All All. Sign In. Conflictive 20th Century. List activity. His father was a blacksmith and an innkeeper and died when Porfirio was only three years old. He was educated by the Catholic church in what was to be his preparation for entering the priesthood, but by age 16 Diaz realized he had no intention of becoming a priest. Many men of Oaxaca had joined the Mexican army to fight in the Mexican-American War of , and at 18 Diaz did the same, but the war ended before he saw combat.
He left the army and returned to Oaxaca to study law. There he became acquainted with Benito Juarez, the state's governor. The civil war of pitted Juarez and his liberal reformers against the dictatorship of Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna--of "the Alamo" fame--and his supporters, mainly wealthy landowners and the Catholic Church.
Diaz came out squarely on Juarez's side, and fled Oaxaca to join Juarez's revolutionary army. Diaz proved to be an able commander and defeated Santa Anna's forces in several key battles, earning a promotion to general. Juarez eventually triumphed and Santa Anna fled Mexico, but the victory didn't last long.
Mexico was soon invaded by the French, on the pretext of collecting on loans from French bankers that Mexico couldn't pay. They overthrew Juarez and installed a member of the Hapsburg royal family as ruler, calling him Emperor Maximilian.
Diaz again fought with Juarez against this French occupation, and upon Maximilian's overthrow and execution, Diaz resigned from the army and retired to Oaxaca. Juarez died and was succeeded by Sebastian Lerdo, whose administration was racked by internal squabbles, chaos and rebellions. Diaz was persuaded to lead a rebellion against Lerdo, and in Diaz's forces drove out Lerdo after defeating his army in several battles.
