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After the fall of the Aztec Empire, Spain called their new lands the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and ruled over Mexico for the next three hundred years. -
The Mixtón War (1540-1542) was a rebellion by the Caxcan people of northwestern Mexico against the Spanish conquerors -
The population of New Spain was divided into four main groups. The group a person belonged to was determined by racial background and birthplace. Created by elites, this hierarchical system of race classification was based on the principle that people varied due to their birth, color, race and origin of ethnic types. The system of castas was more than socio-racial classification.The "whiter" you were more opportunities you had. But if you black features, you had less. -
From an economic point of view, New Spain was administered principally for the benefit of the Empire and its military and defensive efforts. Mexico provided more than half of the Empire taxes and supported the administration of all North and Central America.
Education was encouraged by the Crown from the very beginning, and Mexico boasts the first primary school (Texcoco, 1523), first university, the University of Mexico (1551) and the first printing press (1524) of the Americas. -
The Chichimecas fought a long war with the Spanish from 1550-1590, but eventually made peace once Spain offered them various tributes. Descendants of the Chichimeca can be found today throughout Mexico.
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Born August 15, 1769 and died May 5, 1821. -
Born september 27, 1783 and died July 19, 1824 -
After the French Revolution (1789-94),Military officer Napoleon Bonaparte emerged as the nation’s ruler in 1799 after a coup d’état. Within a few years, he embarked on a mission to conquer all of Europe for France, a goal opposed most strongly by England. -
So, in November 1807, a French army marched through Spain and occupied the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. Napoleon then turned his attention on Spain, previously an ally of France. In February 1808, French troops invaded the country and soon occupied Madrid. In May, Napoleon installed his brother Joseph as King of Spain. -
Although Napoleon was able to quickly depose King Carlos IV of Spain in early 1808, there was strong Spanish resistance to being occupied by France. A revolt commenced, and Napoleon’s forces under General Dupont were handed one of their first military defeats in July 1808. The British quickly arrived in both Portugal and Spain to fight the French, Napoleon responded by sending large armies to try to crush the “rebellion” in Spain and defeat Eng, resulting in a historic named Duke of Wellington.
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a Creole priest named Miguel Hidalgo issued the "Cry of Dolores" from his pulpit, calling on the people to revolt against the Spaniards. He then led a poorly organized army to Mexico City, but retreated at the last minute, leading to defeat. -
On September 16, 1810, a priest named Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla issued a call for independence. This date is today memorialized as Mexico's Independence Day, when the Mexican War of Independence began. -
Spain and England won the Peninsular War in 1814, and Napoleon was defeated in 1815. Free of the Napoleonic Wars, Spain could focus on its colonies. However, the return of the monarch and his strict policies upset many of the loyalists in the viceroyalties, as well as liberals within Spain. In March 1820, a revolt against Fernando VII forced him to accept the reinstatement of the Cadiz Constitution of 1812, which granted additional rights and privileges to those in the Spanish colonies.
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drafted on February 24, 1821, proclaimed Mexico's independence from Spain, social and political equality for all inhabitants of Mexico regardless of birthplace, and Roman Catholicism as the official religion. -
The Treaty of Córdoba established Mexican independence from Spain at the conclusion of the Mexican War of Independence. It was signed on August 24, 1821 in Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico.