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Independence Movement

The Age of Enlightenment challenged many European institutions that


had stood for centuries. This time period of social change held sway over
both Old and New World events. The early seeds of the Mexican
Independence Movement were planted during this dynamic time. Napoleons
invasion of France triggered a series of events that would lead to an uprising
half a world away and mark the beginning of the end to New Spain. A group
of lawyers, farmers, and clergyman was led by the most unlikely of
revolutionary heroes, Father Miguel Hidalgo, and took up arms against
Spanish rule. After eleven years of costly rebellion, the nation gained its
independence and thus began the Republic of the United Mexican States.
At the turn of the nineteenth century, the French invasion of Spain left
the kingdom with Napoleons brother, Joseph as the newly appointed king. In
Mexico this was seen as a pretense for a growing criollo population to break
away from an illegitimate regime. In the beginning, criollos simply demanded
more autonomy but still held a loose allegiance to the alienated King
Ferdinand VII. As time passed their demands became increasingly liberal and
led to what would become the War for Independence. The growing unrest of
the criollos came to a boiling point with the Grito de Dolores on September
16, 1810. Father Miguel Hidalgo, a liberal priest held a meeting in the small
town of Dolores, where he shouted for the glory of the new republic, its
people, and its faith.
The military aspect of the war would soon expose some of the
shortcomings of Hidalgo as a general. In 1811 he was captured and killed but
his spirit lived on and helped those fighting for independence. Another priest,
Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon, took his place and led the rebellious troops
against the Spanish occupation. In 1813, Morelos held the Congress of
Chilpancingo and delivered his famous speech, Sentimientos de la Nacion,
which would become essentially the first constitution of this new nation. In it,
he called for the abolition of slavery, social rights and equality, equal
distribution of latinfundios, and declared independence from Spain. Morelos
led the rebellion until his death in 1815, his declaration served as the
backbone for the Independence Movement. After his death, a few generals
like Guadalupe Victoria and Vicente Guerrero continued the fight through
several sporadic battles. The tide of the war, however, changed with the
reinstatement of the Spanish Constitution of 1812.
With the reinstatement of the Constitution of 1812, Ferdinand VII lost
much of the power of the Spanish throne and the support of many loyalist in
the New World. One of which was General Agustin de Iturbide, who had just
been in Spain and acquainted himself with powerful Spanish families.

Iturbide returned to Mexico and rallied the loyalist forces to his side.
Determined to seize power to himself, and with the help of the wealthy
criollos, Iturbide met with the leader of the rebellion, Vicente Guerrero to
hash out a treaty.
The meeting between the two generals began with the infamous
embrace of Iguala and would forever link this small town in Guerrero to the
beginning of this nation. On February 24, 1821, with Vicente Guerreros
backing, Iturbide proclaimed his Plan de Iguala, or the Plan of the Three
Guarantees. In it he outlined three points for the new nation; complete
independence from Spain, Catholicism as the one true religion, and equality
for all social classes. Iturbide now commanded the Army of the Three
Guarantees and was able to force the resignation of Viceroy Juan Ruiz de
Apodaca in the ensuing months. On August 24, 1821, Iturbide met with
representatives from Spain and signed the Treaty of Cordoba which recognize
the Independence of Mexico.
The following power shift that followed would be foreshadowing the
future of the country for the next fifty years. Iturbide declared himself
Emperor of Mexico and was just as quickly deposed from that title. Internal
divisions among political factions, military takeovers, and short lived tenures
would become the custom of the young republic, a problem that hindered its
development and left it exposed to its fledging northern neighbor. In the end,
the Mexican War of Independence allowed Mexicans to take control of their
destiny but did little to improve the lives of the majority of its citizens. Once
again, a war fought for the rights of the upper classes with the blood of the
peasants.

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