THESE TIMELINES WERE BEGUN FOR MY OWN PERSONAL USE. THESE TIMELINES SHOULD NOT BE USED AS RESOURCES FOR ANY KIND OF RESEARCH PAPER. THESE TIMELINES SHOULD ONLY BE USED AS AN AID TO GIVE A "JUMPING OFF POINT." THESE TIMELINES ARE NOT PEER-REVIEWED; THEREFORE, THEY ARE SUBJECT TO ANY NUMBER OF UNINTENTIONAL AUTHORIAL TYPING ERRORS AND/OR MISUNDERSTANDINGS. REMEMBER, INTERNET SOURCES (WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS) CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS DEFINITIVE SOURCES!!
Because I did these timelines initially only for my own personal use, I have paraphrased and quoted without citing as one should for a research paper; therefore, anyone using these timelines should consult the sources listed on the Historical Timelines Page.
DO NOT QUOTE FROM THESE TIMELINES!! ALWAYS DOUBLE-CHECK MY WORK!!!!
Mexico:
Hernando Cortes (1485-1587) Spanish explorer/conqueror of Mexico
Cortes conquers Mexico (Aztecs) 1519
Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753-1811) Mexican Priest/Revolutionist
Antonio Santa Anna (1794-1876) Mexican General/politician, captured by Houston in 1836
Benito Pablo Juarez (1806-1872) Mexican Revolutionary
Hidalgo's Rebellion (Mexico) (September 16, 1810-1811)
Father Miguel Hidalgo led a group of mestizos and Native Americans, wanting equality, in a revolt against Spain. Had initial successes but was soundly defeated in 1811. Hidalgo was captured in March and executed (July 30, 1811). Father Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon became the next revolutionary leader. Morelos made great gains and declared Mexican independence in 1813. However, royalist forces under the criollo Agustin de Iturbide defeated Morelos in December of 1813. Morelos was captured and executed in 1815. Vicente Guerrero next took up the leadership role. The Spanish Revolution (1820) restores the more liberal Constitution of 1812, which made the elite of Mexico more than a little nervous as to the stability of the Spain. Guerrero and Iturbide met in 1821 to join forces. Iturbide becomes emperor of Mexico in 1821-he was deposed in 1823. A republic is proclaimed in 1823. Revolt after revolt followed. Santa Anna (who had deposed Iturbide) becomes president in 1833.
Texas Revolution against Mexico (1835-1836)
Santa Anna defeats a group of Texans at the Alamo (March 6, 1836). Deaths include James Bowie and Davy Crockett.
Santa Anna orders execution of over 280 Texans at Goliad (1836)
Houston defeats Santa Anna at Battle of San Jacinto (April 21, 1836)
Treaty of Velasco (May 1836)-tries to persuade Mexican government to recognize Texas independence, Mexican troops retreat to south of Rio Grande/Rio Bravo
Houston is 1st President of the Republic of Texas
Mexican-American War (1846-1848)
Republic of Texas (1836-1845)
U.S. annexes Texas in December of 1845
Mexico wanted Nueces River to be the Southern boundary of Texas rather than the Rio Grande. U.S. blockades Mexican ports. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo-Mexico relinquishes Texas above Rio Grande and ceded New Mexico and California for $15 million-final adjustment in Gadsden Purchase of 1853
General Zachary "Old Rough and Ready" Taylor (1784-1850) army officer in War of 1812 and Mexican-American War, president of US
General Winfield "Old Fuss and Feathers" Scott (1786-1866) Army officer in War of 1812 and Mexican-American War.
Mexican War of the Reform (1858-1860)
Liberals (aided by U.S.) vs. Conservatives (aided by Spain). Liberal Native American Benito Juarez bases his government in Veracruz (after being driven from Mexico City) while the conservatives have a rival government in Mexico City. Eventually, Juarez defeats the conservatives. Juarez is elected president in 1861. He tries to get Mexico's finances in order by freezing the interest on loans due to foreign powers which really annoyed the British, French, and Spanish. Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) of France tries to use this to create a Mexican Empire (1861-1862).
May 5, 1862 (Cinco de Mayo)-Mexican general Zaragoza defeats the French at Puebla. Napoleon III sends more troops in and took over Mexico City in June 1863. Austrian Archduke Maximilian becomes the Emperor of Mexico. Juarez's liberal forces held only three states in Southern Mexico and 2 states in the north. The French were forced to leave Mexico in 1867 because they were needed in Europe. Maximilian surrendered at Queretaro. Juarez took back control. Maximilian was executed in 1867. Juarez died in office in 1872. Porfirio Diaz, the next major player in Mexico, becomes president in 1877. His reign, known as the Porfiriato, lasted from 1884-1911.
Archduke Maximilian of Austria (Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph) (1832-1867), Archduke of Austria and Emperor of Mexico (1864-1867)
Francisco "Pancho" Villa (1878-1923) Mexican bandit/revolutionary leader
Emiliano Zapata (1879-1919) Mexican revolutionist
Mexican Revolution (1910-1920)
Indians and peasants (want redistribution of land, new system of government, and improved status of Indians) vs. Church and wealthy capitalists
Diaz's modernization efforts and favoring of rich landowners (which resulted in the absorption by these rich landowners of the communal lands of Native Americans which essentially made slaves of the peons whose debts were handed down to generations) set the stage for the Mexican Revolution. The divide between the rich and poor widened. Emiliano Zapata, among others, began to come up against him. Diaz finally agreed to open the election in 1910 (the elections had been shams up to this point), but he arrested his opponent, Francisco Ignacio Madero, and won again. Madero fled to San Antonio upon his release and began a revolt. Diaz resigned on May 25, 1911. Madero was not reform-minded enough so Zapata began to move against him.
Zapata's Plan of Ayala (November 1911) demanded transfer of lands to peasants and real political rights. One-time Madero supporter, Francisco "Pancho" Villa, also began to move against him because Madero moved too slowly. Victoriano Huerta, Madero's general, seized control of Mexico City and killed Madero (February 1913). Meanwhile, a third group, the Constitutionalists, led by Venustiano Carranza, began to stir things up against Huerta and the federal army. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson had the port of Veracruz sealed to keep weapons from reaching Huerta, which caused a lot of anti-American protests. Huerta resigned July of 1914. Villa and Zapata wanted land and social reforms whereas Carranza wanted political reforms so Huerta's resignation solved little or nothing. Villa and Zapata joined forces versus Carranza. Carranza's general, Alvaro Obregon, drove Villa and Zapata out of Mexico City. Carranza becomes provisional president in 1914.
August 1915-8 Latin American countries and U.S. recognized Carranza's government (U.S. to stop the violence of the Mexican rebels who had directly or indirectly killed about 100 U.S. citizens). This stopped most of the fighting, but Villa refused to give up. Villa raided Columbus, NM to show Carranza's lack of control. U.S. General Pershing tried to catch Villa but he failed. Constitution of 1917-political reforms with more social reforms than Carranza had wished (right of workers to organize and strike among other things). Carranza didn't enforce the reforms which angered many so the tumult continued. In 1920, Obregon, Adolfo de la Huerta, and Plutarco Elias Calles revolted against Carranza. Carranza was killed and Obregon became president, who instituted some reforms but was corrupt. The U.S. recognized Obregon's government in 1923. Calles succeeded Obregon.
Cristero Rebellion (1926-1929?)
Rebellion of Catholics in Mexico against the reforms which had taken much of the church's control away. The Catholic rebels burned schools and killed some school teachers (schools had become secularized according to the reforms). Dwight Morrow mediated and lessened tensions considerably. Over 90,000 Mexicans were killed during this religious strike. Obregon was assassinated in 1928. Calles set up a system of control through puppet presidents under his PNR (The National Revolutionary party). The PNR later becomes the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party). Carranza picked Lazaro Cardenas to be president in 1934, but was soon sorry for this decision. The two men bumped heads because Cardenas instituted many radical reforms. Calles was exiled. Manuel Avila Camacho succeeded Cardenas as president in 1940. Camacho backtracked on past reforms and anticlericalism.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1928- ) Colombian/Mexican writer
Laura Esquivel (1951- ) Mexican Novelist
Cuba:
Ten Years' War (1868-1878)
Cuban war against Spanish rule
October 10, 1868-Carlos Manuel de Cespedes declared revolution against Spain.
April 20, 1869-Republican government formed
Really brutal fighting characterized this war.
February 1878-Treaty of El Zanjon-agreed to an end to slavery and some reforms. Spain never honored the treaty which leads to the Cuban War of Independence/War of 1895 (1895-1898)
Cuban War of Independence/War of 1895 (1895-1898)
February 10, 1895-PRC (Cuban Revolutionary Party under the leadership of Jose Marti) begins war.
May 19, 1895-Marti is killed in the battle of Dos Rios
Thousands of Cubans incarcerated in concentration camps to prevent them from joining the revolution. The U.S. press began telling the horrific stories of the conditions in Cuba. U.S. President threatened Spain with U.S. intervention if they didn't institute reforms in 1896. In 1897, Spain relented but the Cubans were not satisfied. The explosion of the Maine on February 15, 1898 brought about the Spanish-American War which the U.S. won. Now, the U.S. had the control that the Cubans wanted for themselves. The U.S. occupied Cuba until May 20, 1902 and forced a constitution on the Cubans in 1901.
Spanish-American War (1898)
Spain vs. U.S. in Philippines and Cuba. U.S. wanted to protect investments in Cuba, Jingoism. Maine was destroyed in Havana harbor in February 1898. Admiral Dewey annihilated Spanish fleet in Manila Bay in May 1898. Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders captured heights above Santiago de Cuba. Puts Spanish fleet under bombardment. Naval Battle of Santiago ends the war. Treaty of Paris (with no Cuban representatives present) (1899) makes Cuba independent. Guam, Puerto Rico, and Philippines are ceded to U.S. for $20 million to Spain. Actually, Cuba was occupied by the U.S. until 1902 and was widely controlled and influenced by the U.S. for years to come.
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar (1901-1973) Unofficial Cuban leader (1933-1940), President of Cuba (1940-1944), Retires and lives in U.S. until 1952, Dictator (1952-1959)
Cuban Constitution of 1940-instituted the wide-ranging reforms of Grau's government.
Cuban Revolution (1953-1959)
Fidel Castro of his mentor, Eddy Chibas' (who killed himself in 1951) Orthodoxo party leads revolution against corrupt Batista regime (Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar had led a coup against U.S.-friendly Carlos Manuel de Cespedes in September of 1933 and overthrew reform-minded Ramon Grau San Martin, who became leader after Cespedes was overthrown, in January 1934 and had been in power 1934-1944 and became dictator in 1952).
July 26, 1953-Castro and over a hundred followers got into Moncado Military Barracks in Santiago de Cuba. Castro and some others escaped but 68 were tortured and killed by the army.
1954-Batista wins in an uncontested election.
1955-Batista frees political prisoners, including Castro who had been sentenced to a 15-year sentence for his part in the Moncado invasion. Castro went to Mexico to organize the M-26 Movement (named for the date of the Moncado Barracks invasion on July 26th).
November 26, 1956-Castro and 80 others invaded Cuba in a boat coming from Mexico. Batista's forces met and killed most of them. The few that escaped reorganize in the Sierra Maestra mountains and led a number of raids on military installations for weapons and supplies. Eventually, other groups join his M-26 movement.
March 10, 1957-Batista narrowly escapes assassination attempt by Revolutionary Directorate.
1958-Batista refuses to hold free elections which seriously taxes his alliance with the U.S. The U.S. withholds arms to force him to resign.
April 9, 1958-General Strike
November 1958-Rebels control highway into Santiago
December 1958-Rebels win Santa Clara
December 31, 1958-Batista and some of his followers hold New Year's Eve party and leave for the Dominican Republic
January 9, 1959-Castro enters Havana.
February 16, 1959-Castro becomes prime minister. He purges Batista supporters and begins to centralize economic control. Most of wealthy and middle-classes leave.
Fidel Castro (1927- ) Leader of Cuba (1959- )-nationalizes banks, industries, organizes state farms-backed by USSR
Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 17-19, 1961)
Approximately 1500 Cuban exiles (trained by U.S. Central Intelligence Agency) try to regain Cuba. April 15th-CIA pilots destroy part of Castro's air force. April 16th-President Kennedy calls off further CIA bombings. Cuban exiles land at Bahia de Cochin (Bay of Pigs) on April 17th. The exiles expected to gain supporters in Cuba. Castro's forces killed about 100 and captured the rest (who were released after ransom was paid). Major embarrassment to the U.S. and Kennedy administration (too little support for them or we shouldn't have been there at all).
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
Cuba-1980-Castro lifts emigration restrictions. Over 100,000 (many of whom are criminals released by Castro) come to U.S. who keeps them in detainment camps and prisons until agreements of 1984 and 1988 which deports some of them back.
Latin America:
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) Spanish explorer
Columbus sails and first discovers islands in West Indies 1492
Vasco Nunez de Balboa (1475-1519) Spanish explorer of Colombia
Francisco Pizarro (1475?-1541) Spanish conqueror of Peru (Incas)
Simon Bolivar (1783-1830) "The Liberator" of Latin America-helped win independence from Spain for Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, Dictator of Colombia (1819-1830)
Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1928- ) Colombian/Mexican writer
V.S. Naipaul (1932- ) Trinidad Writer
Isabel Allende (1942- ) Peruvian/Chilean/Venezuelan Novelist
Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier (1907-1971), Leader of Haiti (1957-1971)
Jean Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier (1951- ), Leader of Haiti (1971-1986 when he fled the country)
Falkland Islands Conflict (April-June 1982) Brits vs. Argentinians over the Falkland Islands in the Atlantic Ocean-heavy losses with no absolute resolution though the Brits defeated the Argentinians.
Grenada Conflict (1983-September 1985) U.S. intervention in Grenada (Marxist government), expelled Cubans, December 1984-Democratic government restored. Invasion of Grenada (October 25, 1983) following Marxist coup d'etat of Bishop's regime.S
Jean-Bertrand Aristide (1953- ), President of independent republic of Haiti (1991-1996)-1991- 1994 in exile in U.S. due to military coup by Lt. General Raoul Cedras. In 1994, Aristide was returned when U.S. threatened to invade and 20,000 U.S. troops arrived to make sure all went well.