Author: Francisco Garfias

By Francisco Garfias and Emily Sellars This month, the Mexican government is celebrating its 200th anniversary of independence from Spain. The nation’s independence was won after a protracted conflict sparked by an event celebrated across the country every year on this date (September 15th): Miguel Hidalgo’s Cry of Dolores in 1810. Hidalgo’s uprising heralded the … Continue reading When State Building Backfires

By Francisco Garfias and Emily Sellars This year marks the 500th anniversary of the siege of Tenochtitlan, the final battle of the Aztec-Spanish War. It ended in the defeat of the Triple Alliance/Aztec Empire and the eventual establishment of Spanish colonial rule in Mexico. Few events occupy as important a place in Mexican or even … Continue reading From Conquest to Centralization