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| | | 1200 BC - 300 AD - The Olmecs were the first true civilisation of South America and were the ancestors of the later cultures 300 - 1500's - The Mayans empire covered Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador 900's - 1100's - The Toltecs ruled Mexico and Guatemala from the 10th to the 12th century 1100'S- 1500'S - The Aztecs rose to power in Mexico during the 12th and 13th centuries and remained in control until the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th Century | |
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| | 1502 | Montezuma II (1466-1520) assumes Aztec throne | |
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| | 1517 | Spanish expedition under Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba (1475-1526) lands on Yucatan coast | |
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| | 1519 | Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes (1485-1547) founds Veracruz Cortes enters Tenochtitlan and captures Moctezuma II ( aka Montezuma ) | |
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| | 1520 | Montezuma II is killed | |
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| | 1528 | Juan de Zumarraga (1468-1548) arrives as bishop of Mexico City and begins native conversion to Catholicism | |
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| | 1718 | Franciscan missionaries settle in Texas which is of New Spain The Mission San Antonio de Valero was established which later became famous as the Alamo | |
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| | 1803 | Napoleon took Louisiana back from New Spain but sold it to the United States | |
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| | 1810 | Overthrow of the king of Spain by Napoleon September 16: Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753-1811) preaches his Grito de Dolores, sparking rebellion and the War of Independence | |
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| | 1811 | Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla is captured and executed | |
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| | 1821 | Spain recognizes Mexican independence with the Treaty of Cordoba | |
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| | 1822 | General Augustin de Iturbide assumes control as Emperor of Mexico | |
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| | 1823 | General Santa Anna deposes Iturbide, the monarchy fails, and a new constitution creates a federal republic | |
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| | 1829 | President Vicente Guerrero abolishes slavery | |
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| | 1829 | A Spanish attempt at re-conquest is halted by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (1794-1876) Texas declares its independence | |
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| | 1836 | February 23 to March 6 - A band of 189 Texas volunteers defied a Mexican army of thousands for 13 days of siege at the Alamo April: Battle of San Jacinto - General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna is captured by Sam Houston | |
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| | 1846 | 1846-1848 US-Mexican War | |
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| | 1848 | The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo reduces Mexico's territory by half, ceding present-day Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, and part of Colorado to the U.S. | |
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| | 1853 | Santa Anna agrees to the Gadsden Purchase, ceding a further 48,000 square km (30,000 square mi) to the United States | |
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| | 1863 | The French occupy Mexico City and Napoleon III of France appoints Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria (1832-1867) as Emperor of Mexico | |
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| | 1864 | Maximilian is executed | |
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| | 1910 | 1910-1920 Mexican Revolution where the figures of Madero, Huerta, Carranza, Villa and Zapata arise | |
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