spain; the second was Ecuador on February 16, 1840.