In Mexico: Pre-Columbian Mexico It is assumed that the first inhabitants of Middle America were early American Indians, of Asian derivation, who migrated into the area at some time during the final stage of the Pleistocene Epoch. The date of their arrival in central Mexico remains speculative. The… Read More
19th-century political unrest
In history of Latin America: Disorder and caudillismo In Mexico, to take but one example, the years 1825–55 saw 48 turnovers in the national executive. Neither those in power nor those seeking office evinced consistent respect for the often idealistic provisions of constitutions. In some cases the very authors of constitutions broke the rules… Read More
anticlericalism
In Miguel Pro Juárez …Mexican Jesuit priest martyred during anti-Roman Catholic persecutions of the 1920s in Mexico. Read More
In history of Latin America: Capitalism and social transitions In Mexico, governments began large-scale appropriations of church holdings. This inspired the Cristero Rebellion (1926–29), in which communities rose up in violent defense of the church without the support of the bishops. Read More
Aztecs
In Aztec …is now central and southern Mexico. The name Aztec is derived from Aztlán (variously translated as “White Land,” “Land of White Herons,” or “Place of Herons”), an allusion to their origins, probably in northwestern Mexico. They were also called the Tenochca, from an eponymous ancestor, Tenoch, and the Mexica, probably… Read More
conflict with El Salvador
In El Salvador: Independence incorporation into Agustín de Iturbide’s Mexican empire, a stance that led to confrontations with Guatemalan and Mexican armies. Faced with defeat late in 1822, a Salvadoran congress sought adoption of a resolution providing for the province’s annexation to the United States, but this scheme was abandoned when Iturbide’s government collapsed… Read More
Cortés
In Hernán Cortés …Aztec empire (1519–21) and won Mexico for the crown of Spain. Read More
dictatorship
In Porfiriato …of Porfirio Díaz’s presidency of Mexico (1876–80; 1884–1911), an era of dictatorial rule accomplished through a combination of consensus and repression during which the country underwent extensive modernization but political liberties were limited and the free press was muzzled. The Díaz government, like other “progressive dictatorships” in Latin America, worked… Read More
invasion plan by Burr
In Aaron Burr: Duel and treason charges …Burr planned an invasion of Mexico in order to establish an independent government there. Possibly—the record is inconclusive—they also discussed a plan to foment a secessionist movement in the West and, joining it to Mexico, to found an empire on the Napoleonic model. In any event, Wilkinson became alarmed and… Read More
La Reforma
In La Reforma …political and social revolution in Mexico between 1854 and 1876 under the principal leadership of Benito Juárez. Read More
Latin America
In history of Latin America: Conquest of Mexico The leader of the Mexican venture, Hernán (Hernando) Cortés, had some university education and was unusually articulate, but he conformed to the general type of the leader, being senior, wealthy, and powerful in Cuba, and the expedition he organized was also of the usual… Read More
Latin American architecture
In Latin American architecture: Eighteenth-century architecture in Mexico The Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico in Mexico City, begun in the 16th century by Claudio de Arciniega, is Classical in its layout, with extraordinary fragments of an exuberant Baroque decoration applied on the surface. The cathedral’s Altar of the Kings (1718–37), by Jerónimo de Read More
In Latin American architecture: Mexico During the 1930s, when the political and economic reconstruction of Mexico was under way, modern architecture seemed more suitable for the construction of the schools, hospitals, and public housing of the new state than did the previous Neocolonial style. The Institute of Hygiene (1925)… Read More
Latin American dance
In Latin American dance: Dances of national identity (1800–1940) …the cueca chilena, which in Mexico was simply called la chilena, to the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero. The Mexican version, among others, suggested an amorous conquest of the rooster over the hen; the man’s red handkerchief symbolized the cock’s comb. As the dance progressed, the man indicated changes of… Read More
Nicaragua
In Nicaragua: Independence Both accepted union with Mexico (1822–23), but they fought one another until 1826, when Nicaragua took up its role in the United Provinces of Central America. After Nicaragua seceded from the federation in 1838, the rivalry between León, which identified with the Liberal Party, and Granada, the centre of… Read More
oligarchic rule
In history of Latin America: Oligarchies in power The years 1876–1911 in Mexico, meanwhile, marked the iron-fisted rule of Porfirio Díaz, who began his career as a liberal fighting under a banner of election for one term only and ended up as a dictator who customarily manipulated his country’s political structures to ensure that he and his… Read More
Olympic Games of 1968
In Olympic Games: Mexico City, Mexico, 1968 The 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City were the most politically charged Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin. Ten days before the Games were to open, students protesting the Mexican government’s use of funds for the Olympics rather than for social programs were surrounded in the Plaza of Three… Read More
radio broadcasting
In radio: Mexico Mexican radio broadcasting began before regulation and more formal licensing appeared in 1926. By 1930 there were about 30 commercial and 10 government-operated stations, many of the latter being very vocal supporters of the still-young Mexican revolution. The Education Ministry operated its own station… Read More
In Rurales …threatened travel and commerce throughout Mexico. Such a force had been planned four years earlier but could not be established during the War of Reform. In 1869, after the overthrow of the empire of Maximilian, it was reconstituted under the Ministry of the Interior (Ministro de Gobernación) and charged with… Read More
Sinarquism
In Sinarquism …anarquía, “anarchy”), fascist movement in Mexico, based on the Unión Nacional Sinarquista, a political party founded in 1937 at León, Guanajuato state, in opposition to policies established after the Revolution of 1911, especially in opposition to the anticlerical laws. It originated at the instigation of a German professor of languages… Read More
title of emperor
In emperor …archduke Maximilian were emperors of Mexico from 1822 to 1823 and from 1864 to 1867, respectively. The title emperor also is generally and loosely used as the English designation for the sovereigns of Ethiopia and of Japan, for the Mughal rulers of India, for the former sovereigns of China, for… Read More
witchcraft
In witchcraft: The witch hunts In Mexico the Franciscan friars linked indigenous religion and magic with the Devil; prosecutions for witchcraft in Mexico began in the 1530s, and by the 1600s indigenous peasants were reporting stereotypical pacts with the Devil. Like the Spanish colonies, the English colonies repeated the European stereotype… Read More
French intervention
Battle of Puebla
In Battle of Puebla …a French satellite state in Mexico. The battle, which ended in a Mexican victory, is celebrated in the national calendar of Mexican holidays as Cinco de Mayo (5th of May). Read More
French Foreign Legion
In French Foreign Legion: History The French intervention in Mexico (1862–67), although not a success for France, proved the salvation of the legion, once again on the verge of disbandment. It participated in some interesting tactical experiments, such as mounted units, and also staked out what would become its defining legend on April 30,… Read More
Maximilian
In Maximilian …Austria and the emperor of Mexico, a man whose naive liberalism proved unequal to the international intrigues that had put him on the throne and to the brutal struggles within Mexico that led to his execution. Read More
Pastry War
In Pastry War …brief and minor conflict between Mexico and France, arising from the claim of a French pastry cook living in Tacubaya, near Mexico City, that some Mexican army officers had damaged his restaurant. A number of foreign powers had pressed the Mexican government without success to pay for losses that some… Read More
independence movement
In history of Latin America: Mexico and Central America The independence of Mexico, like that of Peru, the other major central area of Spain’s American empire, came late. As was the case in Lima, Mexican cities had a powerful segment of Creoles and peninsular Spaniards whom the old imperial system… Read More
Congress of Chilpancingo
In Congress of Chilpancingo …that declared the independence of Mexico from Spain and drafted a constitution, which received final approval (Oct. 22, 1814) at the Congress of Apatzingán. José María Morelos y Pavón, who called the congress at Chilpancingo, had assumed leadership of the Mexican independence movement after the execution of its initiator, Miguel… Read More
Iguala Plan
In Iguala Plan …plan called for an independent Mexico ruled by a European prince (or by a Mexican—i.e., Iturbide himself—if no European could be found), retention by the Roman Catholic Church and the military of all of their powers, equal rights for creoles and peninsulares (those of Spanish ancestry on both sides, born… Read More
United Provinces of Central America
In United Provinces of Central America …viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico). In 1821 they became independent from Spain, and in 1822 they were joined to the ephemeral empire of Mexico, ruled by Agustín de Iturbide. Following Iturbide’s abdication in March 1823, delegates from the Central American provinces, representing mostly upper-class creoles, assembled at Guatemala City… Read More
international trade
North American Free Trade Agreement
In North American Free Trade Agreement …the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The pact effectively created a free-trade bloc among the three largest countries of North America. NAFTA went into effect in 1994 and remained in force until it was replaced in 2020. Read More
Mexican Revolution
In Mexican Revolution …of the 30-year dictatorship in Mexico and the establishment of a constitutional republic. Read More
In Emiliano Zapata …10, 1919, Morelos) was a Mexican revolutionary, champion of agrarianism, who fought in guerrilla actions during and after the Mexican Revolution (1910–20). Read More
In history of Latin America: The Mexican Revolution …bring genuine political democracy to Mexico. The dictatorship, decaying from within, collapsed, but it was many years before the country settled down, since Madero’s uprising unleashed forces that neither he nor anyone else could control. Miners, urban workers, and peasants saw an opportunity to seek redress of their own grievances,… Read More
Carlota
In Carlota …1864 she accompanied Maximilian to Mexico to accept the Mexican crown offered him by Napoleon III of France. The ambitious Carlota welcomed her authority in Mexico, learned Spanish, and became genuinely interested in Mexican history, art, and culture. When in 1866 Napoleon withdrew his troops in the face of Mexican… Read More
U.S. relations
Alamo
In Alamo …the United States, drove a Mexican force from San Antonio and occupied the Alamo. Some Texan leaders—including Sam Houston, who had been named commanding general of the Texas army the month before—counseled the abandonment of San Antonio as impossible to defend with the small body of troops available, but the… Read More
Bracero Program
In Bracero Program: Background Mexico had been experiencing economic, political, and social problems since the Mexican Revolution (1910–20). As a result, many of the country’s citizens immigrated to the United States. During U.S. involvement in World War I (1914–18), Mexican workers helped support the U.S. economy. However, after the… Read More
California
In California: Agriculture, forestry, and fishing …including the many migrants and Mexican nationals who cross the border in harvest seasons. Long abused, migrant labourers organized in the late 1960s under the leadership of Cesar Chavez and began lengthy strikes that drew nationwide support in the form of consumer boycotts. Thereafter, however, Chavez’s United Farm Workers union… Read More
In California: U.S. colonization and acquisition …settlers known as Californios when Mexico became independent of Spain in 1821. Between 1833 and 1840 the mission ranches were parceled out to political favourites by the Mexican government. The padres withdrew, and the Native Americans were cruelly exploited and diminished. In 1841 the first wagon train of settlers left… Read More
Gadsden Purchase
In Gadsden Purchase …conquest of much of northern Mexico by the United States in 1848. Known in Mexican history as the sale of the Mesilla Valley, it assigned to the United States nearly 30,000 additional square miles (78,000 square km) of northern Mexican territory (La Mesilla), now southern Arizona and southern New Mexico,… Read More
Poinsett
In Joel R. Poinsett …on a special mission to Mexico in 1822 and 1823, publishing an account of his experiences in Notes on Mexico in 1824. In 1825 he became the first U.S. minister to Mexico, a post he held until 1829. Deeply involved in Mexican politics, he finally became persona non grata to… Read More
Texas history
In Texas: Population composition …the mark of Spain and Mexico in their architecture and place-names. With the urbanization of the state in the late 20th century and the decrease in the demand for agricultural workers, large Hispanic populations have converged on the major metropolitan centres that lie farther from the border. Spanish remains the… Read More
In Texas: Annexation and statehood …signed on February 2, 1848, Mexico gave up its claim to Texas and also ceded area now in the U.S. states of New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California, and western Colorado. Texas claimed most of this additional area but later relinquished it in the Compromise of 1850. Read More
Wilson Administration
In Woodrow Wilson: First term as president of Woodrow Wilson Mexico, which was torn by revolution and counterrevolution, proved most vexing of all. First adopting a policy of “watchful waiting” and then seeking to overthrow the military dictatorship of Victoriano Huerta only dragged the United States into interventions by the navy at Veracruz in 1914… Read More
In World War I: Peace moves and U.S. policy to February 1917 …in that same month the Mexican president, Venustiano Carranza, whose country’s relations with the United States had been critical since March, had virtually offered bases on the Mexican coast to the Germans for their submarines. Zimmermann on January 16, 1917, sent a coded telegram to his ambassador in Mexico instructing… Read More
Zimmermann Telegram
In Arthur Zimmermann …of a sensational proposal to Mexico to enter into an alliance against the United States. Read More
