History History

During the last ice age, Homo sapiens crossed Beringia, which connected Siberia and Alaska. The date of arrival of the first human groups on the continent is regularly debated as discoveries are made. In 2007, archaeologists found the oldest human skeleton on the continent, in an underwater cave near Tulum(Hoyo Negro,Sac Actun). Naia is thought to be 12,000 to 13,000 years old. DNA analysis of the bones confirms that the descendants of today's natives did indeed arrive from Asia.

The nomadic tribes dedicated themselves to hunting, fishing and gathering. The discovery of the cultivation of squash, beans, chili peppers and especially corn, will promote the organization of more sedentary societies, the beginnings of Mesoamerican civilizations.

The development of exchanges between sedentary societies gave rise to the first civilization on the continent, that of the Olmecs. It appeared on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, in San Lorenzo (Veracruz) and La Venta (Tabasco), and spread to distant regions: Tlatilco (Mexico City), Chacatzingo (Morelos) and on the Pacific coast. This civilization, with its colossal and enigmatic head sculptures, disappeared five centuries before our era. Its theocratic organization, its rituals and the cult of the jaguar, the construction of sanctuaries, its glyphs and its calendar based on the knowledge of the stars, will greatly influence later civilizations.

Architecture, sculpture, ceramics, or astronomy will evolve with the appearance of regional kingdoms. The ancient city of Monte Albán will be the heart of the Zapotec civilization that will flourish in the Oaxaca Valley. Cuicuilco will become the most important civil and religious center of the Mexican high plateau. In the south, the Maya built big cities (Nakbé, El Mirador...), with imposing pyramids.

Teotihuacán has established itself as the politico-religious centre of the central region. The city prospers thanks to the exploitation of obsidian, a volcanic rock that was used to make weapons and cutting tools. At its peak, Teotihuacan is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with more than 150,000 inhabitants. The Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, the Temple of Quetzalcoatl and the Causeway of the Dead will mark the urban history of Mesoamerica.

The destruction of Teotihuacán and the decline of this civilization corresponds to the period of the Maya apogee (recent classic 600-900 AD).

The Toltec civilization developed around Tula, in the Mexico Valley. These "master builders" constructed buildings with majestic architecture. The Toltecs worshipped the elements in a shamanic way, but Quetzalcoatl, the "Feathered Serpent" remained the central deity. The Toltec civilization will extend from the Mayan south to the Chichimec north. The destruction of Tula in 1168 marked the beginning of its decline.

Guided by Huitzolopotchtli, the god of War and the Sun, the Aztecs (or Mexicas), a Nahua people from the North, founded Mexico-Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco. The city was built around the Templo Mayor, a pyramid dedicated to Huitzolopotchtli and Tlaloc (God of rain). In this lacustrian environment, corn, beans, squash, amaranth, chia...

Tenochtitlan allied with the neighboring cities of Texcoco and Tlacopan, to form the Triple Alliance and conquer large territories, especially under the reign of Moctezuma. The only empire to compete is that of the Tarasques of Michoacán, in the western region. Society was organized into castes, separating the common people (peasants, artisans, merchants) from the nobles and priests, who managed the tasks of governance and religious ceremonies. Human sacrifices were used to appease the wrath of bloodthirsty gods. The subjugated peoples had to provide human lives and a host of tributes (cotton, textiles, quetzal feathers, etc.).

A boatload of Spanish shipwrecked sailors ran aground in the Yucatán peninsula. Two of them are not massacred by the Maya: Gonzalo Guerrero and Gerónimo de Aguilar. The first one will marry an indigenous woman and will fight later against the Spaniards at the sides of the Mayas. The second will escape in 1519 to join the crew of Cortés, becoming his interpreter of the Mayan language.

Francisco Hernández de Córdoba's expedition, which left Cuba, explored the Yucatán peninsula: Isla Mujeres, Punta Catoche, Can Pech... The following year, Juan de Grijalva disembarked in Cozumel, Zamná (Tulum) and in the Bay of the Assumption. He brought back gold and great news: an empire in the highlands would shelter countless treasures...

Hernán Cortés leaves Cuba at the head of five ships. This 33 year old adventurer will transform a mission of exploration into a real enterprise of conquest. At the mouth of the Grijalva River, the Spaniards confronted the Maya-Chontales Indians. Defeated, the latter gave the Spaniards jewels, fabrics, jaguar skins and twenty Nahua women slaves. Cortés chose Malintzin (or Malinche). The young woman who speaks Nahuatl, Maya and soon Spanish, becomes Cortés' interpreter and war advisor. Cortés quickly understands that he can play on the divisions between the indigenous peoples, many of whom would like to get rid of the Aztec hold.

In August, Cortés left the coast for Tenochtitlan. The expedition of 400 infantrymen and 15 cavalrymen had limited armament. But the thunderous noise of the artillery and the trumpets, the metal armor shining under the sun, and the horses (unknown animals in these lands), will terrify the Indians who see a prophecy confirmed: the return of Quetzalcoatl in the guise of a white man with a beard. The conquistadors are welcomed without animosity in Tenochtitlan by the emperor Moctezuma II.

An indigenous revolt that followed the killing of part of the Aztec elite by the Spaniards, forced the latter to flee the Aztec capital in the night, conceding heavy losses.

With the help of the Tlaxcaltecs and Spanish reinforcements, Cortés organized the blockade of Tenochtitlan. Brigantines crisscrossed the lake to prevent any supply to the city. The famine has overcome the Aztec resistance in a few weeks. The rest of the Aztec Empire was crushed in five years.

Cortés founded Mexico City on the site of the Aztec city. Theencomienda system was set up, offering the colonists a servile workforce in exchange for a duty to evangelize. The Indians were converted by force to Catholicism, a new weapon of mass acculturation. A caste system was established: at the top, the "peninsular" Spaniards, then the "creoles" (Spaniards born in America) followed by the mestizos, and finally the natives and African slaves.

The first Franciscan monks arrived from Spain to evangelize the natives.

The Mayans of the Yucatán Peninsula successfully resisted the various attempts to conquer Francisco de Montejo.

New Spain stretches from the south of the present-day United States to the south of Costa Rica. Its capital is Mexico City.

African slaves were brought in by the hundreds of thousands to replace the 25 million natives decimated in less than a century by smallpox and other viruses, brought by Europeans to the continent.

Dutch pirates plundered silver shipments from the port of Veracruz destined for Spain. At the time, New Spain was the world's largest producer of silver.

These nomadic natives of Baja California Sur attacked several religious missions for three years.

Mayan rebellion led by Jacinto Canek in the Yucatán Peninsula. Tortured then executed, Canek is still considered a Mayan hero.

Reforms of the Bourbon king Charles III to develop the colonial economy, in order to increase his tax revenues and contain the growing power of the Creole elites.

Napoleon invades Spain. King Ferdinand VII was deposed and replaced by Joseph Bonaparte. New Spain remained loyal to Ferdinand VII, but some Creoles influenced by American independence (1776) aspired to Mexico's own independence.

The "conspirators of Querétaro" prepared an uprising that began on September 16: the priest Hidalgo rang the bells of the church in the city of Dolores and said: " Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe! Long live Ferdinand VII! Death to the bad government ! ». In his "Cry of Dolores", Hidalgo refers to Ferdinand VII only in order to rally the people to his final cause, independence.

The War of Independence mobilized the Métis and Indian masses against the Royalist troops. Massacres took place on both sides. The main leaders at the origin of the insurrection were overpowered and shot, Hidalgo was even decapitated and his head exposed as an example. The movement continued its struggle in a guerrilla war, led by two emblematic leaders: Guadalupe Victoria and Vicente Guerrero. At the end of a few years, the insurgents were no longer a match for the Spanish army. They also lost the support of the Creole elites, tired of the long civil war.

In December 1820, in what was to be the final battle to annihilate Guerrero's troops in Oaxaca, the Creole general Agustin de Iturbide decided to join the rebel cause, but imposing his own concept of independence, with three principles: independence, the Catholic religion as the only religion in the country, and social equality between Spaniards and Creoles. An independence based partly on the colonial model, with an important weight of the Church, but without Spain. The "Iguala plan" was accepted by the rebels. From there, the Army of the Three Guarantees (for the three principles) led by Iturbe was born

After impressive displays of force by the Army of the Three Guarantees, the Viceroy of New Spain, Juan O'Donojú, submitted to the withdrawal of Spanish troops in September. Mexican independence was proclaimed on September 27 and a junta led by Iturbe was created to rule the country.

In May 1822, the Congress appointed Agustin de Iturbide to head the Mexican Empire. But Emperor Agustin I had to abdicate a few months later in the face of an army revolt.

First Constitution of Mexico, which becomes a Federal Republic.

With the Constitution of 1835, the federated states became simple departments. Faced with centralism, Texas, 85% of whose population was American settlers, declared its independence.

In the 1830s, many foreign businesses were looted. The attack on a French pastry shop in 1832 provoked an unexpected conflict between France and Mexico, called " Guerra de los Pasteles ". To force Mexico to compensate its national, the French navy blocked the port of Veracruz for 11 months with some fighting.

Yucatán gained independence with the support of the United States on two occasions.

The annexation of Texas by the United States in 1845 triggered the Mexican-American War, lost by Mexico, which ceded half of its territory under the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty of 1848.

The constitution of 1857 and the liberal reforms provoked the revolt of the conservatives supported by the Church. After the liberal victory, President Benito Juárez nationalized the property of the clergy.

Napoleon III invaded Mexico and established the Second Mexican Empire in 1864. The aim was to establish a political counterweight on the continent to the liberal and Protestant North American imperialism. Maximilian of Habsburg was proclaimed emperor, but the republican forces of Benito Juárez resisted. Pressure from the United States caused the French troops to flee, and the empire fell soon after. Maximilian is shot.

Benito Juárez was re-elected president of the Republic in 1868, and then in 1871 until his death in 1872, mandates during which he consolidated the public and secular education system. His story is well known to the Mexican people: as a young orphan and native Zapotec Indian, he left the countryside at the age of 12 for the city of Oaxaca, where his sister worked as a maid for the Spanish Maza family. Not knowing how to speak Spanish, he first worked as a servant and bookbinder's apprentice for Antonio Salanueva, who, impressed by his talent and intelligence, helped him enter the seminary. However, since he had no vocation for religion, he voluntarily abandoned theology for law and became a lawyer specializing in the defense of the indigenous people. In 1847 he became governor of the state of Oaxaca and later Minister of Justice, and it was during this term that he conceived the first great reform of the country, the Juárez Law

General Porfirio Díaz took power in 1876 through a coup d'état. He remained in power for 35 years. After decades of instability, Mexicans aspired to the "peace, order and progress" motto of the Porfirio regime, a centralized and quasi-patriarchal power. The country was modernizing, but the agrarian policy was at the expense of the small peasants who were dispossessed of their land. More than 12 million of them went to work in a few hundredhaciendas, as agricultural workers in conditions of quasi-servitude. Revolts and strikes are repressed in blood.

The liberal Francisco Madero drew up the San Luis Potosi Plan, a manifesto that calls for land redistribution and an uprising against the porfirist dictatorship.

The revolution breaks out. It will make two million deaths in ten years. Revolutionary leaders appear, like the former bandit Francisco "Pancho" Villa, who takes Ciudad Juárez. The movement spreads. Porfirio Díaz resigned and went into exile in Paris. Madero, elected president, demobilized the revolutionary forces. But the promised redistribution of land is slow in coming. Emiliano Zapata, revolutionary leader of the state of Morelos, launched the "Plan de Ayala" which demanded the immediate restitution of land to the dispossessed peasants.

During an attack on the Presidential Palace, General Victoriano Huerta, who was supposed to protect President Madero, had him arrested and then shot. He did the same with the vice-president, Pino Suárez, and proclaimed himself president.

The revolution is back on track. Huerta's troops were overwhelmed by attacks from Pancho Villa, Álvaro Obregón, Venustiano Carranza and Emiliano Zapata. But divisions appear between the revolutionaries who end up fighting each other in bloody battles.

Pancho Villa attacked the city of Columbus (United States) in revenge for the support of the North Americans to the troops of Carranza and Obregón. This was the last military attack that the United States experienced within its continental borders.

Carranza had a new constitution adopted that established a federal, secular and anticlerical state, and announced agrarian and social reforms. Carranza was elected president in May.

Emiliano Zapata is assassinated on the orders of President Carranza.

President Carranza was assassinated by the men of General Herrera, who was close to Obregón.

President Obregón proceeds with the long-awaited land redistribution.

Pancho Villa is murdered when he had officially renounced the armed struggle.

President Plutarco Calles, who succeeds Obregón, is pursuing social and anticlerical reforms.

The anti-clerical reforms triggered the revolt of the Catholic Church. A civil war broke out between the " Cristeros" and the State. In three years, 240,000 people died, including 150,000 civilians. A peace agreement was reached in 1929 thanks to the mediation of the United States.

Just re-elected, Obregón is murdered by a Catholic activist.

Founding of the National Revolutionary Party, which in 1946 became the Institutional Revolutionary Party. The PRI will dominate Mexican political life for seven decades.

Under Lázaro Cárdenas' mandate, living conditions are improving, especially health and education. Relations with the Church are calmer and the country is modernising.

A political exile in Mexico since 1936, Trotsky was assassinated on Stalin's orders by a Spanish communist who had infiltrated his closest circle.

After the torpedoing of two Mexican oil tankers by German submarines, Mexico entered the war on the side of the Allies. Its air force intervened during the Pacific War.

Economic growth and living standards are increasing, but the PRI remains reluctant to open up politically. Clientelism and corruption maintain their grip on Mexican society.

Massacre of hundreds of students who were demonstrating in the Plaza de los Tres Culturas. Ten days later, the Olympic Games in Mexico City opened.

A new bloodbath: 120 student demonstrators are massacred by a paramilitary group, in front of passive anti-riot forces.

Mexico City is shaken by a violent earthquake of magnitude 8.2 on the Richter scale. Enormous damage, more than 10,000 dead and 50,000 injured.

16 years after the 1970 Mexico World Cup, where Pele's Brazil won, Argentina won the Copa this time. Maradona's "Hand of God" in the quarter-final against England will go down in history!

Neoliberal and clientelist policy of President Carlos Salinas, with massive privatizations. The most left-wing members of the PRI founded the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) in 1989. But the use of electoral fraud and political assassinations (notably the presidential candidate Luis Colosio in 1994) kept the PRI in power.

The free trade agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico comes into effect on January¹. On the same day, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) rises up in Chiapas to denounce the living conditions of the indigenous people and the neoliberal policies of the PRI. Subcomandante Marcos' guerrilla movement became a symbol of the anti-globalization struggle. A low-intensity war continued in the following years, notably with the Acteal Massacre in 1997, when 45 Indians were murdered by paramilitary groups in the pay of the government.

The PRI lost its absolute majority in the Assembly. Cuauhtémoc Cardenas (PRD) won the mayoralty of Mexico City.

Vicente Fox of the right-wing National Action Party (PAN) was elected president. First presidential election lost by the PRI in 70 years.

Zapatista march from Chiapas to the Congress of Mexico City.

Felipe Calderón (PAN) won the presidency with 0.7% more votes than Andrés Manuel López Obrador (PRD). Mexico City was paralyzed for 48 days until the votes were recounted. Calderón declared war on organized crime. The army was sent into the streets and considerable means were used against the drug lords. But the situation worsens, institutions and security forces being deeply infiltrated.

During the presidential term of Enrique Peña Nieto (PRI), the country in the hands of the cartels became increasingly violent and corruption exploded.

The world's most wanted person by the FBI and Interpol, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán, head of the Sinaloa cartel, is arrested in February.

In Iguala (Guerrero), the police and army forces caused the disappearance of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' Training School, who were traveling by bus, by a cartel. The official version is rejected by independent investigations which conclude that the police and the government are directly involved in this political-mafia affair which symbolizes impunity and collusion between institutions and organized crime.

Already author of a rocky escape in 2001, "El Chapo" escaped through a tunnel from his cell! Recaptured in January 2016, Guzmán was extradited to the United States where he was sentenced and imprisoned for life.

Two earthquakes measuring 8.2 and 7.1 on the Richter scale killed hundreds in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Morelos and Puebla.

The former mayor of Mexico City (2000-2005), Andrés Manuel López Obrador, candidate of a coalition of left-wing parties (including Morena, which he created), won the presidential elections with a record 53% of the vote. The coalition also won a large majority in Congress and in local elections.

AMLO is taking radical austerity measures in public life, the funds of which are destined to finance social programs, a significant increase in the minimum wage, the fight against corruption... His approach in the fight against organized crime is not as successful as expected, violence remains stronger than ever.

First recorded case of covid-19 in Mexico.

22 million Mexican women are taking to the streets, offices and shops in a "general women's strike" to denounce violence and the government's inaction in the face of a record wave of feminicide.

The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUMA), which replaces NAFTA, comes into force.

The Mexican government bans GMO corn and glyphosate progressively until 2024.

Criticism in Mexico and the United States after former defense minister Salvador Cienfuegos was dropped from the case against him on drug trafficking charges by Washington.

Mexico becomes the^3rd most bereaved country in the world following the Covid-19 pandemic, behind Brazil and the United States. AMLO's contamination is fueling criticism of his permissive handling of the pandemic.

Mexico officially nationalizes its lithium industry. Its exploration, exploitation and use are now the exclusive right of the State.

According to the NGO Global Witness, Mexico was the deadliest country for environmentalists in 2021.

Hurricane Otis hits the Acapulco region, causing extensive damage and dozens of casualties.

The first section of the controversial Tren Maya is inaugurated. It links Cancún and Campeche.

Claudia Sheinbaum becomes the first woman president in Mexico's history.