Mexico's Crucial Century, 1810-1910

An Introduction

William H. Beezley, Colin M. MacLachlan

• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9780803234086
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Mexican History
• Index: History

After Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, it began the work of forging its identity as an independent nation, a process that would endure throughout the crucial nineteenth century. A weakened Mexico faced American territorial ambitions and economic pressure, and the U.S.-Mexican War threatened the fledgling nation's survival. In 1876 Porfirio Díaz became president of Mexico, bringing political stability to the troubled nation. Although Díaz initiated long-delayed economic development and laid the foundation of modern Mexico, his government was an oligarchy created at the expense of most Mexicans. This accessible account guides the reader through a pivotal time in Mexican history, including such critical episodes as the reign of Santa Anna, the U.S.-Mexican War, and the Porfiriato. Colin M. MacLachlan and William H. Beezley recount how the century between Mexico's independence and the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution had a lasting impact on the course of the nation's history.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• List of Maps
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: The National Trauma
• 1. Spain and Its Empire in Crisis
• 2. Santa Anna’s Era
• 3. Liberalism, Reform, and Napoleon III
• 4. The Restored Republic
• 5. Constructing the Porfiriato
• 6. The Socioeconomic Pyramid
• 7. Soft Diplomacy
• 8. Fatal Vulnerabilities
• Conclusion: A Crucial Century Assessed
• Notes
• Suggested Readings in English
• Index