Mexican Revolution

The Mexican Revolution began in 1910 as opposition to the long rule of Porfirio Díaz and quickly developed into a series of regional and national conflicts. Francisco I. Madero’s challenge helped force Díaz from power, but Madero was overthrown and killed in 1913, after which armies and political movements associated with figures such as Venustiano Carranza, Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata fought over Mexico’s future.

The Constitution of 1917 established a new legal framework, but military struggle and political assassination continued for several years. The revolution transformed debates over land, labour, federal power and the relationship between local communities and the national government, while violence and displacement affected civilians across large parts of the country.

Historical fiction set during the revolution can move between organised armies, irregular bands, railways, borderlands and communities whose loyalties shifted as different factions advanced or retreated. Edgar Rice Burroughs uses this upheaval as the real historical background for The Return of the Mucker.