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Jan 7, 1519
Cortes conquered the Aztecs
The rich fabric of native life in Mexico was torn apart by the spanish conquest. In 1519 Hernando Cortes landed on the coast of Mexico. Cortes and his men marched into the interior of the country until they reached the Axtec city of Tenochtitlan -
Revolt in Brazil
After Conservative Julio Prestes was elected President, a revolt broke out in the Southern provinces of Brazil. The revolt was led by Getulio Vargas, the governor of Rio Grande do sol. Vargas became President. -
Miguel Hidalgo’s Grito de Dolores
The Grito de Dolores ("Cry of Dolores") also known as El Grito de la Independencia ("Cry of Independence"), uttered from the small town of Dolores, near Guanajuato on September 16, 1810 is the event that marks the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence -
Napoleon's defeat
After Napoleon's defeat in 1815, many people in brazil demanded independence from portugal. However the Portuguese goverment wanted Brazil to remain a colony. But the Brazilians kept pushing for independence. In september of 1822 Dom Pedro declared Brazil's independence from Portugal -
Mexico Achieved independence from Spain
Mexico achieved independence from spain under Agustin de Iturbide, who proclaimed himself emperor in 1822. -
United Provinces of Central America
By the late 1830's , the United Provinces had split into separate nations. These became El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala,and Honduras. Later Panama broke off from Colombia and became an Independent country in Central America. -
Benito Juarez
Benito juarez led a reform movement and became president of Mexico. H e worked for separation of church and state, better education opportunities and distribution of the land. -
War of the Triple Alliance
The most devastating war ever fought in South America, the War of the Triple Alliance pitted Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil against Paraguay. When Uruguay was attacked by Brazil and Argentina in late 1864, Paraguay came to its aid and attacked Brazil -
The War of the Pacific
In 1879, Chile and Bolivia went to war after spending decades bickering over a border dispute. Peru, which had a military alliance with Bolivia, was drawn into the war as well. After a series of major battles the Chileans were victorious. -
Peron Becomes Dictator of Argentina
Colonel Juan Peron was elected President of Argentina. His supporters won absolute control of both houses of the legislature. In 1948, he was granted unlimited power, thereby transforming him into an absolute dictat -
Panama Independent From Columbia
A revolution led by Philippe Jean Bunau-Varilla, declared Panama independent from Columbia. U.S. naval forces prevented the Colombians from suppressing the revolt. On November 17th, the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty was signed between Panama and the U.S. giving the Americans exclusive rights over the Canal Zone. -
Intitutional Revolutionary Party
A new political party arose in mexico. This was the Intitutional Revolutionary Party. It helped to introduce democracy and maintain political stability for much of the 2oth century. -
Peru and Columbian War
Peruvians seized the Amazon border town of Leticia. This action sparked a two-year war that ended when the League of Nations restored the area to Columbian control in 1933. -
Asasination of Augusto Cesar Sandino
Sandino was assassinated by General Anastasio Somoza García, who went on to seize power in a coup d'état two years later, establishing a family dynasty that would rule Nicaragua for over forty years. -
Civil war in Costa Rica
After incumbent President Teodora Picado attempted to annul the election won by Otilio Ulate, a civil war broke out. The forces of Jose Figueras, which opposed Ulate, were victorious. -
Organization of American States created
The Pan American conference held in Bogota established the OAS as the United Nations regional grouping for North and South America. -
Rafael Trujillo Asssasinated
Rafael Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic, was assassinated by members of the Dominican armed forces. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
On October 15th, US intelligence brought the President conclusive proof that the Soviets were installing medium-range ballistic missiles in Cuba. -
'' Che'' Guevara Killed
Ernesto "Che" Guevara was killed by Bolivian troops hunting down Bolivian rebels. Guevera, who was Argentinean by birth, was a close aide to Fidel Castro, and was responsible for exporting the revolution to countries in South America. -
Civil War in El Salvador
El Salvador's civil war was a conflict in El Salvador between the military-led government of El Salvador and the (FMLN), a coalition or umbrella organization of five left-wing militias. Significant tensions and violence had already existed, before the civil war's full outbreak, over the course of the 1970s.
