Mexico
Go Back In Time
Travel through our timeline of events that have made Mexico what it is today.
1200-400 B.C.:
The Olmec civilization thrives on Mexico's Gulf Coast. Its people are known for their colossal stone head sculptures, built to honor their gods, kings and warriors.
 |  |
200-800 A.D.:
Without metal tools or wheels, the Mayan civilization builds vast stone cities and temple pyramids in southern Mexico and Central America. The Maya invent a counting system, calendar and a script for writing.
950-1200 A.D.:
Warrior people known as the Toltecs dominate central Mexico. Their empire of skilled builders, weavers and metalworkers is later conquered by the Aztecs.
Around 1325:
The Aztecs, the last of the great ancient cultures, construct their capital city on an island in the middle of a lake. Named Tenochtitlán, it becomes the site of present-day Mexico City.
1517:
Spanish explorer Hernández de Córdova travels along the coast of the Yucatán peninsula, observing signs of Mayan settlements. Stories about Mexico's wealth of gold, silver and jewels spread among the Spanish.
|  |
1519-1521:
Spanish military leader Hernando Cortés and his conquistadores arrive and conquer Mexico. The city of Tenochtitlán is destroyed and Mexico becomes part of the Spanish Empire.
1810-1821:
Inspired by America's Declaration of Independence (1776) and the French Revolution (1789), Mexicans fight for their independence after three centuries of Spanish rule. Their rebellion ends in victory in 1821.
|  |
1836:
The Mexican territory of Texas declares its independence from Mexico. Texas is eventually annexed, or added, to the United States.
1846:
In a dispute over land, war erupts between Mexico and the U.S.
1848:
The U.S. wins the Mexican-American War and takes Mexico's northern territories, which now form Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona.
|  |
1862:
With dreams of building a new empire, Napoleon III of France sends his army into Mexico. On May 5, Mexicans defeat the French invaders at the Battle of Puebla. The Cinco de Mayo holiday honors this historic event.
1876:
The dictatorship of General Porfirio Díaz begins. Under his rule, railroads, new roads and telephone wires are constructed, but the plight of poor and landless peasants grows even more hopeless.
|  |
1910:
A civil war known as the Mexican Revolution begins when citizens rebel against their oppressive government. The revolution leads to a new constitution in 1917, which establishes basic rights of workers and distributes land to peasants.
1920:
Álvaro Obregón becomes President and restores peace. He gives away 3 million acres of land to poor farmers and builds more than a thousand schools through his reform program.
1929:
Mexico's first official political party, the National Revolutionary Party, is formed. Decades later it changes its name to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
1938:
President Lázaro Cárdenas and his government seize control of British and American oil companies in Mexico and form the Mexican Petroleum Company. It forms the basis for Mexico's modern economy.
|  |
1968:
The first Olympic Games ever held in a Latin American country open in Mexico City.
1985:
An earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter Scale strikes Mexico City. Nearly 10,000 are killed, and 50,000 more are injured.
1994:
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Mexico, Canada and the United States takes effect. It allows the three nations to trade goods without paying taxes and helps improve Mexico's economy.
|  |
2000:
Vicente Fox begins a six-year term as President of Mexico. The election of Fox, a member of the National Action Party, marks the end of 71 uninterrupted years of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).