WThe Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict and political process, lasting from 1808 to 1821, resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional struggles that occurred within the same time period, and can be considered a revolutionary civil war. Independence was not an inevitable outcome, but events in Spain itself had a direct impact on the outbreak of the armed insurgency in 1810 and its course until 1821. Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Spain in 1808 touched off a crisis of legitimacy of crown rule, since he had placed his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne after forcing the abdication of the Spanish monarch Charles IV. In Spain and many of its overseas possessions the local response was to set up juntas ruling in the name of the Bourbon monarchy. Delegates in Spain and overseas territories met in Cádiz, Spain, still under Spanish control, as the Cortes of Cádiz, which drafted the Spanish Constitution of 1812. That constitution sought to create a new governing framework in the absence of the legitimate Spanish monarch. It tried to accommodate the aspirations of American-born Spaniards for more local control and equal standing with Peninsular-born Spaniards. This political process had far reaching impacts in New Spain, during the independence period and beyond.
WThe Treaty of Córdoba established Mexican independence from Spain at the conclusion of the Mexican War of Independence. It was signed on August 24, 1821 in Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico. The signatories were the head of the Army of the Three Guarantees, Agustín de Iturbide, and, acting on behalf of the Spanish government, Jefe Político Superior Juan O'Donojú. The treaty has 17 articles, which developed the proposals of the Plan of Iguala. The Treaty is the first document in which Spanish and Mexican officials accept the liberty of what will become the First Mexican Empire, but it is not today recognized as the foundational moment, since these ideas are often attributed to the Grito de Dolores. The treaty was rejected by the Spanish government. Spain did not recognize Mexico's independence until December 28, 1836.
WAfro-Mexicans played an important role in the Mexican War of Independence, most prominently with insurgent leader Vicente Guerrero, who became commander in chief of the insurgency. The initial movement for independence was led by the American-born Spaniard priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in central Mexico. White Mexicans quickly abandoned the movement for independence which had become more of a social revolution, with Indians, mixed-race castas, and other plebeians seeking social equality. The movement for independence remained active on the Gulf Coast and the Pacific Coast, where there were large concentrations of Afro-Mexicans. The royal army and the insurgent forces had reached a stalemate militarily, but the equation changed in 1820. American-born Spaniard and royalist officer Agustin de Iturbide sought an alliance with the insurgents led by Guerrero. Iturbide and the white creoles sought independence, but expected that racial hierarchies would continue in the post-independence period. Guerrero and other Afro-Mexicans demanded that they would be equal citizens and not until Iturbide acceded to that demand did the Afro-Mexican forces sign on to the Plan of Iguala which laid out the terms for the insurgency movement.
WThe Alhóndiga de Granaditas is an old grain storage building in Guanajuato City, Mexico. This historic building was created to replace an old grain exchange near the city's river. The name Alhóndiga translates roughly from both Arabic and Spanish as grain market or warehouse. It is equivalent to the regional grain exchange. Its construction lasted from 1798 to 1809, by orders of Juan Antonio de Riaño y Bárcena, a Spaniard who was the quartermaster of the city during the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla helped build it. The building received World Heritage listing as part of the Historic Town of Guanajuato in 1988.
WAt the end of the Mexican War of Independence, the Army of the Three Guarantees was the name given to the army after the unification of the Spanish troops led by Agustín de Iturbide and the Mexican insurgent troops of Vicente Guerrero, consolidating Mexico's independence from Spain. The decree creating this army appeared in the Plan de Iguala, which stated the three guarantees which it was meant to defend: religion, independence, and unity. Mexico was to be a Catholic empire, independent from Spain, and united against its enemies.
W"Ayamo moyolpachihuitia in Totlatocatzin Rey D. Fernando VII..." are the first words of a Nahuatl-language broadside printed on October 5, 1810 by Francisco Javier Venegas de Saavedra, viceroy of New Spain, as propaganda during the Hidalgo revolt. It announced the abolition of tribute payment by the Indians of New Spain, which, it was hoped, would reduce Indian support for the rebellion.
WIn 2010, Mexico celebrated both the 200th anniversary of its Independence and 100th anniversary of its Revolution. The entire year was proclaimed by President Felipe Calderón as "Año de la Patria", or "Year of the Nation." 16 September 1810 is the day of the "Grito de Dolores" or Miguel Hidalgo's call to take up arms against the Spanish colonial government. The start of the Mexican Revolution is celebrated as being 20 November 1910, when Francisco "Pancho" Villa and Pascual Orozco led the first insurrectionist attack against the regime of Porfirio Díaz. Events and other promotions of these celebrations were designed to link of Mexico's identity and historic continuity. During a speech at the inauguration of the Casa de Allende Historic Museum, President Felipe Calderón called upon Mexico to use the upcoming anniversaries to reflect on where the country has been and to think about what kind of Mexico descendants will inherit in the future. He said the vision of the insurgents of the War of Independence was forward, not backward, so every celebration of these past events must consider the future as well.
WThe Congress of Chilpancingo, also known as the Congress of Anáhuac, was the first, independent congress that replaced the Assembly of Zitácuaro, formally declaring itself independent from the Spanish crown. It was held in Chilpancingo, in what is the modern-day Mexican state of Guerrero, from September 1813 to November 1813. It was here where the first national constitution was ratified. It was composed of representatives of the provinces under his control and charged with considering a political and social program which he outlined in a document entitled Sentimientos de la Nación which expressed the sentiment of Creole Nationalism. According to historian D. A. Brading, "Creole patriotism, which began as the articulation of the social identity of American Spaniards, was transmuted into the insurgent ideology of Mexican nationalism."
WThe Constitution of Apatzingán, formally Decreto Constitucional para la Libertad de la América Mexicana, was promulgated on October 22, 1814 by the Congress of Anahuac gathered in the city of Apatzingán because of the persecution of the troops of Félix María Calleja. The constitution was valid for insurgent forces in the territories that it controlled during the Mexican War of Independence.
WThe Cry of Dolores occurred in Dolores, Mexico, on 16 September 1810, when Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church bell and gave the call to arms that triggered the Mexican War of Independence.
WThe Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is the document by which the Mexican Empire declared independence from the Spanish Empire. This founding document of the Mexican nation was drafted in the National Palace in Mexico City on September 28, 1821, by Juan José Espinosa de los Monteros, secretary of the Provisional Governmental Board.
WThe Definitive treaty of peace and friendship between Mexico and Spain, also called Santa María–Calatrava Treaty was an international treaty between Mexico and Spain on December 28, 1836, by which the Spanish monarchy recognized the independence of Mexico as a "free, sovereign and independent nation". It ended the tensions between both nations that emerged from the Mexican War of Independence, which began in 1810. It was signed by Mexican Miguel Santa María and Spaniard José María Calatrava.
WJohn Marie Durst (1797–1851) was born on the frontier in Arkansas, and was an early American settler, military veteran, and politician in Louisiana and Texas. As a youth, he learned the mercantile trade from his godfather Peter Samuel Davenport in Texas, where he also became fluent in several languages. French, Spanish and various Native American languages were spoken in this region in addition to English, reflecting its different colonial history. At the age of 18, Durst fought in the Battle of New Orleans with a Louisiana militia.
WThe Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition was an 1812–1813 joint filibustering expedition by Mexico and the United States against Spanish Texas during the early years of the Mexican War of Independence.
WThe Palace of Iturbide is a large palatial residence located in the historic center of Mexico City at Madero Street #17. It was built by the Count of San Mateo Valparaíso as a wedding gift for his daughter. It gained the name “Palace of Iturbide” because Agustín de Iturbide lived there and accepted the crown of the First Mexican Empire at the palace after independence from Spain. Today, the restored building houses the Fomento Cultural Banamex; it has been renamed the Palacio de Cultura Banamex.
WThe Battle of Puruarán was a battle of the War of Mexican Independence that occurred on 5 January 1814 in the area around Puruarán, Michoacán. The battle was fought between the royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown and the Mexican rebels fighting for independence from the Spanish Empire. The Mexican insurgents were commanded by Mariano Matamoros y Guridi and the Spanish by Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu who would later go on to become the Mexican emperor, and by Ciriaco del Llano. The battle lasted approximately one hour and resulted in a victory for the Spanish Royalists.
WThe Solemn Act of Northern America's Declaration of Independence is the first Mexican legal historical document which established the separation of Mexico from Spanish rule. It was signed on November 6, 1813, by the deputies of the Congress of Anáhuac, organized by General José María Morelos in the city of Oaxaca in June of that same year, and later installed in the city of Chilpancingo on September 13.
WThe following is a timeline of the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821), its antecedents and its aftermath. The war pitted the royalists, supporting the continued adherence of Mexico to Spain, versus the insurgents advocating Mexican independence from Spain. After of struggle of more than 10 years the insurgents prevailed.
WTucket's Ride is the third novel in The Tucket Adventures by Gary Paulsen. Now two years after Francis Tucket was abducted by the Pawnee and then saved by the Mountain Man Jason Grimes. He is now trying to get to Oregon via Mexico and gets tangled with armies pursuing the Mexican War. It was published in 1997 by Delacorte Press.
WWells of Baján are water wells located between Saltillo and Monclova in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. The small community near the wells is called Acatita de Baján. In the first phase of the Mexican War of Independence, revolutionary leaders Miguel Hidalgo, Ignacio Allende, José Mariano Jiménez, and Juan Aldama, plus nearly 900 men in the rebel army were captured here on March 21, 1811 by 150 soldiers commanded by Ignacio Elizondo. Elizondo pretended to be a supporter of the struggle to overthrow Spanish rule, lured the rebels into a trap, and captured them with little resistance. The four leaders and many of their followers were tried and executed.
WThe Zitacuaro Council, also known under a variety of names such as the Supreme National American Meeting or Supreme Governmental Board of America, was a council established by insurgent leaders Ignacio López Rayón and José María Morelos, along with minor members José María Liceaga and José Sixto Verduzco, which would serve as a prototypical government independent of the Spanish crown.