Eleven years of war for independence, an empire and then a republic, the loss of more than half the territory to the USA, the Reform that took on the wealth of the Church, and the French. This room gathers what our 32 state histories hold for the era, 114 dated events and 50 places.
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13 Sep 1810The Querétaro conspiracy, which met at the home of Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, is betrayed; she gets a warning through to the conspirators, and the rising is brought forward. 18
16 Sep 1810Miguel Hidalgo, parish priest of Dolores, calls his parishioners to rise: the War of Independence begins. 12
28 Sep 1810Hidalgo's army takes the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, the granary of Guanajuato where the city's Spaniards had shut themselves in. 2
6 Dec 1810Hidalgo issues a decree abolishing slavery. 3
30 Jul 1811Captured at the Wells of Baján in March, Hidalgo is shot by a firing squad. José María Morelos carries the war on in the south. 32
1813Leona Vicario, who funds the insurgents from her own fortune and sends them news from Mexico City, is found out, held and questioned; she names no one, and insurgents rescue her. She writes for the insurgent newspapers, one of Mexico's first women journalists. 4
6 Nov 1813The Congress of Chilpancingo, called by Morelos, declares independence; Morelos's Sentiments of the Nation set out its programme. 5
22 Dec 1815Morelos, captured in November, is shot at San Cristóbal Ecatepec. The rising narrows to guerrilla bands in the south, Vicente Guerrero's among them. 56
24 Feb 1821Agustín de Iturbide, a royalist officer, joins Guerrero under the Plan of Iguala. The Army of the Three Guarantees enters Mexico City on 27 September, and the Act of Independence is signed the next day. 26
21 Jul 1822Iturbide, proclaimed emperor in May by a Congress under pressure from his troops, is crowned Agustín I. He abdicates on 19 March 1823, and Central America leaves on 1 July. 7
4 Oct 1824The Constitution makes Mexico a federal republic, with 19 states. 8
Sep 1829President Vicente Guerrero abolishes slavery (an exemption is then made for Texas); the same year, a Spanish attempt to reconquer Mexico is beaten at Tampico. 69
2 Mar to 21 Apr 1836Texas declares independence; the Mexican army takes the Alamo on 6 March and is beaten at San Jacinto on 21 April. Mexico refuses to recognise the Republic of Texas. 9
13 May 1846The USA, which annexed Texas on 29 December 1845, declares war after a clash on 25 April; its army takes Mexico City in September 1847. 10
30 Jul 1847Maya rebels attack Tepich and the Caste War of Yucatán begins; it costs an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 lives. 12
2 Feb 1848The war ends with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: Mexico loses more than half its territory, Texas included, and the USA pays US$15 million. 10
30 Dec 1853Santa Anna sells La Mesilla, 76,800 km² south of the Gila by the published count, to the USA for US$10 million: the Gadsden Purchase. 11
1854 to 1856The liberal revolt of the Plan of Ayutla brings down Santa Anna. The Juárez Law (23 November 1855) curbs the special courts of the clergy and the army; the Lerdo Law (June 1856) forces corporations, the Church and the Indigenous communities among them, to sell their land. 13
5 Feb 1857A liberal constitution is promulgated. The conservatives answer with the Plan of Tacubaya on 17 December, and the Reform War begins. 13
12 Jul 1859The liberal government, at war, nationalises the property of the Church. 13
11 Jan 1861Benito Juárez enters Mexico City: the liberals have won the Reform War. 13
5 May 1862After Juárez suspends payments on the foreign debt (July 1861), Britain, Spain and France land troops under the Convention of London; Britain and Spain withdraw, France marches inland, and the Mexican army beats it at Puebla. 14
10 Jun 1863The French occupy Mexico City; Maximilian of Habsburg accepts the crown and lands at Veracruz in the summer of 1864. 14
19 Jun 1867With the French gone, Maximilian is shot with generals Miramón and Mejía on the Cerro de las Campanas, outside Querétaro; Juárez re-enters the capital on 15 July. 1415
18 Jul 1872Juárez, a Zapotec from San Pablo Guelatao and president since 1858, dies in office. 15
1876Porfirio Díaz rises under the Plan of Tuxtepec (January) and enters Mexico City on 29 November: the next era begins. 17
The story
What happened, and what is still argued
The Mexico of 1821, cut into piecesShare of the Mexico of 1821 (4,430,000 km², without Central America), measured on the outlines of the territory room
Mexico today44.2%1,958,000 km²
Texas, to the Rio Grande: broke away in 1836, annexed by the USA in 1845, given up in 184822.4%993,000 km²
Ceded in 1848: Alta California, New Mexico and the lands between31.2%1,382,000 km²
The war that began at Dolores in 1810, brought forward when Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez warned the Querétaro conspirators, was first a mass rising led by two priests, Hidalgo and then Morelos, who also abolished slavery and called for an end to the castes. Both were shot. Leona Vicario paid for the insurgents, carried their letters and wrote their newspapers.
Two of its leaders may have had African forebears: Morelos's father's line included Africans, though his baptism called him a Spaniard, and some historians suggest African heritage for Vicente Guerrero, whose origins are debated.
By 1816 the rising was reduced to guerrillas such as Vicente Guerrero's. Independence came in 1821, when a royalist officer, Agustín de Iturbide, changed sides and joined Guerrero under the Plan of Iguala.
Proclaimed emperor in May 1822 by a Congress under pressure from his troops, Iturbide lasted ten months; Central America, which had joined the empire, left in 1823. The Constitution of 1824 made Mexico a federal republic of 19 states.
Guerrero, president in 1829, abolished slavery that September (an exemption was then made for Texas), and the republic beat back a Spanish attempt at reconquest at Tampico. Coups and short presidencies followed for decades.
Texas broke away in 1836 and Mexico never recognised it. The USA annexed it in 1845 and went to war in 1846; its army took Mexico City in September 1847.
By the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in 1848, Mexico gave up more than half of its territory, Texas included, for US$15 million. In 1853 Santa Anna sold La Mesilla for US$10 million more. The chart above sets the pieces against the Mexico of 1821; the territory room draws them on the map.
In July 1847, while the USA army marched on the capital, Maya rebels in Yucatán attacked Tepich. The Caste War cost an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 lives. From 1850 the rebels of the southeast followed the Talking Cross, and their country held out into the next era.
The liberals who brought down Santa Anna in 1854 set out to end the old corporate order. The Juárez Law curbed the special courts of the clergy and the army; the Lerdo Law forced the Church and the Indigenous communities to sell their lands, which later fed the great estates. The Constitution of 1857 followed.
The conservatives rose, and the Reform War ran from December 1857 to January 1861. In July 1859, in the middle of it, the liberal government nationalised the property of the Church.
When Juárez suspended payments on the foreign debt in 1861, Britain, Spain and France landed troops; the other two withdrew, and France invaded. Mexico won at Puebla on 5 May 1862, but the French took the capital in 1863 and set Maximilian of Habsburg on a throne. When the French troops left, the empire fell: Maximilian was shot at Querétaro in June 1867.
Juárez, a Zapotec from the Oaxaca sierra, governed until his death in 1872. Four years later Porfirio Díaz took power by force.
All 114 dated events of the era in our 32 state histories
Where and when did it happen?One dot per dated event, one row per state, coloured by corridor; hover a dot to read it
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The Texas-Facing NorthThe Pacific BorderThe Bajío and Center-NorthThe CenterThe WestThe Gulf and the IsthmusThe PeninsulaThe Deep South: Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas
The full list, oldest first. Each state name opens its history, where the event carries its source.
See all 114 events
1810JaliscoIn Guadalajara, Hidalgo decrees the abolition of slavery on 29 Nov and 6 Dec.
1810NayaritJosé María Mercado takes Tepic in Nov and San Blas in Dec for the insurgency.
1810QuerétaroThe Querétaro conspiracy is discovered and the rising for Independence is brought forward.
1810-11SinaloaInsurgents under González Hermosillo attack El Rosario and are beaten at San Ignacio de Piaxtla.
1810State of MexicoInsurgents win at Monte de las Cruces on 30 Oct.
1810ZacatecasNews of Hidalgo's rising reaches Zacatecas on 21 Sep.
1810GuanajuatoHidalgo calls the parish of Dolores to arms on 16 Sep, starting the War of Independence.
1810GuanajuatoInsurgents storm the Alhóndiga de Granaditas on 28 Sep.
1811AguascalientesAt the Hacienda de San Blas in Pabellón, Hidalgo is stripped of military command after Puente de Calderón.
1811ChihuahuaMiguel Hidalgo is executed in Chihuahua City on 30 Jul.
1811CoahuilaAt Agua Nueva on 7 Jan, Coahuila's royalist troops go over to the insurgents.
1811CoahuilaHidalgo, Allende and other leaders are captured at Acatita de Baján and taken to Monclova.
1811JaliscoRoyalists defeat the insurgents at Puente de Calderón on 17 Jan.
1811PueblaJosé Francisco Osorno leads the insurgency in the Sierra Norte.
1812HidalgoOn 16 Sep the insurgents at Huichapan hold the first commemoration of the Grito de Dolores.
1812MorelosMorelos holds Cuautla against Calleja from 19 Feb to 2 May.
1812OaxacaMorelos takes the city of Oaxaca on 25 Nov 1812.
1813GuerreroMorelos installs the Congress of Anáhuac in Chilpancingo.
1814MichoacánThe insurgent congress swears the Constitution of Apatzingán on 22 Oct.
1817TamaulipasFrancisco Xavier Mina lands at Soto la Marina on 15 Apr to fight for independence.
1821ChiapasComitán declares independence from Spain under friar Matías de Córdova.
1821GuerreroIturbide and Guerrero sign the Plan de Iguala on 24 Feb 1821.
1821Mexico CityThe Army of the Three Guarantees enters the city on 27 Sep.
1821San Luis PotosíThe city surrenders to the Army of the Three Guarantees and proclaims independence.
1821TabascoIndependence is proclaimed in Villahermosa on 7 Sep.
1823GuanajuatoGuanajuato is erected as a state on 20 Dec.
The toll of the War of Independence: 250,000 to 600,000 dead, by the range Wikipedia gives. 2
Where Hidalgo was shot: the article's summary gives Chihuahua, while its text places his trial in Durango; our state history of Chihuahua follows the summary. 3
The Sentiments of the Nation: 1813 is agreed, but the article's day, 31 September, does not exist. 5
Guerrero's abolition of slavery: 15 or 16 September 1829; the article gives both. 6
African descent among the insurgents: Morelos's baptism listed him as a Spaniard, though his father's line included Africans; Guerrero's origins are debated, and some historians suggest African heritage. 56
How much was lost: Wikipedia says more than half; on the outlines of our territory room it is 53.6% of the Mexico of 1821 by 1848, Texas included, and about 56% counting La Mesilla. 10
Texas's size: the chart uses the Texan claim to the Rio Grande, which the USA took up; Mexico held that Texas ended at the Nueces, and the land between the two rivers is where the war began. 910
La Mesilla's size: 76,800 km² by the Gadsden Purchase article; 94,000 km² on our outlines, which draw the 1848 and 1853 lines differently (the territory room explains the two lines). 11
La Mesilla: signed 30 December 1853 (a first draft on 31 December); in force 8 June or 30 June 1854, the article gives both. 11
