Last modified: 2003-09-27 by juan manuel gabino villascán
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The first Europeans to visit the coast were Francisco Fernández de Córdoba in 1517 and Juan de Grijalva in 1518; conquest began in 1519 and Hernán Cortés defeated the Mexica on August 23, 1521. Such is a brief space of time in which this land was brought under the dominion of Spain, which continued to rule over it for the next three hundred years. Growing discontent with Spanish rule led in due course to open revolt, the beginning of which is marked by the issuing of the Grito de Dolores on 16 September 1810; final independence came on 27 September 1821 and the country became an Empire under General Agustín de Iturbide. This, however, was short lived and gave place in 1823 to a republic; in 1864 an empire once more arose under the ill-fated Maximilian, only to be replaced again by a republic in 1867.
In 1968, the national flag was adapted for all purposes: state flag, civil flag, war flag, state ensign, civil ensign and war ensign.
In preparation for the 1968 summer Olympic games, Mexico rewrote its flag legislation not only by designing a new eagle / snake / cactus coat of arms but also by dropping officially t