1808 Napoléon invades Spain, leaving a power vacuum in New Spain.

1810 September 16: Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753-1811) preaches his Grito de Dolores, sparking rebellion.

1811 Hidalgo is captured and executed; leadership of the movement passes to Father José Maria Morelos y Pavón (1765-1815).

1813 Morelos calls a congress at Chilpancingo, which drafts a Declaration of Independence.

1815 Morelos is captured and executed.

1821 Vicente Guerrero, a rebel leader, and Agustín de Iturbide (1783-1824), a Spanish colonel converted to the rebel cause, rejuvenate the Independence movement. Spain recognizes Mexican independence with the Treaty of Córdoba.

1822 Iturbide is named Emperor of Mexico, which stretches from California through Central America.

1823 After 10 months in office, Emperor Agustín is turned out.

1824 A new constitution creates a federal republic, the Estados Unidos Mexicanos; modeled on the U.S. Constitution, the Mexican version retains the privileges of the Catholic Church and gives the president extraordinary "emergency" powers.

1829 President Vicente Guerrero abolishes slavery. A Spanish attempt at reconquest is halted by General Antonio López de Santa Anna (1794-1876), already a hero for his role in the overthrow of Emperor Agustín.

1833 Santa Anna is elected president by a huge majority; he holds the office for 11 of its 36 changes of hands by 1855.

1836 Although voted in as a liberal, Santa Anna abolishes the 1824 constitution. Already dismayed at the abolition of slavery, Texas -- whose population is largely American -- declares its independence. Santa Anna successfully besieges the Texans at the Alamo. But a month later he is captured by Sam Houston following the Battle of San Jacinto. Texas gains its independence as the Lone Star Republic.

1846 The U.S. decision to annex Texas leads to war.

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.

1853 Santa Anna agrees to the Gadsden Purchase, ceding a further 48,000 square km (30,000 square mi) to the United States.

1855 The Revolution of Ayutla topples Santa Anna and leads to the period of The Reform.

1857 The liberal Constitution of 1857 disestablishes the Catholic Church, among other measures.

1858-61 The civil War of the Reform ends in liberal victory. Benito Juárez (1806-72) is elected president. France, Spain, and Britain agree jointly to occupy the customs house at Veracruz to force payment of Mexico's huge foreign debt.

1862 Spain and Britain withdraw their forces; the French, seeking empire, march inland. On May 5, General Porfirio Díaz repulses the French at Puebla.

1863 Strengthened with reinforcements, the French occupy Mexico City. Napoléon III of France appoints Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria (1832-1867) as Emperor of Mexico.

1864 Maximilian and his empress Charlotte, known as Carlotta, land at Veracruz.

1867 With U.S. assistance, Juárez overthrows Mexico's second empire. Maximilian is executed; Carlotta, pleading his case in France, goes mad.

1872 Juárez dies in office. The Mexico City-Veracruz railway is completed, symbol of the new progressivist mood.