Mexican history begans thousands of years ago when the Olmec people came to Mexico. They came to Mexic when water in the Bering Strait froze and created a land bridge between modern-day Russia and Canada. After the Olmecs came the Mayans, Toltecs, and many other empires. By the time the Spanish came in 1517, the strongest empire was the Aztec Empire.
In 1517, The first Spaniards landed on Yucatán but were soon driven out by the natives. The following year, a second exploration came. This time, the Indians and Spaniards traded gifts. In 1519, a Spanish conquistador named Hernando Cortes landed on the Gulf of Mexico and founded the city of Veracrus. During the next three years, he would conquerer all of Mexico for the Spanish Empire.
In 1808, Napoleon invaded Spain and placed his brother, Joseph Bonaparte in charge of Spain. This led to an outbreak of revolts in Mexico. In 1810, a Catholic priest named Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla bega the Mexican War of Independence. After some initial success, he was captured and executed. The revelution was then led by other leaders like José María Morelos y Pavón, Mariano Matamoros, and Vicente Guerrero. They led armys of natives and revolutionarys of mixed race against the Spanish Royalist. The Royalists were made up of Mexicans of Spanish descent. In 1820, liberals took power in Spain and the new government offered reforms to calm the revelutionaries. The Mexican conservatives called for independence in response to keep their positions in Mexican society. In 1821, the leader of the Royalist, Agustín de Iturbide, negotiated the Plan of Iguala with Vicente Guerrero. The plan would make Mexico an independent consitutional monarchy, the Catholic Church would keep its position, Mexicans of Spanish descent would be equal to pure Spaniards, and Mexicans with any Indian blood would have less rights. Iturbide defeated the Royalist who opposed indepenence and since the Spanish viceroy had little money and soldiers, they accepted Mexican independence. On August 24, 1821, O’Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba which ended Mexicos depencence on Spain. In 1822, Iturbide was proclaimed emperor of Mexico.
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