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This era of Mexican
politics shows the country battling to establish itself
as a new world power. It owes debts to many European
countries, has to contend with its neighbour the United
States of America and desperately needs to reform its
internal politics. The key players of this epoch will be General
Santa Anna, Benito Juárez
and Emperor
Maximilian.
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19th May, 1822 - Iturbide
proclaims himself emperor of Mexico
Having won independence for Mexico,
Agustín
de Iturbide decides to
become its emperor. However, his excessive spending turns his
generals against him.
December, 1822 - Santa
Anna rebels against the empire
The governor of Veracruz, Antonio
López de Santa Anna Pérez de Lebrón, pronounces the
city against the empire and for the republic. He prepares his
forces for an attack from Iturbide which never comes. However,
the other generals join Santa Anna's side.
February, 1823 - Iturbide's
empire collapses
Virtually all of Mexico's military and political leaders
sign the Casa Mata Plan which calls for an end to
Iturbide's regime. He leaves office in exile and is executed
on the 19th of July, 1824. Guadalupe
Victoria (Manuel Felix Fernández) is appointed in his
place and serves out his full term of office, abolishing
slavery and securing Mexico's financial position with British
loans.
1st April, 1829 - Guerrero
becomes president
Victoria's anti-slavery policy causes Vicente
Guerrero problems in Texas when he is elected
president. He issues the Guerrero Decree on the 15th
of September, making the policy law. However, the move is
resented by the Anglo colonists of Texas who request an
exemption, which is duly granted. Wealthy Mexicans consider
this to be confiscation of property, so Santa Anna and Anastasio
Bustamante organise a revolt against Guerrero.
1st January, 1830 - Bustamante
becomes president
Bustamante takes power as a military dictator. His Decree
of 1830 is largely credited for the moves in Texas towards
independence. There is an outcry when he has Guerrero executed
on 14th February, 1831 and a military revolt follows. Santa
Anna is one of the first to pronounce against Bustamante and
he is removed from office.
1833 - Santa Anna becomes
president
Santa Anna is democratically elected to the presidency but
delegates the business of government to his liberal vice-president
Valentín
Gómez Farías. Gómez Farías promptly sets about
promoting freedom of the press, ending church and army privileges, expanding public education and raising living
standards for indigenous people. His moves are so unpopular
with the church and the army that he is ousted by Santa Anna,
who dissolves congress and repeals all of his liberal
legislation. Santa Anna's subsequent dictatorship promotes
the power of the church, wealthy landowners and the military,
leading to various revolts from liberal politicians.
2nd March, 1836 - Texas declares
independence
Texan delegates meet in the town of Washington, Texas to
vote on a Declaration
of Independence. Four days later, Santa Anna's forces
storm the fortress of the Alamo,
killing all of its defenders.
21st April - The
Battle of San Jacinto
The Texans win the Battle of San Jacinto, killing 700
Mexicans and taking a further 730 prisoner, including Santa
Anna. In exchange for freedom, he promises to recognise Texan
independence. However, on returning to Mexico, he repudiates
the treaty.
1st December, 1838 -The
Pastry War
The French briefly lay siege to the port of Veracruz,
demanding 600,000 pesos compensation to French citizens who
lost property in the war of independence. One of these is a
French baker who claims his cakes as losses, hence the title "Pastry
War". When the French begin to fire on the island
fortress of San Juan de Ulua, Santa Anna rushes to the rescue.
The French retreat, but Santa Anna receives a cannonball shot
which shatters his leg, making him a martyred hero for his
country. British mediation resolves the conflict the
following spring. France agrees to lift the blockade in
exchange for Mexico paying off the demanded amount over a
period of years.
1st March, 1845 - The U.S.A.
resolves to annexe Texas
Congress votes to annexe
Texas and James
Polk, the American president, signs Texas into the Union
on the 1st of December. A period of unrest begins on both
sides of the border.
25th April, 1846 - The Mexican-American
War begins
Believing that General
Zachary Taylor has stationed his soldiers on Mexican soil,
Mexican troops cross the Río Grande and attack his troops,
killing 16 men. Polk declares that "American blood has
been shed on American soil" and Congress declares war on
the 13th of May. Taylor invades Mexico and takes Monterrey in
September. He disregards Polk's orders to stay on the
defensive and goes on to defeat Santa Anna at Buena Vista in
February of the following year. Santa Anna retreats and the
war is over in the northern territories.
10th March, 1847 - U.S. troops
besiege Veracruz
General
Winfield Scott lays siege to the city of Veracruz, which
capitulates on the 29th of March. His forces then advance on
Mexico City but encounter an ambush at Cerro Gordo
from Santa Anna on the 18th of April. They fight their way
through and go on to take Jalapa. Scott is now forced to wait
for fresh troops, as the majority are 12-month volunteers. General
Worth takes Puebla in the meantime and Scott moves his
troops here in May. He is forced to wait out the summer
before advancing further.
August - Scott advances on the
capital
Scott leaves Puebla when he has the necessary manpower.
His forces overpower those of Santa Anna at Churubusco on the
20th of August. Scott proposes a truce to Santa Anna, who
only accepts in order to buy time. When the talks break down,
Scott advances again. He wins the Battle of Molino del Rey on
the 8th of September and five days later storms the fortress
at Chapultepec overlooking the city of Mexico. After the
Mexican forces withdraw, the U.S. Marines raise the American
flag over the National Palace. However, they still have to
wait several months for peace.
2nd February, 1848 - Peace
Treaty signed with the U.S.
The Mexicans agree to peace with the Americans at
Guadalupe, Hidalgo. The cost is high, as they lose most of
California, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. They also agree to
recognise the Río Grande as the natural border between Texas and Mexico. In return, the Americans pay $15 million
for the land and take over claims by American citizens
against the Mexican government for seizure of property.
14th
November, 1854 - Álvarez becomes President
General Juan Álvarez assumes the presidency, having
driven Santa Anna into exile. Benito Juárez García is named as his minister of justice. In this
post, he proposes the "Juárez Law" which suppresses church privileges. Álvarez steps down in favour of
the
moderate Ignacio
Comonfort in December 1855.
5th February, 1857 - Mexico's
second Constitution adopted
This new constitution further
restricts the powers of the church, a move which irritates
both the clericals and conservatives. Juárez becomes
minister of the interior in November and is elevated to the
post of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court the following
month.
December, 1857 - The
conservative backlash begins
Félix Zuloaga, a right-wing general, leads a coup in which
Congress is dissolved and Juárez arrested. Zuloaga
intimidates Comonfort into accepting the coup and then
deposes him. Comonfort releases Juárez, who escapes to Querétaro.
11th January, 1858 - The
Reform War begins
Juárez claims the presidency in Querétaro, as the
Mexican Constitution states that the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court is next in line for the presidency if the chief
executive dies or is unlawfully removed from office. Liberals
then battle conservatives for the next three years in a war
named after the Reform Laws that have curbed the church's
powers.
17th July, 1861 - Juárez
suspends payment of foreign debt
The various wars and struggles of the previous years have
left the Mexican economy bankrupt. In order to remedy the
situation, Juárez issues a two-year moratorium on payment of
foreign debt, with the promise that payment will resume after
this period. The French, Spanish and British governments
refuse to accept this and send naval expeditions to recover
their payments by whatever means necessary.
1862 - The Battle
of Puebla
Spain and Britain eventually withdraw but Napoleon
III decides to use the opportunity to extend the French
empire by installing his relative Archduke
Maximilian of Austria as leader of Mexico. The French
army invades on the Gulf coast and marches on Mexico City.
However, it encounters strong resistance at the forts of
Loreto and Guadalupe under the leadership of General Ignacio
Zaragoza Seguín and is defeated on 5th May.
1863 - The French take Mexico
City
On hearing of Maximilian's defeat, Napoleon
decides to send more troops to Mexico. After another year
of struggle, the French eventually take Mexico City and
Maximilian becomes emperor of Mexico.
1866 - French troops withdraw
The end of the Civil War in the USA means that Napoleon
faces opposition to foreign government in North America from
a new quarter and decides to withdraw his support from
Maximilian's regime.
15th May, 1867 - Maximilian
surrenders
Without support from France, Maximilian has no choice but
to surrender to Juárez. He is executed on 11th June.
August, 1867 - Juárez runs for
After successfully
being re-elected, Juárez calls for a
referendum on whether Congress should enact five amendments to the constitution. This alienates his followers, as any
amendments made by Congress alone would be unconstitutional.
These amendments would also strengthen the power of the
executive. Many Mexicans take up arms against him when he
becomes president again in 1871. Juárez tries to settle these disputes but dies of a heart attack on 17th July, 1872. His
successor proves equally unsuccessful at keeping the peace...
