Principal dates of the Mexican history

50 000 years front. J.-C. The first inhabitants of Americas migrate through the future Bering Strait.

1500 front. J.-C. with
300 after J.-C. Period of the Olmèques culture.

2000 front. J.-C. with
1500 after J.-C. Period of the Mayas culture.

900 after J.-C. Warriors of north, known under the name of Toltèques, make the conquest of the central valley.

1200 after J.-C. The Aztec ones settle in the central valley.

The Aztec ones
Beginning of the 16th century The Aztec ones which dominates Mexico, Moctezuma II, emperor of Aztec, régne on an empire of the size of modern Italy whose capital is Tenochtitlan, on the site of the current town of Mexico City.

1519 Lbe conquistadores, with at their head Hernan Cortés and 550 men, accost on the Mexican shore.

1521 The conquest came at its end, the Spanish adventurer Hernán Cortés benefits from the tensions between the Aztec ones and the villages which pay them taxes. Consequently, a process of christianization and hispanism of the natives commençe.

At the 17th century The principal economic structures of the Spain News were defined. The rural property became a basic productive unit and the mine is converted into center of the colonial economy which met the requirements out of gold and silver for the metropolis. The indigenous population was exploited and decimated by work and the plagues.

About 1800 Mexico becomes one of the richest countries of the world; a very rich country with much of poverty.

1810 The independence fight commençe, directed mainly by the Creoles (people born in Mexico). The movement is transformed into popular and national cause when the natives and the Creoles link themselves with the rebellious forces. But this movement is crushed by the royal army.

1821 The Iturbide General proclaims emperor but it is quickly overcome by the General Antonio López de Santa Anna.

1824 The constitution which defines the federal Republic is proclaimed and counts 19 states, four areas and a federal district. Guadalupe Victoria becomes the first Mexican President.

1836 Santa Anna, elected President three years before, proclaims a new constitution which eliminates all the vestige from federalism and the Mexican state of Texas which counted 30 000 American citizens requests the support and the protection of the United States.

1845 The United States annexes Texas what involves the rupture of the diplomatic relations with Mexico. The American army occupies the grounds disputed between the two rivers, and thus starts a war which lasts two years with, finally, the victory of the United States. More half of the Mexican territory passes to the hands Americans.

Between 1821 and 1850 The country has fifty different governments. The Mexican middle-class is divided into two parts, the liberal one and the preserving one.

1861 Benito Juárez, a zapotèque Indian with extraordinary intended is elected President and must especially face the debts of the wars with France, Spain and Royaume-Uni. But its decision to suspend refundings of the national debt caused the armed intervention with France, England and Spain.

Napoleon III establishes a monarchy in an attempt to counterbalance the North-American influence in the zone. Maximiliano, archduke of Austria, are crowned emperor.

1876 The General Porfirio Diaz, who militated on the side of the liberals against the French intervention, prent the capacity and the exerçe until 1911. During these 35 years of dictatorship, the country opens its doors with the foreign capital, the economy is modernized but the social inequalities are done increasingly large.

The armed struggle prent a new strength around the leaders Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa.

1917 The principles of the Revolution are devoted in the new Constitution, It is advanced world at the time and still into force.

1929 The various revolutionary currents unify to form only one party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which imposes a system of government on only one party under democratic appearances.
The PRI will control without any type of opposition until the Seventies.

1976 Under the government of Lopez Portillo, the country is almost in bankruptcy and of the foreign loans of almost 80 billions of dollars to finance programs of economic and social development are negotiated.

1982 The corruption and the bad administration in more of the fall of the prices for the crude oil for this period menent with a serious political crisis.

The successor of Portillo, Miguel of Madrid had to start a program of economic reforms and measurements against the corruption, but the success of this program was very limited.

1988 Carlos Salinas de Gortari, gains the presidential elections which were a test for the PRI.

1994 An armed insurrection bursts in the South of the country, in the state of Chiapas. The principal claims are in relation to the land reform, this movement is directed by the group Zapatist guerrilla directed by the ' Commander Marcos'.

1994 Ernesto Zedillo candidate of the PRI, gains the elections.

1997 The PRI loses for the first time the majority with the House of Commons (it succeeds in maintaining the control of the Senate).

AZTEQUE . MAYA . INCA . OLMEQUE . CHICHIMEQUE. CHAVIN . TIWANAKU . CHIMU .