Mexicano History®

This profile was edited with Thomas' myspace editor™ V2.5Hola!!! and welcome to a myspace dedicated to mexicano history. The history of mexicanos starts at the colonial period, which lasted from 1521 to 1810, Mexico was known as "Nueva España" or "New Spain", whose territories included today's Mexico, the Spanish Caribbean islands, Central America as far south as Costa Rica, an area comprising today's southwestern United States, and the Philippine Islands.A map of mexico in 1847Then during the mexican war of independence after Napoleon I invaded Spain and put his brother on the Spanish throne, Mexican Conservatives and rich land-owners who supported Spain's Bourbon royal family objected to the comparatively more liberal Napoleonic policies. Thus an unlikely alliance was formed in Mexico: liberales, or Liberals, who favored a democratic Mexico, and conservadores, or Conservatives, who favored Mexico ruled by a Bourbon monarch who would restore the old status quo. These two elements agreed only that Mexico must achieve independence and determine her own destiny.The Mexican act of independenceThen taking advantage of the fact that Spain was severely handicapped under the occupation of Napoleon's army, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest of Spanish descent and progressive ideas, declared Mexico's independence from Spain in the small town of Dolores on September 16, 1810. This act started the long war that eventually led to the official recognition of independence from Spain in 1821. As with many early leaders in the movement for Mexican independence, Hidalgo was captured by opposing forces and executed. After no European monarch accepted its throne, the newly independent Mexico was ruled by Agustín de Iturbide. After his coronation as Emperor of Mexico he became known as Agustin I, and ruled until his overthrow by republican forces led by Guadalupe Victoria and Antonio López de Santa Anna.Antonio Lopez de Santa AnnaWAR WITH THE UNITED STATES:Many presidents, emperors, and dictators came and went, which brought a long period of instability that lasted most of the 19th century. A dominant figure of the second quarter of that century was the dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna who was president seven different times, many of them unsuccessful.During this period, many of the mostly unsettled territories in the north were lost to the United States. Santa Anna was Mexico's leader during the conflict with Texas, which declared itself independent from Mexico in 1836 by defeating Santa Anna and the Mexican army. As president, Santa Anna tried to rule during the disastrous Mexican-American War (1846–48). The US government sent troops to Texas in order to secure the territory ignoring Mexican demands for US withdrawal. Mexico saw this as a US intervention in internal affairs by supporting a "rebel" province. In the war that ensued, the United States conquered over half of Mexico's territory, including land comprising the present states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. Mexico lost nearly 2,000.000 km² after the war and received $15 million for the lands from the US. Mexico had over 15,000 Killed or Wounded 450,000 Civilian Casualties.The Mexican American WarTHE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERAL FORMS:In 1855 Ignacio Comonfort, leader of the self-described Moderates, was elected president. The Moderados tried to find a middle ground between the nation's Liberals and Conservatives.Augustin de Iturbide, emperor of mexicoTHE 1857 CONSTITUTION:The Constitution of 1857 retained most of the Roman Catholic Church's Colonial era privileges and revenues, but unlike the earlier constitution did not mandate that the Catholic Church be the nation's exclusive religion. Such reforms were unacceptable to the leadership of the clergy and the Conservatives, Comonfort and members of his administration were excommunicated and a revolt was declared.THE WAR OF REFORM:the War of Reform, from December 1857 to January 1861. This civil war became increasingly bloody and polarized the nation's politics. Many of the Moderados came over to the side of the Liberales, convinced that the great political power of the Church needed to be curbed. For some time the Liberals and Conservatives had their own governments, the Conservatives in Mexico City and the Liberals headquartered in Veracruz. The war ended with Liberal victory, and Liberal president Benito Juárez moved his administration to Mexico City.Benito Juarez the "only" Indigenous President of MexicoIn the 1860s, the country again suffered a military occupation, this time by France, seeking to establish the Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria as Emperor of Mexico, with support from the Roman Catholic clergy and conservative elements of the upper class as well as some indigenous communities. The Second Mexican Empire was then overthrown by President Benito Juárez, with diplomatic and logistical support from the United States and the military expertise of General Porfirio Díaz. General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the largely unsupported French Army in Mexico at the city of Puebla on May 5, 1862, celebrated as Cinco de Mayo ever since. However, after his death, the city was lost in early 1863, following a renewed French attack which penetrated as far as Mexico City, forcing Juárez to organize a new itinerant government.ORDER, PROGRESS, AND THE DIAZ DICTATORSHIP:After the victory, there was resentment by Conservatives against President Juárez (who they thought concentrated too much power and wanted to be re-elected) so one of the army's generals, named Porfirio Díaz, rebelled against the government with the proclamation of the Plan de Tuxtepec in 1876.Porfrio Diaz another mexican presidentThis is now a picture of Mexico nowWell i hope you enjoyed learning about mexicanos.