Americas · Central America · Mexican Peso
Mexico is presented here as a historical economic dossier rather than a flat stat sheet: long-run macro cycles, public balance-sheet pressure, market depth, external buffers, and the events that likely bent the curve.
A tighter current-state read before dropping into the long historical charts.
The timeline is where macro numbers meet story: crises, wars, policy shifts, trade deals, and other shocks connected to Mexico.
Rise of a major preUnknownColumbian city known for its pyramids
Flourishing of Maya science, art and architecture affecting trade networks and political power
Mysterious decline of a powerful city
Establishment of the Aztec capital foundation for future Mexico City
Conquest of the Aztec Empire by Spanish forces
Start of Spanish colonial rule impacting culture society governance
Hernán Cortés completed the conquest of the Aztec Empire after a siege of Tenochtitlan, ending one of the most sophisticated civilizations in the Americas and beginning Spanish colonial rule in Mexico. Disease, particularly smallpox, killed far more Aztecs than Spanish weapons.
event in Mexico, 1810
1810 battle of the early Mexican War of Independence
Capture of Alhóndiga de Granaditas
Start of a war against Spanish rule leading to eventual independence
1811 battle
1811 battle
1812 battle
1812 battle
1812 battle
1812 battle
1812 battle
1813 war of Mexican Independence battle
1813 battle
1817 battle
1821 battle
Spanish-Mexican conflict.
Formal independence from Spain recognized
Brief establishment of an empire soon transitioning to a republic
1823 battle
1825 battle between Mexico and Spain during the reconquest of Mexico
1828 naval battle
1828 battle
1829 attempted invasion of Mexico by the Spanish Empire
1832 battle
1835 battle
American settlers in Mexican Texas fought and won independence from Mexico following the Battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto, creating the Republic of Texas. Texas joined the United States nine years later, contributing to the Mexican-American War.
Incorporation of Texas into the United States escalating tensions with Mexico.
The United States invades Mexico, resulting in territorial acquisition including present-day California and the Southwest.
1846 battle
1846 battle in Mexico during the Mexican–American War
Loss of vast territories to the United States
The United States declared war on Mexico after a border dispute in Texas, conquering Mexico City and forcing Mexico to cede half its territory including California, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The war vastly expanded the United States but inflamed the debate over slavery in new territories.
1847 battle of the Mexican-American War
1847 mMexican-American War battle
1847 battle of the Mexican–American War
Coup d'état in Mexico (1847)
1847 battle of the Mexican–American War
1847 battle of the Mexican–American War
1847 battle of the Mexican-American War
1847 battle of the Mexican–American War
1847 battle
1847 battle
fought in June, 1847
Peace settlement transferring vast Mexican territories to US control after Mexican-American War.
1851 battle
1852 battle
revolutionary movement
Liberal vs. Conservative conflict leading to constitutional reforms
1858 battle
1858 battle in Mexico
1858 battle of the Mexican Reform War
Battle of Ahualulco (1858)
1858 battle
1858 battle
1858 battle of the Reform War
1858 battle of the Mexican Reform War
1859 liberal/Conservative clash in Mexico
1859 battle
1859 battle
1860 battle of the Mexican Reform War
1860 battle
1861 battle in Mexico
1858–1861 internal conflict in Mexico
1862 part of the French intervention in Mexico
1862 battle
1862 battle
1862 battle in Mexico
1862 battle
Establishment and fall of the Second Mexican Empire
war event between France and Mexico in the 19th century
1863 battle
1863 battle
1863 battle
Battle of the Second French Intervention in Mexico
1864 battle
1865 conflict
1865 siege
1865 battle
1865 battle
1866 battle
1866 battle
1866 battle
1866 battle
1866 battle
1867 battle
1867 siege
1867 military engagement
1867 battle
Lerdista Uprising of 1878
1885 war in Central America
1899 battle
Second Pan-American Conference
nationwide armed struggle in Mexico (1910–1920)
Francisco Madero called for armed uprising against dictator Porfirio Diaz, launching the Mexican Revolution. The revolution would last a decade and result in the 1917 Constitution fundamentally reshaping Mexican society.
Racially motivated massacre in 1911 in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico
1911 battle of the Mexican Revolution
1911 battle between the supporters of Francisco Madero and federal troops of Porfirio Díaz in the initial phase of the Mexican Revolution
1911 battle
1912 battle
1912 battle
1914 battle
battle of the Mexican Revolution
naval battle during the Mexican Revolution
1914 battle
meeting that took place during the Mexican Revolution
Third Battle of Topolobampo
Second Battle of Topolobampo
1915 battle of the Mexican Revolution
1916 battle
Britain revealed an intercepted German diplomatic telegram proposing a military alliance with Mexico against the United States. The revelation outraged American public opinion and accelerated the US decision to enter World War I.
1923 agreement between Mexico and the United States
1924 siege
1926 battle
Outstanding battle of the Cristero War that took place in 1927
1927 Outstanding battle during the cristero war
1927 battle
1927 battle
1927 armed conflict in Mexico
1927 battle of the Cristero War
1928 battle occurred during the Cristero War
1928 battle
1929 battle
1929 battle
1968 military occupation
Games of the XIX Olympiad, in Mexico City, Mexico
lynching on 14 September 1968
Massacre of Monte de Chila
1971 massacre of student demonstrators in Mexico
Third Episcopal Conference of Latin America
Mexico announced it could not service its $80 billion foreign debt, triggering the Latin American debt crisis as other countries defaulted. The crisis led to a 'lost decade' of economic stagnation across Latin America.
The United States, Canada, and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement creating one of the world's largest free trade zones with a combined GDP of nearly $6 trillion. NAFTA dramatically increased trade and investment between the three nations.
The North American Free Trade Agreement created a trilateral trade bloc between Canada, the US, and Mexico, significantly expanding cross-border commerce.
Mexico devalued the peso, triggering capital flight and requiring a $50 billion international rescue package led by the US Treasury and IMF.
North American Free Trade Agreement creates world's largest free trade zone among US, Canada, and Mexico.
Mexico devalued the peso, triggering a currency crisis that required a $50 billion US-led bailout to prevent the country from defaulting on its debts. The 'Tequila Effect' spread to other Latin American and emerging market currencies.
1995 massacre in Mexico
1998 massacre in Mexico
Anti cartel operation
War against drug trafficking in Tepic
The World Health Organization declared H1N1 influenza a global pandemic on June 11, 2009, after the virus spread from Mexico to cause the first flu pandemic since 1968. Estimated to have infected 700 million to 1.4 billion people, the pandemic killed between 150,000 and 575,000 in its first year.
President Trump announced on March 1, 2018, tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum imports citing national security, triggering retaliatory tariffs from the EU, Canada, Mexico, and China. The move marked the beginning of a broader trade conflict and disrupted global supply chains.
pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2
armed conflict in the Mexican drug war
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) entered into force on July 1, 2020, replacing the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with updated provisions on automobile rules of origin, labor standards, digital trade, and currency manipulation. The deal maintained free trade among the three countries while updating it for the modern economy.
event of the drug war in Mexico
Tonalá mass murder
An international consortium of journalists revealed on July 18, 2021, that Israeli NSO Group's Pegasus spyware had been used to target the phones of journalists, activists, lawyers, and politicians in multiple countries including France, India, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia, affecting an estimated 50,000 individuals. The scandal triggered investigations and calls for regulation of commercial spyware.
massacre in 2022
The US administration announced sweeping tariff changes affecting multiple trading partners, prompting retaliatory measures and reshaping global trade relationships.
Convention, 15 - 17 January 2025 in Mexico City
President Trump imposed 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico on March 4, 2025, citing illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking, disrupting the USMCA free trade agreement both countries had negotiated in his first term. Canada and Mexico both announced retaliatory measures, threatening major disruptions to North American supply chains.
Final preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup—scheduled for June-July 2026 across 16 cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico—proceeded despite trade war tensions among the co-host nations, with FIFA confirming the expanded 48-team format. The tournament is expected to be the most watched sporting event in history.