Independence of Mexico

War of Independence of New Spain
Part of Part of the Hispanic American wars of independence
Clockwise: Miguel Hidalgo, José María Morelos and the Embrace of Acatempan between Iturbide and Guerrero, the entry of the Army of the Three Guarantees into Mexico City, and O'Gorman's muralist painting of independence.
Date September 16, 1810 – September 27, 1821 Location Viceroyalty of New Spain. Result Independence of Mexico through the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire
Belligerents
File:Bandera de José María Morelos en 1812.png Insurgents Army of the Three Guarantees	Kingdom of Spain New Spain Royalist Army in America
Commanders and leaders
Miguel Hidalgo (executed) (1810–1811) Ignacio Allende (executed) (1810–1811) Ignacio López Rayón (POW) (1811–1813) File:Bandera de José María Morelos en 1812.png José María Morelos (executed) (1810–1815) Guadalupe Victoria Vicente Guerrero (1815–1821) Francisco Xavier Mina (executed) (1817) Agustín de Iturbide (1821)
Casualties and losses
600,000 dead

The Independence of Mexico was the consequence of a political and social process resolved by force of arms, which put an end to Spanish rule over part of the territories of New Spain. Although there is no unanimous agreement regarding the beginning of the war for Mexican independence, it is officially considered to be September 16, 1810, ending with the entry of the Army of the Three Guarantees into Mexico City on September 27, 1821.

The Napoleonic Invasion of Spain in 1808 triggered a political crisis in New Spain that led to the armed movement. On account of the power vacuum, the Ayuntamiento of Mexico, with the support of Viceroy José de Iturrigaray, claimed sovereignty in the absence of the legitimate King. There subsequently followed an attempted coup d'état against the Viceroy, which sent the leaders of the movement to prison.

Despite the defeat of the pro-independence faction in Mexico City in 1808, small groups of conspirators met in other cities of New Spain. Such was the case of the Valladolid Conspiracy, discovered in 1809, whose participants were imprisoned. In 1810, the conspirators of Querétaro were about to suffer the same fate but, upon being discovered, they chose to take up arms on September 16, instigating the inhabitants of the town of Dolores (Guanajuato), summoned by the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.

On September 30, 1812, the Constitution of Cádiz, decreed by the Spanish Cortes Generales, was promulgated in Mexico, and the pro-independence movement gradually lost strength, with its successive leaders being imprisoned or executed by the forces loyal to Spain. By 1820, only a few rebel strongholds remained, above all in the Sierra Madre del Sur and in Veracruz.

However, after the Riego Pronunciamiento for the liberal Constitution of Cádiz in 1820, the elites of New Spain, who until then had supported Spanish rule, changed position upon seeing their interests affected, supporting the pro-independence movements and allying themselves with the insurgent resistance. Agustín de Iturbide led the military arm of the conspirators, and in early 1821 he was able to meet with Vicente Guerrero. Together they proclaimed the Plan of Iguala, which called for the union of all the insurgent factions and had the support of the aristocracy and the clergy of New Spain.

Finally, the independence of Mexico was consummated on September 27, 1821, becoming the Mexican Empire, a short-lived Catholic monarchy that gave way to a federal republic in 1823, amid internal conflicts and the separation of Central America.

After several attempts at reconquest, including the expedition of Isidro Barradas in 1829, Spain recognized the independence of Mexico in 1836, after the death of the Monarch Ferdinand VII.

The independence process had disastrous effects for the territory, since it meant the loss of at least 10 points of GDP and around 50 percent of GDP per capita between 1820 and 1845. Added to this cost, decades of internal conflicts, foreign interventions, and the lack of integration of a national market produced a stagnation estimated at three decades, with that area of New Spain going from being an economy on a par with that of the United States, and one of the most prosperous areas of the international economy, to being relegated to Third World benchmarks.

The debacle would not end there, since in 1848 an impoverished Mexico, unable to defend its borders, was forced to sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, by which it ceded 55 percent of its territory to the United States, including the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of present-day Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming.

Background

Economic and social situation of the Viceroyalty of New Spain

The society of New Spain was divided into several strata, whose position was conditioned by economic, cultural and political factors. Owing to the multiple origins of the population of New Spain, a multicultural and multiracial system arose, with members of the various ethnic groups present in all the social estates. Moreover, the legal framework protected the indigenous peoples from abuses, as shown by the numerous residency trials decided in favor of the plaintiffs.

The pillar of the economy of the Viceroyalty of New Spain was mining, particularly the extraction of gold and silver. During the 18th century, mining production experienced one of its best periods. As a result, the production of gold and silver tripled in the period from 1740 to 1803. The boom was so great that the mine called La Valenciana, in the state of Guanajuato, came to be considered the most important silver mining operation in the world. At the end of the 18th century, New Spain produced more than 2,500,000 marks of silver, and its main mining regions were Guanajuato, Zacatecas and the north of the Intendancy of Mexico. The importance of mining for the economy of New Spain was such that Charles III recognized the Mining Body of New Spain in 1776; a little later, he permitted the establishment of the Royal Mining Tribunal, as well as the College of Mining.

The height of mining activity favored the development of other economic activities, particularly commerce and agriculture. For example, the growing importance of Guadalajara and El Bajío was due to their relationship with the mines of Zacatecas and Guanajuato. Since the export of silver and gold constituted the hub of the economy of New Spain, a complex system grew up around this activity that consolidated the group of peninsular merchants, but which also allowed the rise of a powerful criollo group. This group was concentrated in the consulados of Mexico and Guadalajara, which constituted the fundamental piece in the circulation of capital in the territory of New Spain. The economic power of the consulados backed their capacity for political representation, management and lobbying.

The economy of New Spain entered into crisis at the end of the 18th century, a period that coincides with the Bourbon Reforms adopted by the Crown. The reforms were aimed at modernizing the administration of the colonies and making the exploitation of their resources more profitable, because in New Spain there was a shortage of capital in circulation owing to the monopoly over silver exercised by the merchants and to the financial policy of the metropolis itself. An important part of the revenues derived from the exploitation of the colonies did not reach the royal coffers, being distributed among different corporations in accordance with old arrangements between the Crown and these groups. Certainly, the reform affected the interests of the most privileged classes. Moreover, with the establishment of free trade within the viceroyalty, the economic and political power of the criollos and mestizos grew, and they also began to occupy more positions in the viceregal administration.

In the last decades of the 18th century, it was the members of the economic elite—very hard hit by the economic policy of the monarchy—who supported the coup d'état against Viceroy José de Iturrigaray in 1808, when the Ayuntamiento of Mexico attempted to exercise sovereignty in the absence of the King of Spain. But with the declaration of free trade among the colonies and the abolition of the Veracruz monopoly, the chambers of merchants in other ports of New Spain grew in power and number. This was one of the factors that contributed to the mining boom of the late 18th century. Since the merchant families had seen their investments and interests threatened, they transferred a good part of their capital to the mining industry. The vacant positions were on many occasions filled by Americans.

Criollo nationalism in New Spain and the expulsion of the Jesuits

The second half of the 18th century was the scene of a movement of nationalist vindication on the part of the criollos in New Spain.

Several of the representatives of criollo nationalism in New Spain were members of the Society of Jesus. In the 18th century this congregation carried out important work in the evangelization of the indigenous peoples of the north of the viceroyalty. Alongside this work, they produced a body of documents that give an account of peoples who are now extinct. The importance of the Society in the life of New Spain lay in its great activity on behalf of culture, both through education and in the production and dissemination of knowledge. This activity allowed it to establish a network of relationships that involved the Society in other spheres, especially with members of the agricultural, commercial and mining elite.

Upon the departure of the Jesuits, it was their pupils who took up the renewing impulse of the Society. Among them may be mentioned the astrologer Antonio de León y Gama, the physicist José Mariano Mociño, the philosopher Benito Díaz de Gamarra and the encyclopedist José Antonio Alzate. A significant number of people belonging to the Royal Basque Society of Friends of the Country were relatives, students or patrons of members of the Society. This corporation acquires importance in the history of New Spain because it helped preserve the renewing spirit of the Jesuits and favored the spread of the Enlightenment in New Spain. Through the members of this group, the Jesuits were able to maintain contact with the country from which they had been exiled and eventually were able to return when the colony attained its independence.

The Society of Jesus's style of work put several European governments on alert, both because of its support for the papacy and because of its intellectual activity and the alliances it had established. The Jesuits were expelled from several territories during the second half of the 18th century, including the Spanish dominions by the Pragmatic Sanction of 1767. This involved not only the departure of foreign members of the congregation, but the exile of numerous criollos. Some authors are of the opinion that the expulsion of the Jesuits was the first affront by the Spanish monarchs toward their American subjects.

The consequences of the expulsion of the Society of Jesus were not limited solely to ideological matters. In several places in New Spain there were demonstrations of rejection of this measure taken by the Crown. Viceroy Carlos Francisco de Croix sent José Gálvez with five hundred soldiers to contain the opposition in cities such as Guanajuato, San Luis de la Paz, Pátzcuaro, Uruapan, Valladolid and San Luis Potosí. In Guanajuato the promoters of the opposition were beheaded.

Spain during the French occupation

Ferdinand VII, King of Spain. When the French forced the Spanish royal family to cede their rights to the throne of the peninsula in favor of the Bonapartes, provisional Juntas were established in several cities of America that governed in the name of the Spanish sovereign. In New Spain, the Junta of Mexico was suppressed by the Spaniards on September 15, 1808.

This factor was decisive, since the Spanish clergy knew that if Napoleon took power in Spain, having an ideology different from Catholicism, it would lose its power over the people; for this reason, the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla together with Father José María Morelos y Pavón became convinced to begin the armed struggle. In this way, Napoleon's power would not directly affect the clergy of New Spain.

The invasion of Portugal by Napoleon's troops in 1807 forced the flight of the House of Braganza to Brazil. In Spain, this event had provoked the division of the Spanish royal family. Instigated by Manuel Godoy, the Prince of Asturias had planned a plot to remove his parents from the crown. Finally, he succeeded in getting Charles IV to abdicate in his favor on March 19, 1808. Such an event did not please Bonaparte at all, and he attempted to force Charles IV to declare his abdication null. Although Ferdinand VII tried to form his own government and organize Spain, Napoleon deceitfully led him to Bayonne, where on May 5, 1808 he forced him to cede the crown to his father, so that the latter would then hand it over to the Frenchman.

The Spanish dominions in America in the face of the occupation of the metropolis

Although apparently there was no change in the organization and the ties between Spain and its overseas dominions in America, in reality in each of the colonies there was a discussion about who was the true sovereign of the American lands. The problem was that, nominally, the sovereignty of the Spanish dominions lay with the holder of the Crown of Spain. There was no clarity about the position that ought to be held in the face of the foreign occupation of the metropolis. For some, the option was to recognize the French occupation government. For others, sovereignty lay with Ferdinand VII, and therefore they were not willing to recognize Bonaparte as sovereign. And there was a third group, influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment and the recent independence of the United States, for whom the option was the separation of the colonies from their metropolis. These factions were formed above all by members of the upper and middle classes, that is, by peninsular Spaniards, criollos and some mestizos—very few—who had come to hold some office in the colonial power structure.

In several American cities, Governing Juntas were formed, whose purpose was to preserve sovereignty in substitution for the legitimate King of Spain and until Ferdinand VII was reinstated on the throne, among them the Junta of Montevideo in 1808, the Junta Tuitiva of La Paz in 1809, or the Junta of Quito in 1809. Almost all of them had their origin in the municipal structure, one of the most deeply rooted institutions of government in the Hispanic world, and almost all were dominated by enlightened criollos, since the great majority of peninsular Spaniards opposed the formation of sovereign governments.

Political crisis of New Spain in 1808–1810

Political crisis of 1808

Francisco Primo de Verdad was one of the figures of the Ayuntamiento of Mexico who in 1808 asked Viceroy José de Iturrigaray to install a Provisional Junta that would govern in the name of Ferdinand VII. Iturrigaray sympathized with these ideas. Finally, the Junta was suppressed by a coup d'état against the Viceroy.

Main article: Political crisis of 1808 in Mexico

News of the Mutiny of Aranjuez (March 18 and 19) reached Mexico City on June 8, 1808. Viceroy José de Iturrigaray, chosen through the intervention of the prime minister Manuel Godoy, was dismayed by the events and by the support of the peninsular Spaniards residing in New Spain for the Fernandista party. Nevertheless, he ordered preparations for the swearing of allegiance to and proclamation of Ferdinand VII as sovereign of Spain and the Indies. On June 23, the inhabitants of New Spain learned of the uprising of May 2 in the metropolis and, via the Gaceta de Madrid, on July 14 they became aware of the abdications of Bayonne and the appointment of Joachim Murat as lieutenant general of the kingdom. The Viceroy met with the members of the Real Audiencia and they agreed to keep their concerns and lobbying secret; instead, they made known the abdication of Ferdinand VII through La Gaceta de México on July 16.

The situation in the metropolis constituted an unprecedented situation that called into question with whom sovereignty over the territories under Spanish rule lay. The state of exception arising from the abdication of Ferdinand VII and the French occupation divided the elite of New Spain into two parties. For some—mostly peninsular Spaniards whose spokesman was the Real Audiencia of Mexico—power in New Spain continued to lie with King Ferdinand VII, even though he was momentarily absent. Hence the social and political structure of the viceroyalty was to remain unchanged and subordinate to the Spanish Crown. Some of the most representative figures of this position were the Inquisitor Bernardo Prado y Obejero and Ciriaco González Carvajal. For the others—mostly criollos represented by the Ayuntamiento of Mexico—the situation was more complex because for them the nature of the bond between Spain and New Spain was embodied in the King, but in his absence it was the peoples, through their authorities, who were to exercise it. In the midst of the political crisis, the supporters of this latter position found an opportunity to reform the viceregal regime. Representatives of this group were the síndico Francisco Primo de Verdad y Ramos, the war auditor José Antonio de Cristo and the Regidor Francisco Azcárate y Lezama. All of them were supported by the Mercedarian friar Melchor de Talamantes.

On July 19, 1808, the members of the Ayuntamiento proposed to Viceroy Iturrigaray the creation of a Governing Junta that would exercise sovereignty in New Spain. According to the proposal, the junta would be autonomous with respect to those that were being formed in Spain and would remain in force as long as Ferdinand VII or one of his heirs of the House of Bourbon had not been restored to the throne. The Ayuntamiento raised the possibility of naming Iturrigaray governor and Captain General, as a measure to defend the integrity of the territory in the face of an eventual invasion by the French. The Viceroy welcomed the proposal, since he believed his position threatened after the fall of his benefactor; however, the Real Audiencia ratified its position, with the exception of the Dominican Oidor Jacobo de Villaurrutia—the only criollo member of the Audiencia—who initially seconded the proposals and even proposed a smaller congress, represented by civil, ecclesiastical and military corporations. In this way, for the Acuerdo, the ayuntamientos of Xalapa, Puebla, and Querétaro were invited to participate, thus debating the manner in which the colony should proceed. On July 28 new reports arrived from Spain: the general uprising of the inhabitants of the peninsula and the establishment of governing juntas in the name of Ferdinand VII became known.

Viceroy José de Iturrigaray convened a junta for August 9, attended by civil, military and ecclesiastical representatives, totaling eighty-two participants. The purpose of the junta was to debate the situation. With the exception of Villaurrutia, the members of the Audiencia attended under protest, since they considered that the instructions of the Junta of Seville ought to be followed. Therefore, they described the meeting convened by the Viceroy as unnecessary. The Ayuntamiento of Mexico received the support of the ayuntamientos of Xalapa and Veracruz, of hacendados of those regions, as well as of some governors of the Indian parcialidades. Primo de Verdad and Azcárate proposed that, in the absence of the Monarch, the sovereignty of the colony should remain in the hands of the people, which would be represented by the various ayuntamientos, as well as by the deputies of the secular and ecclesiastical cabildos. In this way sovereignty would be delegated to a congress.

The Ayuntamiento of Mexico appealed to the Laws of the Partidas to justify the existence of a junta that would exercise sovereignty in the absence of the King. With some exceptions, such as Primo de Verdad or Talamantes, the members of the Ayuntamiento and their supporters were rather conservative. In supporting the establishment of the junta they were not thinking of popular representation, but of the installation of a government formed by recognized authorities and representatives of the municipal cabildos. The Ayuntamiento's option did not contemplate separation from Spain; however, the opposing side understood the contrary. For them, the establishment of the Junta of Mexico was a threat to the continuance of the colonial system of which they were beneficiaries. Recognition of the sovereign Junta implied renouncing the economic and political hegemony of the peninsular Spaniards over three centuries. The peninsulars based their ideas on the Laws of the Indies, arguing that it was the Viceroy who should retain authority and that his actions should be consulted with the Acuerdo.

The thesis of the sovereignty of the peoples was anathematized by the inquisitor Prado y Obejero with the support of the oidor Guillermo Aguirre. The discussion between the sides was heated and failed to reconcile positions. Iturrigaray spoke ironically about the possibility of recognizing the Duke of Berg, meeting with the unanimous refusal of those present. By supporting the position of the Ayuntamiento, the viceroy distanced himself from the supporters of the Audiencia. As the conclusion of the meeting of August 9, it was agreed that the authorities established in New Spain would remain in force, while the viceroyalty would not recognize any others than those instituted by Ferdinand VII or by "those who held his legitimate powers".

On August 13, 1808, the oath of allegiance to Ferdinand VII was held in a public ceremony. To win the sympathy of the inhabitants, Iturrigaray sent letters to the juntas of Seville, Valencia and Zaragoza to report on the resolutions agreed upon in Mexico. The rulings of the junta of August 9 were rejected by the intendants Juan Antonio Riaño (Guanajuato) and Manuel de Flon (Puebla), as well as by the Audiencia of Guadalajara. They declared the decisions taken in Mexico null and declared themselves adherents of the juntas of Spain. Likewise, the Ayuntamiento of Querétaro—made up mostly of Europeans—decided to retract the support it had initially offered. On August 27, the Inquisition of Mexico published an edict declaring "heretical and seditious" the propositions that attacked the divine authority of kings and that proposed the "heresy of the sovereignty of the people".

Proclamation of September 16, 1808, in which the population of New Spain is informed of the deposition of Viceroy Iturrigaray and the appointment of Pedro Garibay as his replacement.

On August 31 a new meeting was held. The members of the Audiencia took the opportunity to back the commissioners of the Junta of Seville who had arrived in the capital of New Spain. In this way they expressed their rejection of the resolution of August 9 and branded Iturrigaray as inept. Backed by a letter from the Junta of Asturias, the viceroy convened a new meeting for September 1, where he explained that none of the juntas formed in Spain recognized the sovereignty of the others. After a vote, the Junta of Mexico once again refused to recognize that of Seville. Iturrigaray notified the Spanish juntas by letter of the position of New Spain, and proceeded to ask the ayuntamientos of the viceroyalty to send representatives to the capital. To support the metropolis, the viceroy ordered fourteen and a half million pesos from the Treasury to be shipped, and an additional one hundred thousand pesos to help the Junta of Seville.

On September 9 a last general junta was held, which only served to inflame tempers and increase the antagonism between criollos and Europeans. During the following days, defamatory rumors about the person of the viceroy spread through New Spain. The peninsulars, backed by the commissioners of the Junta of Seville, decided to depose the Viceroy.

Led by Gabriel de Yermo, Iturrigaray's enemies rose up on September 15, 1808. The viceregal palace was stormed by a contingent of three hundred men and at the same time Primo de Verdad, Cristo, Azcárate and the friar Talamantes were apprehended. The Viceroy and his family were taken to Cádiz to face a judicial process. Villaurrutia was removed from his position as oidor. Pedro de Garibay was appointed substitute Viceroy of New Spain, an office he held until May 1809, always following the line dictated by the Audiencia of Mexico. On October 4, 1808, Primo de Verdad died in strange circumstances in the prison of the Archbishopric. On May 9, 1809, Talamantes died of yellow fever in the prison of San Juan de Ulúa. After a short time in prison, Antonio de Cristo was removed from the War Auditorship. Azcárate was imprisoned in the convent of the Bethlehemites, where he remained a prisoner until December 1811.

The Real Audiencia of Mexico informed the Junta of Seville of the events, arguing that the "inflamed people" had been responsible for the overthrow of the Viceroy. The new viceregal government sent letters to the Supreme Junta of Seville recognizing its sovereignty. Unlike what happened in other viceroyalties, the coup d'état in New Spain prevented a local junta from being established.

The question of sovereignty during 1809

Joseph Bonaparte was designated Monarch of Spain by his brother, and in July 1808 he called on the viceroyalties of America and the captaincies general of Cuba and Guatemala to send six representatives to work on the Bayonne Statute. The Americans declined the invitation. After being defeated at Bailén, the French temporarily withdrew from Madrid. Their absence allowed the multiple sovereign juntas in the peninsula to agree to form the Supreme Central Junta on September 25 in Aranjuez. For security reasons, the Junta later moved to Seville, Cádiz and the Isla de León. The economic support provided by New Spain was used to reorganize the Spanish army in its struggle against the Napoleonic Empire.

The Supreme Central Junta issued a decree on January 22, 1809, by which it recognized the American dominions as an integral part of the monarchy with the right to representation in the body. To this end, one representative was to be elected from each viceroyalty and captaincy general. The election was carried out by lot and involved the ayuntamientos and the Real Acuerdo. In contrast, each province of the peninsula was entitled to a deputy, so that there were thirty-six or more members for Spain and only nine for all of America. The Americans protested against the disproportionate representation. The criollos of New Spain with autonomist ideas lost hope of obtaining favorable results for their cause in the metropolis.

In January 1809, a proclamation appeared in several important cities of the viceroyalty calling for the installation of an autonomous government in New Spain that would defend Ferdinand VII and religion. The author of the document was Julián de Castillejos, a participant in the literary tertulias with the Marquis of San Juan de Rayas. When they were questioned, they denied all responsibility. The royal officials let them go, but kept them under close surveillance.

Carlota Joaquina de Borbón, sister of Ferdinand VII, sent a letter to the inhabitants of New Spain in March 1809. In it she proposed her son Pedro I of Brazil as Regent of New Spain. Viceroy Garibay and the oidores of the Audiencia thought it was a ruse by Napoleon, and evaded the request. In a later communication, Carlota de Borbón only urged the defense of the Spanish dominions and expressed gratitude for the actions carried out in September 1808 in the viceregal capital. In the following days, Garibay ordered the apprehension of anyone suspected of sedition. Among them were the friar Sugasti, the silversmith José Luis Rodríguez Alconedo—supposed maker of Iturrigaray's crown—the scribe Peimbert, Antonio Calleja and the priest Palacios. On July 19, 1809, Francisco Javier de Lizana y Beaumont assumed the office of Viceroy by appointment of the Junta of Seville, replacing the elderly Pedro de Garibay.

In the image, the House of García Obeso. This building was the venue for the meetings of the group of Valladolid conspirators in 1809.

The decision to recognize the Junta of Seville did not satisfy all the inhabitants of New Spain. In Valladolid (now Morelia) the election of the representative of Michoacán deepened the divisions between criollos and peninsulars. Starting in September 1809, the criollos—headed by José Mariano Michelena and José María García Obeso—began to organize clandestinely to appoint a sovereign junta. The conspirators, in addition to having gained followers in other cities of El Bajío, sought the support of indigenous people, to whom they promised the abolition of tributes. The armed uprising was to begin on December 21, 1809, but the priest of the Morelia Cathedral, Francisco de la Concha, notified the authorities of the plans. Consequently, nearly forty suspects were apprehended.

Carlos María de Bustamante served as defender of the prisoners, and argued that "the day the first insurgent is hanged, Spain would have to lose hope of keeping America". Viceroy Lizana y Beaumont, interested in reconciling Americans and Europeans, chose to grant them their freedom, but the peninsulars, who had never sympathized with the appointment of the Viceroy, reproached this decision, further increasing their animosity. Meanwhile, in Spain the French continued advancing in their campaign through the peninsula.

Convocation of the Cortes of Cádiz

Detail of Portrait of Miguel Lardizabal, Francisco de Goya. This Tlaxcalan was the only American on the Council of Regency of Spain and the Indies. He defended Ferdinand VII's right to the throne, and upon the Monarch's return he was appointed universal minister of the Indies. He was opposed to the independence of the American colonies.

Main article: Cortes of Cádiz

The Supreme Central Junta decided to dissolve itself on January 29, 1810 to form the Council of Regency of Spain and the Indies with five of its members. The purpose of this new body was to convene the Cortes of Cádiz. Only one American formed part of the Regency, the Tlaxcalan Miguel de Lardizábal y Uribe; the rest of the members of the Junta were relieved of their duties, including the American representatives, who had not even arrived from overseas. When this news became known in Mexico City, obedience and loyalty were sworn to the body, which was recognized as having the same authority as Ferdinand VII. On February 14, 1810, the American representatives were invited to participate in the drafting of a new constitution, which promised changes for criollos and mestizos.

While elections for deputies were being held in America, thirty substitute deputies residing in the peninsula were appointed to represent the overseas provinces, of whom seven were from New Spain. After the elections, seventeen representatives for New Spain received appointments as deputies to the Cortes. Meanwhile, after learning of the Siege of Cádiz and the advance of the French in Spain, new autonomous juntas were established in America: in April the Junta of Caracas was formed; in May, that of Buenos Aires; in July, that of Bogotá; and in September, that of Chile.

Around that time, the Audiencia of Mexico asked the Regency to remove Viceroy Lizana. The exercise of the government of New Spain fell to the Audiencia from May 1810 until the arrival of Francisco Xavier Venegas, the new viceroy. In keeping with events in other parts of America, a new conspiracy was under way in New Spain. Although throughout the kingdom elections were being held for the deputies who were to attend the Cortes of Cádiz, the criollos of New Spain resented the overthrow of Iturrigaray that had been planned by the peninsular Spaniards or gachupines.

One of the deputies elected to attend the Cortes of Cádiz was José Eduardo de Cárdenas, deputy for Tabasco, who on July 24, 1811 presented before the plenary a memorial entitled Exposición de motivos de la guerra de independencia (Statement of the reasons for the war of independence), in which he protested against the viceregal authorities over the situation of marginalization and poverty in which the indigenous people and mestizos of New Spain found themselves, and set out possible solutions. Among his revolutionary proposals were: the organization of free education, without any distinction of social class and without the exclusion of the Indians; the creation of agricultural production societies; the granting of freedom of trade; the creation of ayuntamientos by popular election; and the division of government into three powers: Legislative, Executive and Judicial.

Beginning of the war (1810–1811)

Route of the military campaign of Miguel Hidalgo and area of spread of the armed uprising from 1810 to 1811.

Main article: Beginning of the Mexican War of Independence

The initial stage of the Mexican War of Independence corresponds to the popular uprising led by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. Discovered by the Spaniards, the conspirators of Querétaro had no alternative but to take up arms on a date earlier than originally planned. The members of the conspiracy found themselves without a base of support at that moment, so Hidalgo had to call on the people of Dolores to rise up against the Spanish authorities on September 16, 1810. The insurgents advanced rapidly toward the main cities of the Bajío and then toward the capital of New Spain, but in the vicinity of Mexico City they withdrew on Hidalgo's orders. The following encounters between the insurgents and the Spanish army—called royalist—were almost all won by the latter. The disagreements between Hidalgo and Ignacio Allende, who were at the head of the insurgency, increased after the defeats.

The rebels had to flee toward the north, where they hoped to find the support of the provinces of that region, which had also taken up arms. The leaders of the insurgency were captured at Acatita de Baján (Coahuila). Once arrested, they were sent to Chihuahua. In this city Hidalgo, Jiménez, Allende and Aldama were shot, and their heads were sent to Guanajuato to be displayed at the corners of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas.

The Querétaro Conspiracy and the Cry of Dolores

Ignacio Allende and Mariano Abasolo were among the sympathizers of the Valladolid conspirators. When that conspiracy was discovered, they organized a new conspiracy, which had its definitive seat in Querétaro. The meetings were held clandestinely in the house of the corregidor, Miguel Domínguez. Allende was at the head of the conspirators, among whom were the corregidor himself, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Juan Aldama and Josefa Ortiz. The group of conspirators would seek in the first instance the removal of the Spaniards from government posts, supported by an uprising that would begin on October 1.

The conspiracy was denounced on September 9 by José Mariano Galván. Other denunciations reached the ears of Commander Ignacio García Rebolledo, who ordered the search of the house and the apprehension of the González brothers. Josefa Ortiz sent Ignacio Pérez as a messenger to warn the conspirators in San Miguel el Grande; afterward she was imprisoned along with her husband and other conspirators.

The Corregidora's warning reached Juan Aldama, and it was he who carried it to Dolores on September 16. With the help of prisoners they freed from the jail, the insurgents captured the delegate Rincón and headed to the atrium of the town's parish church. In that place, Hidalgo called on those present to rise up against bad government, in an act known as the Cry of Dolores, which is considered the beginning of the war for Mexican independence. As the days passed, some of the prisoners of Querétaro were set free, although others suffered exile.

Military campaign

Hidalgo's campaign

Monument to El Pípila, in Guanajuato. This figure, of humble origin, is said to have set fire to the door of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, an act that allowed the insurgents to win one of the most important cities of New Spain. Authors identified as conservatives (e.g. Alamán 1849) deny that El Pípila existed.

In the image, monument commemorating the Decree of Miguel Hidalgo, in the Plaza de la Liberación of Guadalajara.

From Dolores, the movement led by Hidalgo moved through several places in the Bajío, one of the most prosperous regions of New Spain. The number of troops is unknown. In Atotonilco they took the banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which is considered the emblem of the movement.

In the towns of eastern Guanajuato, miners and peons from neighboring haciendas, poorly armed and trained, joined the contingent. When they reached Celaya on September 21, 1810, the insurgents may have numbered twenty thousand men. Celaya was sacked by the insurgents, although Aldama and other career soldiers tried in vain to contain the mass. After this episode, Hidalgo was proclaimed "Captain General of America" above Allende, who held the rank of Lieutenant General. After seizing Salamanca, Irapuato and Silao, the insurgent army reached Guanajuato on September 28. Despite the sympathies it initially aroused, Hidalgo's movement was viewed unfavorably by the middle and upper classes, since the leaders were incapable of restraining their troops. For the same reason, the differences between Allende and Hidalgo began to become more visible.

Support for the insurgents in Guanajuato was evident. The Intendant Riaño barricaded himself with his troops in the Alhóndiga de Granaditas—one of the strongest buildings in the city—and sent letters requesting military support from Viceroy Venegas, from the Real Audiencia of Guadalajara and from Félix María Calleja, head of the royalist troops of San Luis. Help did not arrive. For his part, Hidalgo, an old friend of Riaño, requested the Intendant's capitulation, but the latter refused and was one of the first to die. After «El Pípila» set fire to the main door, Hidalgo and the insurgents took the Alhóndiga. The city was sacked again, until Hidalgo issued a death sentence for those responsible.

Insurgent armed with a lance. Watercolor by Theubet de Beauchamp. This type of combatant must have been very numerous in Hidalgo's contingent.

In response to the advance of the insurgents, Viceroy Venegas published a proclamation offering a reward of ten thousand pesos for the heads of the leaders of the insurrection. Félix María Calleja and Roque Abarca set out to encircle the rebellion. For his part, the Bishop of Michoacán Manuel Abad y Queipo published an edict of excommunication against Hidalgo and his followers. On October 13, 1810, Bernardo Prado y Obejero ratified the excommunication and extended it to anyone who approved of the sedition, received proclamations, helped the insurgents or maintained communication with them.

Hidalgo began the advance through other cities of the Bajío on October 8, 1810. Along the way more people joined, and he came to have up to sixty thousand men recruited. The insurgents headed for Valladolid (Michoacán) and in Acámbaro they captured Diego García Conde, who had been sent to defend the capital of Michoacán. Agustín de Iturbide had sixty men to defend Valladolid but, upon learning of the number of insurgents, he rejected Hidalgo's offer to join the troops and abandoned the city, followed by Bishop Abad y Queipo. Valladolid was taken peacefully on October 17. The increase in the size and disorder of the army caused some friction between Hidalgo and the career military men. In Acámbaro, Hidalgo received the rank of Generalísimo of America and Allende that of Captain General.

The insurgents advanced toward the Valley of Mexico. To confront the rebellion, the detachment of Torcuato Trujillo carried out reconnaissance in the area of Ixtlahuaca, but in the face of the advance of Hidalgo's numerous army, he decided to reinforce Mendívil at Lerma and the bridge of Atengo. The rebels advanced through Santiago Tianguistenco. On October 30, 1810, the insurgents defeated the Spaniards at the Monte de las Cruces, thanks to the strategy of Abasolo, Jiménez and Allende. At the end of the battle, the insurgents seized weapons and ammunition from the royalist army, whose remnants—including Iturbide—fled to Mexico City. The next day Jiménez and Abasolo were sent to a failed negotiation with the Viceroy, who refused to capitulate given the imminent arrival of reinforcements. Hidalgo chose to return to Valladolid, a decision that further strained the relationship with Allende and provoked the desertion of half the troops.

Allende assumed the leadership of the insurgents after the defeat at Puente de Calderón.

On the road to Valladolid, the royalists commanded by Félix María Calleja attacked the insurgents at Aculco. The defeat of the latter weakened the contingent through desertions, the taking of prisoners and the loss of weaponry. After the battle, the royalists sacked the town. For their part, the insurgents divided into two contingents: Allende marched with the majority to Guanajuato and the rest followed Hidalgo toward Valladolid. Taking the situation into account, the insurgents divided, and the bulk of the troops turned—with Allende at their head—toward Guanajuato, while barely a handful returned with Hidalgo to Valladolid. There, the Generalísimo obtained the financial support of the Church and new adherents.

Hidalgo headed toward Guadalajara and not to Guanajuato, as he had agreed with Allende. The relationship between the two weakened even further, since Allende thought that Hidalgo was letting himself be carried away by the rabble and had forgotten Ferdinand VII. In Guanajuato, Allende was defeated by Calleja and Flon. Some inhabitants of the city murdered one hundred thirty-eight Spanish prisoners in the face of the imminent arrival of the royalists, who had threatened with the death penalty anyone who had supported the insurgents. This act triggered a massacre ordered by Calleja, which was complemented by the execution of those suspected of sedition. Allende was able to escape the massacre and met in San Luis Potosí with Abasolo and Aldama. Later all of them would join Hidalgo.

Meanwhile, Hidalgo remained in Guadalajara. Hidalgo's intention was to form a governing body. With this purpose he appointed Ignacio López Rayón as minister of State and José María Chico as minister of Justice. As head of this body, Hidalgo decreed the abolition of slavery in the territory of New Spain on December 6, 1810. He also sent Pascasio Ortiz de Letona as minister plenipotentiary to the Congress of the United States to seek a military and economic alliance. In Guadalajara the Spaniards were conspiring to hand the city over to Calleja's army. Without any trial, Hidalgo ordered the execution of the suspects on the hill of Las Bateas, with the angry disapproval of Allende and Aldama.

In the face of the imminent arrival of the royalist troops of Calleja and of José de la Cruz, a council of war was held. Allende and Hidalgo proposed different strategies, but the final decision was Hidalgo's, who ordered Ruperto Mier to go out and stop the troops of José de la Cruz. However, Mier was defeated at Urepetiro by the regiment of Pedro Celestino Negrete. The insurgents fortified the bridge of Calderón and there they met the royalist contingent commanded by Manuel de Flon and Félix María Calleja. After six hours of combat, the insurgents ended up fleeing the place and Guadalajara was won by the royalists. The insurgents moved to Aguascalientes. In Pabellón, Hidalgo was relieved as Generalísimo and Allende led the troops northward to join José Mariano Jiménez, who had taken Saltillo after winning the Battle of Aguanueva. The idea was to obtain the support of the northern provinces of New Spain and, later, of the United States.

Ignacio López Rayón was named head of the insurgency and returned with part of the troops to Michoacán, accompanied by José María Liceaga. The other leaders and the rest of the troops continued on the road north, and on their way through Monclova they met for the first time Ignacio Elizondo, who had been a sympathizer of the insurgency. As a result, Pedro de Aranda was captured. On March 21, 1811, Hidalgo, Allende, Aldama and Jiménez were taken prisoner at Acatita de Baján (Coahuila), together with other members of the insurgency. The prisoners were shot in Monclova and Chihuahua. The heads of Hidalgo, Aldama, Allende and Jiménez were hung at the four corners of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, remaining in view of the inhabitants until 1821.

Other insurgent centers

José Antonio Torres led the pro-independence revolution in Nueva Galicia. He took Guadalajara, where Hidalgo and Allende met in December 1810. He was hanged and beheaded in 1812; his head was displayed as a warning for 40 days and his limbs were distributed throughout Nueva Galicia.

The pro-independence movement begun in Dolores on September 15, 1810 was seconded in other parts of New Spain. In early November 1810, José Antonio Torres managed to prevail over the little resistance offered by the viceregal forces at La Barca and in the Battle of Zacoalco. With a force of twenty thousand men he entered the City of Guadalajara on November 11. Almost immediately José María Mercado was commissioned to take the towns of Tepic and San Blas, objectives he achieved without firing a single shot on November 28 and December 1 respectively. By December 1810 he had strengthened his position in a significant part of Nueva Galicia.

The supporters of the insurgency had taken several important cities before the end of 1810. Rafael Iriarte controlled León, Aguascalientes and Zacatecas. Luis de Herrera and Juan Villerías occupied San Luis Potosí. In Toluca and Zitácuaro was Benedicto López. José María Morelos was beginning his campaign in the south of Michoacán and Mexico, while Miguel Sánchez and Julián Villagrán controlled the Mezquital Valley in the north of the Intendancy of Mexico. The northern provinces such as Texas, Coahuila and Nuevo León had also joined the insurgent cause. José María González Hermosillo began the rebellion with the Battle of Real del Rosario in the Western Interior Provinces, and José María Sáenz de Ontiveros in Durango; in addition, various spontaneous uprisings led by priests and ranchers took place in many parts of the viceroyalty.

The persecution of the regional leaders was as harsh as that directed against the main heads of the insurgency. In January 1811, José María Mercado—who operated in Nueva Galicia—was defeated at Maninalco and probably committed suicide, since his body was found at the bottom of a ravine the following day. Some leaders resisted the persecution for a short time, such as José Antonio Torres, who was defeated by Antonio López Merino on April 4, 1812 and hanged on May 23 after a summary trial. Others resisted and became protagonists of the events of the following years, such as Villagrán and Morelos.

Characteristics of the insurgent movement of 1810–1811

Between 1785 and 1786, New Spain had experienced one of the greatest agricultural crises in its history, causing a famine in which some 300,000 people died. Between 1808 and 1809 a severe drought in El Bajío had reduced harvests; consequently, food prices had quadrupled. In addition, the wars in Europe had caused shortages and unemployment. In this situation the peasants saw in Hidalgo a leader who could lead them to a better life. It was thus that the insurgents managed to gain followers rapidly. He also counted on the reinforcements that could be provided by Allende and Mariano Abasolo, officers of the Queen's Dragoons Regiment in San Miguel el Grande.

Second stage: Organization (1811–1815)

The so-called organization stage of Mexico's pro-independence war comprises the military and political events between the moment Ignacio López Rayón was named commander of the insurgent forces in Saltillo on March 16, 1811 (shortly before Hidalgo, Allende, Aldama, Jiménez and other insurgent leaders were captured and executed in northern Mexico) and the execution by firing squad of José María Morelos y Pavón in Ecatepec on December 22, 1815. During this period, the pro-independence movement not only carried out military actions but also gave itself a structure and a body of law. The ideological positioning of the insurgent cause also gained importance during this period.

Social composition of the movement

The insurgent movement was supported by the lower classes, especially peasants. The men gathered in large mobs armed with slings, arrows, spears, sticks and stones. They joined the insurgent leaders spontaneously and temporarily to oppose the viceregal army, and occasionally a leader emerged from among them. Comanches and Lipans took part in the battles, as did Black slaves. Only the slaves of some haciendas remained loyal to their masters. Those who owned horses harangued the Indigenous farmworkers to join the movement somewhat better armed. Almost all of the forces under the command of Ignacio López Rayón were Indian archers from El Bajío; those of José María Morelos were made up of Blacks and mulattoes from the south who were hacienda laborers, sometimes viceregal army soldiers who had been defeated, and thousands of barely armed peasants who were of great help in difficult moments. As the movement advanced, the urban middle class began to sympathize with the insurgents; the ideas of the revolution spread in the urban environment among men of letters, notably, among others, Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi and Carlos María de Bustamante in Mexico, as well as Friar Servando Teresa de Mier in London.

López Rayón's march to the south

Ignacio López Rayón had been one of the secretaries of state appointed by Miguel Hidalgo when the latter attempted to organize an insurgent government during his brief stay in Guadalajara between November 1810 and January 1811. Some documents signed by Hidalgo there and at earlier moments of the revolution were drafted by López Rayón himself, so it is presumed that he had some influence over Miguel Hidalgo. On March 5, 1811, López Rayón received the post of supreme commander of the insurgency and the instruction to return south while Hidalgo, Allende and others continued their march toward Texas.

The three thousand five hundred men who made up the remnant of the insurgency marched toward Michoacán under the command of López Rayón and other leaders. During the march they clashed with the royalists, whom they defeated at Puerto de Piñones and at Zacatecas.

Rayón and Liceaga determined that it was necessary to establish a Congress or Junta in accordance with the original plans of 1808 to govern autonomously in the name of Ferdinand VII while the Monarch was a prisoner in France. They sent a letter addressed to Calleja expressing these objectives, which was delivered by José María Rayón. Although he offered them a pardon, Calleja refused the possibility of entering into negotiations with the insurgents to recognize said junta. Rayón set out for Aguascalientes and was pursued by General Miguel Emparán, who dealt him a defeat at the Battle of Maguey on May 2, 1811. Nevertheless, Rayón managed to escape toward La Piedad and Zamora. When Calleja arrived in the City of Zacatecas, where Víctor Rosales had remained in command of a thousand men, the latter accepted the pardon offered. In any case, Calleja had thirteen insurgents shot, and a year later Rosales rejoined the rebellion.

Rayón began a guerrilla war, deploying José Antonio Torres in Pátzcuaro and Uruapan, Father Navarrete in Zacapu, Mariano Caneiga in Parindicuaro, Manuel Muñiz in Tacámbaro, and Luna in Acámbaro and Jerécuaro, while he himself settled in the first days of June in Zitácuaro, where he had the support of Benedicto López. On June 22, the Spanish Commander Miguel Emparán, at the head of two thousand men, attacked Zitácuaro, but was defeated and the Insurgents held the town.

Other uprisings and clashes

During February 1811, José María González Hermosillo was defeated in Sinaloa by Alejo García Conde at the Battle of San Ignacio de Piaxtla. In the first days of May in the area of Matehuala, the insurgent Juan Villerías was defeated by Joaquín de Arredondo and Cayetano Quintero, dying on May 13. Arredondo continued his advance, taking the town of Tula on May 22 and defeating Mateo Acuña, who along with other insurgents was executed. On June 21, the viceregal forces took Matehuala.

On July 12, the insurgents José Calixto Martínez y Moreno, Ignacio Sandoval and Miguel Gallaga were defeated at the Battle of Llanos de Santa Juana, although they managed to take Colima on July 16, 1811. Viceregal forces under the command of Rosendo Porlier recovered the towns of Sayula, Zacoalco and Zapotlán el Grande, and afterward joined the Spanish Colonel Manuel del Río in Zapotiltic. The parish priest of Matehuala, José Francisco Álvarez, with the help of Pedro Celestino Negrete, defeated the insurgents at Colotlán, inflicting more than one thousand five hundred casualties on them. The town of La Barca was severely punished by Negrete because the population had helped Miguel Gallaga and Father Ramos escape. In the El Bajío region, Albino García kept up the insurgent guerrilla in Pénjamo, Valle de Santiago and Yuriria; he was pursued unsuccessfully by Lieutenant Colonel Miguel del Campo, but suffered a heavy defeat near Celaya. In mid-June at San Luis de la Paz, the insurgents commanded by José Antonio Verde were defeated by Captain Antonio Linares; in the same town on July 10, the insurgent leader José de la Luz Gutiérrez, in command of four thousand men, was defeated by Captain Guizarnotegui.

From late July to mid-August, the insurgent revolution flared up again in Aguascalientes and Zacatecas. When the viceregal forces shot the rebels Nájera and Flores Alatorre in Aguascalientes, the town was taken by the priest Ramos, Oropesa, Ochoa and Hermosilla, forcing the subdelegate Felipe Álvarez and the priest Terán, who had exercised a brief despotic government, to leave the city. On August 25, Calleja sent Colonel García Conde and Lieutenant José López to suppress the new revolutionary outbreak; after putting up resistance, the insurgents dispersed at Nochistlán. On August 21, the Spanish colonel Manuel del Río took the town of Colima, inflicting seven hundred casualties on the insurgents commanded by Gallaga, Sandoval and Cadenas. Twenty days later, the Insurgents were again defeated at Colotitlan, with three hundred men dying in the fighting. In Tomatlán, Gallaga, who was held responsible for the defeat, was seriously wounded by one of Sandoval's soldiers. Shortly afterward he was taken in front of the parish church, where he was shot again, dying on the spot.

The first campaigns in the south

In the Tierra Caliente region, there were outbreaks of rebellion from late September 1810. The most notable leaders were Ávila and Ruvalcaba, but they were defeated by José Acha, who was the administrator of the haciendas of Gabriel de Yermo. Ruvalcaba died in the encounters; the Viceroy appointed José Antonio Andrade, and shortly afterward Nicolás Cosío, to defend the area against new uprisings. In October 1810, after having met with Hidalgo in the town of Charo, José María Morelos began his campaign in Carácuaro with only twenty-five men. He gradually enlarged his army, but Morelos's military strategy was different from Hidalgo's: his army never exceeded six thousand men, who were disciplined and had adequate weaponry. After advancing through Petatlán, Juan José, Pablo and Hermenegildo Galeana joined his campaign in Técpan. His march continued through Atoyac and Coyuca, reaching the port of Acapulco, which he unsuccessfully tried to take by assault at the end of 1810. Shortly afterward, Calixto, Leonardo, Máximo, Miguel, Víctor and Nicolás Bravo joined him in Chichihualco, as did Vicente Guerrero during the Battle of El Veladero. In January 1811 they defeated the Spanish captain Juan Francisco París at the Battle of Tres Palos.

Between February and April, the insurgents in this area had two thousand five hundred men, who were distributed in Sabana, El Aguacatillo, Veladero and Las Cruces. Because Cosío was unable to defeat them, the Viceroy replaced him with Juan Antonio Fuentes, but he too was overrun in early May when Morelos decided to abandon the siege of Acapulco in order to advance toward Chilpancingo. In the towns of Chichihualco, Chilpancingo and Tixtla the viceregal forces were defeated. Fuentes pursued Morelos, but was defeated again at Chilapa, and that town was added to those controlled by the Insurgents.

Conspiracies in Mexico City

In April 1811, the capture of the initiators of the rebellion was received with sadness by their sympathizers. An attempted plot against the Viceroy, led by Manuel Lazarín and his wife Mariana Rodríguez del Toro, was discovered when Father Camargo violated the seal of confession of the conspirator José María Gallardo, and some of the participants were imprisoned.

News of the partial victories of the insurgents gave new encouragement to their followers. Meetings were held at the house of Antonio Rodríguez Dongo in which Augustinian friars, low-ranking military men, lawyers and a jail escapee took part, but they were denounced on August 2, 1811. As a result, Antonio Ferrer, Ignacio Cataño, José María Ayala, Antonio Rodríguez Dongo, Félix Pineda and José María González were sentenced to death and were publicly executed on the 29th of that month. The rest were condemned to prison. The clergymen Juan N. Castro, Vicente Negreiros and Manuel Resendi were defrocked and exiled to Havana. These sentences and executions widened the division among the inhabitants of New Spain.

The administration of Viceroy Venegas continued sending money to the Iberian Peninsula to support the defense against Napoleon, diminishing the resources of the colony itself. Because of the revolution, mining suspended operations and entered a process of decline. Agriculture was largely abandoned when the peasants joined the armed movement.

López Rayón and the Junta of Zitácuaro

Main article: Junta of Zitácuaro

Mural in Zitácuaro depicting the establishment of the Supreme American National Junta.

In Zitácuaro, on August 19, 1811, Ignacio López Rayón called for the formation of the Supreme American National Junta "for the preservation of the rights of Ferdinand VII, the defense of the holy religion and the indemnification and liberty of the oppressed Fatherland", which "would organize the armies, protect the just cause and free the fatherland from the oppression and yoke it had suffered for three centuries". Ignacio López Rayón himself presided over the junta, and José María Liceaga and José Sixto Verduzco were named members. To disseminate the decisions taken by the Junta, it had the help of Andrés Quintana Roo and José María Cos, who supplied a press to print the newspaper El Ilustrador Americano, which spread autonomist ideas.

The Junta of Zitácuaro did not differ in its purposes from those established in other parts of America; for their members, the existence of these councils was justified by the preservation of sovereignty in the name of the deposed King of Spain until he once again held the Crown. The Junta of Zitácuaro brought together above all the Creole elite of central Mexico. It had the support of Morelos, leader of the insurgency in the Sierra Madre del Sur. Almost immediately, Calleja issued orders not to recognize or obey the junta of the insurgents, at the same time making known the existence of the Cortes of Cádiz, which were the only ones that ought to be obeyed.

During the existence of the junta, the Constitutional Elements, the first draft of a national constitution, were written; the first minting of properly Mexican coins was made; and the first attempts were made to obtain recognition from the international community by sending an ambassador to the United States: Francisco Antonio de Peredo y Pereyra.

The viceregal forces continued to harass the insurgents who were under the command of Albino García in Guanajuato and Manuel Villalongín in Michoacán, as well as José María Correa, Julián Villagrán and Francisco Villagrán in Villa del Carbón and Calpulalpan. In its attempts to legitimize itself before the regional leaders and gain prestige in the face of the royalist army, the Junta of Zitácuaro, or rather López Rayón (in his post of universal minister of the nation, in other words, head of the Junta), undertook a series of military campaigns that did not yield the expected dividends: Juan Francisco Osorno was assigned to the Llanos de Apan and Mariano Aldama to the Sierra Gorda, but both were defeated by the Spanish colonel Ciriaco del Llano.

In New Spain, some landowners and businessmen supported the rebellion by providing financial resources and supplies. In Mexico City and some other cities, a clandestine group known as Los Guadalupes supported the Junta by providing the insurgents with information on royalist activities. Leona Vicario, wife of Andrés Quintana Roo and also the first woman journalist in Mexico, belonged to this group, as did Don José Mariano de Sardaneta y Llorente, Marquis of San Juan de Rayas, a nobleman whose resources would be of great benefit to the cause. López Rayón was unable to prevent the Junta from being driven from its original location by Calleja, who was the victor of the Battle of Zitácuaro in the first days of 1812.

Siege of Cuautla

First campaigns of José María Morelos y Pavón (1810–1812).

Main article: Siege of Cuautla

Morelos continued his advance from Chilapa and sent Valerio Trujano toward Silacayoapan. In addition, the priest of Carácuaro divided his army into three columns. One, led by Miguel Bravo, advanced on Oaxaca by way of Huitzuco. On his way to the southeast, Bravo took Acatlán and Huajuapan. Another arm, under the command of Hermenegildo Galeana, returned to Taxco. The third insurgent group, led personally by Morelos, took the town of Chiautla, defeating Mateo Musitu. On December 10 he entered Izúcar, today Izúcar de Matamoros, where Mariano Matamoros joined him. On December 17 at El Calvario, together they defeated viceregal forces commanded by Soto Maceda, who was mortally wounded during the fighting. In the first days of 1812, Rosendo Porlier set out from Toluca for Tenancingo and managed to defeat the insurgent forces commanded by Hermenegildo Galeana and José María Oviedo at the Battle of Tecualoya. Oviedo died in the fighting, but on January 22 Morelos reinforced his companions and succeeded in defeating Porlier at the Battle of Tenancingo. In the end Morelos did not advance toward Puebla de los Ángeles, but, continuing westward, on February 9, 1812, he conquered the town of Cuautla for the insurgent cause.

During the month of January 1812, the royalist battalions Asturias and Loveras, as well as the América regiment, commanded by Brigadier Juan José de Olazaba, landed at the port of Veracruz to place themselves under the orders of the Viceroy, who had requested help from Spain to fight the insurrection. In February, Félix María Calleja (the finest sword of New Spain, as he had been nicknamed thanks to his many victories over the insurgents) was commissioned by Viceroy Venegas to finish off Morelos's army once and for all. Calleja naturally expected to defeat the insurgents easily, especially since he had numerical superiority and the rebels were a handful of guerrillas without military training, or at least this was what the future Viceroy of New Spain thought. Thus began the Siege of Cuautla; the same fate was being suffered by Father José María Sánchez de la Vega and Vicente Guerrero, but at the Battle of Izúcar, under siege by the royalists Ciriaco del Llano and José Antonio Andrade.

During this time, López Rayón and the Junta had moved to Toluca. Albino García attacked Guanajuato, where he was repulsed, but he managed to take the town of Irapuato, forcing Brigadier García Conde to fall back to Celaya, although the latter later took the town of San Miguel el Grande to clear the road leading to San Luis. Manuel Mier y Terán joined the insurgent cause in Sultepec and began casting cannons. In the same place Dr. Cos continued distributing El Ilustrador Americano. New rebellions broke out in New Galicia but were suppressed by Pedro Celestino Negrete, José de la Cruz and Manuel Pastor; on May 23, José Antonio Torres was captured and sentenced to the gallows; his corpse was quartered, the head remained in Guadalajara and the four limbs were sent to different towns. The towns of Córdoba, Orizaba and Xalapa emancipated themselves; in these uprisings Guadalupe Victoria began to stand out.

In Cuautla, after seventy-two days of siege and fighting, neither side was able to prevail. The royalists had also failed in their attempt to recover Izúcar, but on May 2 the insurgents were able to break the siege of Cuautla, evacuating it to avoid a massacre of civilians. The inhabitants of the town themselves also took part in the final defense of that town (which today belongs to the state of Morelos), notably a group of boys called Los Emulantes. This insurgent children's battalion was led by the natural son of the priest Morelos, Juan Nepomuceno Almonte, and among its members was Narciso Mendoza, better known in the history of Mexico as the Boy Artilleryman. During the military actions of the siege, the son of the former Intendant of Guanajuato, Gil Riaño, died, and Leonardo Bravo was captured; he was taken to Mexico City, where he was executed months later by garrote. Having vacated Cuautla, Morelos's troops dispersed to the east, toward Izúcar and Chiautla.

Plan of Peace and War, Los Guadalupes

Main article: Los Guadalupes

After the battle of Tenancingo, Rosendo Porlier, with the help of the royalist colonel Joaquín del Castillo y Bustamante, forced Ignacio López Rayón to abandon Toluca. After clashing again at the Battle of Tenango, he established himself in Tlalpujahua. Despite the efforts made by the insurgents José María Correa and Epitacio Sánchez to defend their position, the royalist contingent managed to penetrate as far as Sultepec in mid-June. Around this time, the Plan of Peace and War of José María Cos had been sent to Viceroy Venegas. The document listed the atrocities committed by the royalist commanders and condemned the system of death and extermination that had been adopted. The peace proposal explained the natural and legal principles on which the insurgent movement had been founded, and reiterated that sovereignty should reside in the mass of the nation and that both Spain and America were integral parts of the monarchy, subject to the same king but equal to each other, without dependence or subordination of one with respect to the other. In short, it proposed forming a national congress independent of Spain that would represent Ferdinand VII. The war proposal proposed that the law of nations be observed in order to reduce the barbarity that had been reached, since the armed struggle was, after all, between brothers and fellow citizens, and therefore should not be crueler than a war between foreign nations.

Viceroy Venegas did not answer Cos's communication; instead he ordered it burned along with other documents that had been obtained in Sultepec. Among these documents correspondence of Los Guadalupes was discovered, and as a result the lawyers Falcón and Garcés, Benito Guerra, José Ignacio Espinosa, Juan Guzmán, Dr. Díaz and María Peimbert were taken prisoner in the capital. On June 5, in Valle de Santiago, Agustín de Iturbide managed to capture the insurgents commanded by Albino García; he had all the rebels shot except Albino and his brother Francisco, who were taken to Celaya. On June 8, Brigadier García Conde ordered the execution of the brothers; Albino's head was placed on the street of San Juan de Dios, and his hand was sent to Salamanca. Iturbide, for his part, was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Campaign in Puebla

New insurgent rebellions led by Juan Nepomuceno Rosáins, Máximo Machorro, Camilo Suárez and Vicente Gómez began in Chalchicomula, Huamantla, Atlixco, Tepeaca and Tehuacán, and were fought by the royalist brigadier Olázabal. These insurgent forces continued fighting in the area of Acultzingo. Meanwhile, in Yautepec, Gabriel Armijo killed Francisco Ayala, and Valerio Trujano was attacked from April 5 during the Siege of Huajuapan by the royalist general José María de Régules Villasante. On July 4, Hermenegildo Galeana managed to defeat José María Añorve at the Battle of Zitlala. Morelos was informed of the situation Trujano was in; he immediately went to the place and managed to break the siege, which had lasted more than one hundred days, on July 24. At the end of September Morelos's forces continued their advance toward Tepeaca and Tehuacán.

Asturian soldier of the Royalist Army. Watercolor by Theubet de Beauchamp. The Asturias Regiment was present at the action of Tepeaca.

Trujano was attacked and defeated by the royalist captain Saturnino Samaniego at the rancho de la Virgen on the outskirts of Tepeaca. The insurgent, who had withstood the long siege of Huajuapan, died on October 7. On October 28, Morelos successfully accomplished the Capture of Orizaba, causing the flight of Colonel José Antonio Andrade, but he abandoned the place on October 31 on learning that a contingent led by Colonel Luis de Águila was approaching the city. Morelos concentrated his forces in Tehuacán, with five thousand men and forty cannons under the command of Mariano Matamoros, the three Galeanas, Miguel and Víctor Bravo, Guadalupe Victoria, Vicente Guerrero, and Manuel Mier y Terán. Together they marched toward Oaxaca on November 10, 1812.

Capture of Oaxaca

Main article: Capture of Oaxaca (1812)

On November 25, Morelos and his army occupied the city of Oaxaca, which was defended by Lieutenant General Antonio González Saravia and José María de Régules Villasante, who after the defeat were captured and shot. An autonomous government was instituted in the city and José María Murguía was named intendant. The newspaper Correo Americano del Sur was founded, its initial editing being in the charge of the priest José Manuel de Herrera. The insurgent government of the city of Oaxaca lasted from 1812 until 1814, when the town was recovered by the royalist army. It was the first and only time that Morelos was able to take control of an important city. It was in this town that Morelos received the Constitutional Elements drafted by Ignacio López Rayón. Among the most important points were:

1.- America is free and independent of every other nation.

2.- The Catholic religion shall be the only one, without tolerance of any other.
5.- Sovereignty emanates directly from the people, resides in the person of Lord Don Ferdinand VII, and its exercise in the Supreme American National Congress.

24.- Slavery is entirely proscribed.

— Constitutional Elements of Ignacio López Rayón.

Morelos was named the fourth member of the Junta of Zitácuaro, but he ultimately distanced himself from the Ferdinandist thesis by means of a letter in which he asked "that the mask be removed from independence, because everyone already knew the fate of Ferdinand VII".

Meanwhile, Nicolás Bravo positioned himself at the Puente del Rey on the road from Veracruz to Xalapa, obstructing royalist traffic and seizing material resources. Ramón López Rayón defeated José Mariano Ferrer at Jerécuaro. The members of the Junta each acted on their own in different regions: José Sixto Verduzco, who remained in the Michoacán area in Uruapán, Pátzcuaro and Tancítaro, was constantly pursued by Pedro Celestino Negrete and Luis Quintanar; Ignacio López Rayón moved to the Intendancy of Mexico, carried out military operations in Ixmiquilpan and met in Huichapan with Julián Villagrán to learn the details of the activities the latter had carried out in San Juan del Río and Zimapán; José María Liceaga, who went into the territory of Guanajuato, was pursued by Agustín de Iturbide in Yuriria, and on being defeated, had to move to Valle de Santiago to recruit people in the company of José María Cos. The members each claimed the leadership of the Junta for themselves and entered into a dispute that ultimately led to the de facto disappearance of this governing body by the first half of 1813. It was Dr. Cos who tried to reconcile them.

Constitution of Cádiz

Main article: Spanish Constitution of 1812

Miguel Ramos Arizpe.

Monument in honor of José Eduardo de Cárdenas, in the city of Cárdenas, Tabasco. Deputy for Tabasco to the Cortes of Cádiz, where on July 24, 1811, he presented the "Statement of the Reasons for the War of Independence" in which he proposed: free education without distinction of social class, agricultural societies, freedom of trade, town councils chosen by popular election and the division of government into three powers: Legislative, Executive and Judicial.

After long and heated debates, in March 1812 the Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy was proclaimed in Cádiz. At the start of the sessions 104 deputies took part, of whom 30 were from overseas territories. Later, this number increased to 300, of whom 63 were Americans. The composition of the Cortes was one-third clergy, one-sixth nobles, and the rest middle-class professionals. During the first session Diego Muñoz Torrero declared that national sovereignty resided in the Congress of the representatives of Spain. Among the representatives of New Spain were Antonio Joaquín Pérez (who would be Bishop of Puebla), Salvador Sanmartín (who would be in charge of the miter of Chiapas), and José Cayetano Foncerrada y Ulibarrí (who was a Canon of the Cathedral and a member of the Real Audiencia of Mexico). With the exception of Juan José Guereña, the rest of the deputies from New Spain were basically liberals, most notably Miguel Ramos Arizpe, José Miguel Guridi y Alcocer and José Ignacio Beye de Cisneros.

The American deputies challenged the unequal representation that existed in the Cortes. The population of Spain was estimated at ten million inhabitants while America was inhabited by sixteen million. Nevertheless, the Spanish deputies outnumbered their American counterparts by a ratio of 3 to 1. It was proposed to have one deputy for every fifty thousand inhabitants, but this measure would tip the balance in favor of the Americans in a ratio of 3 to 2; therefore, the Spaniards opposed it, arguing that while the Indigenous peoples were considered to have the same rights as Spaniards, this was not so for those who were natives or descendants of the African continent. It was estimated that on the American continent around six million people had African ancestry, and in this way the number of deputies would be balanced for the representation of Spain and America in a ratio of 1 to 1.

The American deputies regrouped to list eleven proposals, among the most notable of which were: equal representation, freedom of cultivation, freedom of trade, abolition of slavery, abolition of estancos, the granting of equal rights to Americans, Indians and mestizos to hold civil, ecclesiastical and military posts, recognition of the local juntas, and the creation of a greater number of provincial deputations. Few of the proposals were approved. The "American party" faced opposition from most of the European deputies, who considered the proposals revolutionary, but especially from the peninsulares residing in America, to such a degree that the representation of the Consulado of Mexico sent a manifesto to be read in public session in which it was declared that the three million Indians of New Spain were incapable of governing themselves.

In addition, it was requested that the Consulados of Mexico, Veracruz and Guadalajara each appoint two deputies, so that almost the entire population of peninsulares residing in New Spain (estimated at half a million inhabitants) would be conveniently represented. Finally Article 1 of the Constitution was approved, which gave people of African descent the possibility of aspiring to Spanish citizenship. With regard to freedom of trade, the members of the consulados of Mexico and the merchants of Cádiz also opposed it, and they had the help of Juan López Cancelada, who from his newspaper El Telégrafo Americano criticized the position of the Americans by publishing a pamphlet titled Ruina de Nueva España si se declara el comercio libre con los extranjeros (Ruin of New Spain if free trade with foreigners is declared). From this newspaper, López Cancelada and the members of the Consulado of Mexico (who had been the protagonists of the coup d'état of 1808) also criticized the conduct of the former Viceroy José de Iturrigaray, but the attacks were answered by the deputy Guridi y Alcocer in the newspaper El Censor and from London by Servando Teresa de Mier in the publication called El Español. On the subject of slavery, Guridi y Alcocer proposed its abolition, but the deputies belonging to the slaveholding regions of the Caribbean Sea, Venezuela, the coastal area of New Granada and Peru were inflexibly opposed; the Spanish deputy Agustín de Argüelles backed the deputy from New Spain, suggesting that at least the slave trade be ended. Despite the arguments, the Cortes considered it politically expedient to maintain slavery.

On September 30, 1812, the new Magna Carta was read and sworn by the members of the Real Audiencia of Mexico and by Viceroy Francisco Xavier Venegas in the Plaza Mayor of Mexico City, which was henceforth called the Plaza de la Constitución. With the new constitutional regime, the viceroyalties were abolished, and consequently Venegas became the Superior Political Chief. In addition, freedom of the press was permitted. Through this right, Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi in the newspaper El Pensador Mexicano and Carlos María de Bustamante in El Jugetillo criticized the abuses of the viceregal administration. Two months later, Venegas suspended the constitutional article that allowed freedom of the press. Fernández de Lizardi was imprisoned for a short time; Bustamante fled to Zacatlán to join the insurgents, shortly afterward moved to Oaxaca and continued writing for the Correo Americano del Sur. Venegas's decision was severely criticized by the American deputies in Cádiz. At the end of February 1813 a proclamation sent from Spain was received, in which Venegas was asked to present himself in the Iberian Peninsula to support the military campaign against the French, and Félix María Calleja was named as his successor.

Siege of Acapulco

Main article: Siege of Acapulco (1813)

Flag of the insurgents during the Siege of Acapulco. Watercolor by Theubet de Beauchamp.

On February 9, 1813, Morelos left Oaxaca for the port of Acapulco, arriving at El Veladero on March 29. The place was defended by the royalist Pedro Antonio Vélez, who succumbed to the attacks, losing the city on April 12. He took refuge in the Fort of San Diego, whose siege lasted four months until it capitulated on August 20. In this way, maritime communication with the Philippines across the Pacific Ocean came under the control of the insurgents. For his part, Mariano Matamoros successfully established himself in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec with the triumph at the Battle of La Chincúa, in which he managed to repel royalist forces that had made incursions from Chiapas, a province that at that time belonged to the Captaincy General of Guatemala.

During the siege of Acapulco, José Sixto Verduzco unsuccessfully attacked Valladolid (which was heavily guarded by the royalists), and was pursued and defeated by Captain Pedro Antonelli at Puruándiro. Ignacio López Rayón met with Verduzco in Pátzcuaro to reproach him for this imprudent military action, but a royalist contingent forced the insurgents to separate, obliging Verduzco to fall back toward Ario and Rayón toward Puruarán. Additionally, José María Liceaga was defeated at Celaya by Manuel Gómez Pedraza. The disagreements among the members of the Junta of Zitácuaro increased, as they complained of interference between their jurisdictions. During May 1813, in the capital, Leona Vicario (a member of Los Guadalupes) escaped from the city to join Andrés Quintana Roo in Tlalpujahua; in Salvatierra, Agustín de Iturbide defeated Ramón López Rayón; in Huichapan, Julián Villagrán and his son "el Chito" were captured and killed by the forces commanded by Captain Pedro Monsalve.

Once he assumed the office of Superior Political Chief, Calleja swore to comply with the Constitution. New elections for deputies to the Cortes of Cádiz had been held in New Spain, with Creoles winning all the seats, but the viceregal administration refused to provide travel allowances, citing a lack of liquidity in the treasury. For this reason, only three of the fourteen deputies elected traveled to Spain. The ecclesiastical visitor of Querétaro, José Mariano Beristáin, denounced to Calleja that Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez continued to proselytize in favor of the insurgents' cause; consequently she was arrested and taken to the convent of Santa Teresa in Mexico.

Morelos and the Congress of Chilpancingo

Congress of Chilpancingo

Main article: Congress of Chilpancingo

Congress of Chilpancingo or Congress of Anáhuac.

Because of the differences that had arisen among Liceaga, Verduzco and Rayón, in June 1813 Morelos convened a congress, which was installed in Chilpancingo during the month of September. For this purpose, Ignacio López Rayón was named deputy for Guadalajara, José Sixto Verduzco for Michoacán, José María Liceaga for Guanajuato, Andrés Quintana Roo for Puebla, Carlos María de Bustamante for Mexico, José María Cos for Veracruz, José María Murguía for Oaxaca, José Manuel de Herrera for Técpan, and Cornelio Ortiz de Zárate and Carlos Enríquez del Castillo as secretaries. On September 14 the first session of the Congress of Chilpancingo (whose official name was the Congress of Anáhuac) began, in which Morelos had his secretary Juan Nepomuceno Rosáins read the Sentiments of the Nation. This document declared the independence of the nation, popular sovereignty, the Catholic religion as the only one, the suppression of parish fees, the separation of powers, equality before the law, the abolition of slavery and the elimination of torture, and instituted the celebration of December 12 for the Virgin of Guadalupe and of September 16 to commemorate the beginning of the war of independence proclaimed by Miguel Hidalgo.

«That America is free and independent of Spain and of every other nation, government or monarchy, and that it be so sanctioned, giving the world the reasons».

— First point of the Sentiments of the Nation.

The following day, Morelos was named Generalissimo of the insurgent forces and holder of the executive power. He was to be called Highness, but he rejected this title, adopting that of Servant of the Nation.

In contrast with the position of the Junta of Zitácuaro, which was dissolved, the Congress of Chilpancingo undertook the task of defining in legal terms the reasons why Mexican America should be free of Spain. This was a point of discord with López Rayón, who stated that he did not agree with the first point mentioned in the Sentiments of the Nation, since he maintained that the thesis embraced by the autonomist movement of 1808 should continue to stand; that is, America was dependent on the King of Spain, but not on the Spanish nation; therefore, the independence sought was not from the Crown, but from the "illegitimate government" that had assembled in Cádiz.

Declaration of Independence of Northern America

Territories controlled by the insurgents in 1813.

During the congress other political speeches of greater or lesser importance were delivered, but on November 6, 1813, the day of the closing session, the Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America was read; it was drafted by Carlos María de Bustamante and Andrés Quintana Roo. In it, the sovereignty of Ferdinand VII was no longer accepted, and separation from Spanish authority was radically postulated: "dependence on the Spanish throne is forever broken and dissolved".

While the insurgents were meeting in the Congress of Chilpancingo, the Abbot Manuel Abad y Queipo warned Calleja that Morelos was, beyond dispute, the soul and trunk of the entire insurrection; he indicated that in the junta the insurgents had convened in Chilpancingo he would surely be raised to supreme leader independent of all authority, that he already held the south of New Spain from Zacatula to Tehuantepec, and that therefore he should not be given more time to organize his army.

In November 1813 the members of the Audiencia of Mexico proposed that "the Constitution be suspended while such revolutionary and turbulent circumstances lasted, and that Calleja be vested with the necessary powers and the Law of the Indies be observed, which authorized him to expel from those dominions whoever it suited the service of God, peace and public tranquility, adopting the system of rigor, the only one that the history of nations taught for similar cases". In this way, the Charter of Cádiz never managed to take effect in the territory of New Spain.

Battle of the Lomas de Santa María

Main article: Battle of the Lomas de Santa María

José María Morelos. He rejected the titles of His Highness and Generalissimo granted by the Congress of Chilpancingo. Instead, he had himself called Servant of the Nation.

Once he had supplied himself with artillery from the Fort of San Diego in Acapulco, Morelos planned to take the city of Valladolid with the idea of locating the Congress in that city, and then advancing from there toward Guanajuato, Guadalajara and San Luis. Miguel and Víctor Bravo were assigned to protect the members of the Congress. On November 7, leaving Chilpancingo, Morelos, the Galeanas, Nicolás Bravo and Matamoros advanced toward Cutzamala, Carácuaro, Tacámbaro, Tiripetío and Undameo. The insurgent forces, made up of five thousand six hundred men, had thirty cannons. For this operation Morelos asked Ramón López Rayón and Rafael López Rayón to join him with a thousand men each, from Tlalpujahua and San Miguel el Grande, respectively. Valladolid was guarded by Domingo Landázuri with a regiment of eight hundred men. When Calleja learned of the advance of the insurgent forces, he sent Ciriaco del Llano with two thousand men from Ixtlahuaca and Agustín de Iturbide with a thousand men from Acámbaro to reinforce the city's defense. On their march, on December 21, they confronted the Rayóns at Jerécuaro and defeated them. On December 23, Galeana and Bravo besieged the capital of Michoacán but were repulsed. The following night, the main insurgent camp was attacked by surprise by the forces of Iturbide and Del Llano, beginning the Battle of the Lomas de Santa María; Father Navarrete, at the head of his division, came to the place to support against the unexpected attack. The royalists withdrew, and the confused insurgent troops continued fighting among themselves, decimating one another. The defeat inflicted by the royalists frustrated Morelos's plans and marked the beginning of the decline of his campaigns.

Pursued by Iturbide's troops, the rest of Morelos's men marched toward Puruarán. Mariano Matamoros was assigned to the defense of the town. On January 5, 1814, the royalists, determined to finish off the insurgent army, won victory at the Battle of Puruarán. Matamoros was captured and taken to Morelia; although Morelos tried to negotiate his life in exchange for two hundred Spanish prisoners, Calleja ordered his execution by firing squad, which was carried out on February 3. Morelos went to Coyuca (today de Catalán) and to Ajuchitlán, where he named Rosáins as his second-in-command. On February 19, Colonel Gabriel de Armijo (who a few days earlier had struck down Víctor Bravo at Mezcala) dealt a heavy blow at Chichihualco to the forces of Rosáins, who managed to escape. On March 29, the City of Oaxaca was retaken by the royalists under the orders of Colonel Melchor Álvarez, at the head of an army of 2,000 men, among whom was the Savoy Battalion. All these defeats were criticized by Ignacio López Rayón, who blamed Rosáins for his strategic incompetence. From then on the two insurgent commanders became enemies. López Rayón marched to Zongolica and Rosáins to Jamapa; they were stalked by the royalist Colonel Francisco Hevia from Orizaba. On March 15, Miguel Bravo was captured at Chila by Colonel Félix de la Madrid; he was taken to Puebla and executed there a month later. Morelos, Pablo and Hermenegildo Galeana traveled to the Fort of San Diego with the aim of dismantling the artillery and disabling the heavy-caliber cannons; they were pursued by Gabriel de Armijo, who forced them to flee on April 11. A skirmish at Pie de la Cuesta with the insurgent Colonel Juan Álvarez allowed the Galeanas and Morelos to leave the port; in any case, Armijo's advance reached El Veladero, consolidating the position on May 6.

Mariano Matamoros.

In the province of Mexico, the insurgent José Francisco Osorno defeated Lieutenant José del Toro, managing to attack Tulancingo and evading the viceregal forces across the Llanos de Apan. In contrast, Ramón López Rayón and Epitacio Sánchez, after the defeat at Puruarán, had to take refuge in the sierra of Zitácuaro; and Benedicto López had to escape to Zacapu when besieged by the royalist Colonel José Antonio Andrade. On June 25, Lieutenant Colonel Fernández de Avilés defeated Hermenegildo Galeana near Coyuca (today de Benítez). Galeana was mortally wounded by the soldier Joaquín León, and his head was placed on a ceiba tree in the town square.

The disagreements among the insurgents kept increasing. Ignacio López Rayón, after being defeated at Omealco, instead of joining Rosáins preferred to head to Zacatlán to build cannons with the help of the silversmith Alconedo, but the Mier y Terán brothers abandoned him at Tecamachalco. At the end of May, Rosáins went to the road from Xalapa to Orizaba, where José Antonio Martínez had positioned himself to collect tolls from royalist caravans; because the latter was loyal to López Rayón, Rosáins decided to kill him, and then appointed Juan Pablo Anaya and Guadalupe Victoria to take charge of that same area. On June 20 the French general Jean Joseph Amable Humbert landed at Nautla, saying he came on behalf of the United States to support the insurgents. López Rayón, enthusiastic, informed the Congress of Anáhuac, but Rosáins got ahead of him, assigning Anaya the mission of sailing with the Frenchman to New Orleans. There an expedition was prepared with the help of José Álvarez de Toledo y Dubois, but it was never carried out, being blocked by orders of President James Madison. The dissensions and armed clashes between López Rayón and Rosáins increased because of this incident. In Silacayoapan, a clash between José Herrera (who was loyal to López Rayón) and Ramón Sesma (who was loyal to Rosáins) was stopped by Manuel Mier y Terán, who managed to reconcile them to face the royalist Colonel Melchor Álvarez. The insurgents successfully repelled the attack, taking the towns of Teposcolula, Tlaxiaco and Yanhuitlán. Meanwhile, the members of the Congress of Anáhuac were forced by the royalist Pedro Celestino Negrete to flee from Uruapan, and so settled in Apatzingán.

Absolutist Restoration in Spain

Main article: Absolutist Restoration in Spain

The Spanish Cortes sat from October 1, 1813, to May 10, 1814. For various reasons (as had happened in New Spain with the deputies), of the one hundred forty-nine American deputies who were supposed to attend, only sixty-five were present, of whom forty-two were substitutes. During that period the French invaders were driven out of Spain. By January 1814, the Cortes and the Regency had moved to Madrid. In February 1814, King Ferdinand VII "the Desired" signed the Treaty of Valençay, by which he regained his freedom. Before returning to Spain, the King ordered the Duke of San Carlos to meet with the Regency. The Cortes informed him that they had decreed that only after the King swore to the Constitution would he be recognized as the legitimate sovereign of Spain, and so "the Desired" set out on his return. But a group of sixty-nine deputies of the "party of the serviles" prepared a document known as the Manifesto of the Persians; among them were the New Spaniards Antonio Joaquín Pérez, Salvador Sanmartín and José Cayetano Foncerrada. Through the manifesto, the Persians asked the King not to accept the Constitution. In addition, the Captain General of Valencia, Francisco Javier de Elío, offered Ferdinand VII the support of his regiment to abolish the Cortes. After considering it, "the Desired" decided to restore absolutism, and on May 4 he signed a decree annulling the Constitution and the laws that had been issued during his absence: "as if such acts had never taken place and were removed from the midst of time". The army persecuted the liberals; some, like Vicente Rocafuerte, fled to France, while others, like Agustín Argüelles, Miguel Ramos Arizpe and General Juan O'Donojú, were imprisoned. The number of liberals imprisoned or exiled is estimated at twelve thousand.

In Mexico City, the first news of the return of Ferdinand VII was received on June 13, 1814, but it was not until August 7 that the details of the decisions of "the Desired" became known. The Inquisition was reinstated, with Manuel Flores named Inquisitor and José Tirado as prosecutor. Ten days later, Calleja published a proclamation forbidding, under severe penalties, any direct or indirect contradiction of the rights and prerogatives of the throne. The merchants of Mexico and Veracruz who were devoted to the Constitution received the news with displeasure. The insurgents, including Ignacio López Rayón, despite the setbacks they had suffered, reaffirmed their resolve to continue the armed struggle.

Constitution of Apatzingán

Main article: Constitution of Apatzingán

In contrast, on June 15, 1814, the Congress of Anáhuac finished drafting the Constitutional Decree for the Liberty of Mexican America, better known as the Constitution of Apatzingán. It was proclaimed on October 22 and was divided into two titles: constitutional principles or elements, and form of government, which was based on three powers: Executive, Legislative and Judicial. The Executive Power was vested in three members: José María Liceaga, José María Cos and José María Morelos. Although the latter had been removed from political office in 1813, he was again granted the post, but this time to exercise it jointly. However, the constitutional decree prevented the members of the Executive from commanding troops; they could exercise military action only under extraordinary circumstances and with the corresponding permission of Congress. In this way, the Servant of the Nation entered a period of military lethargy.

After the promulgation of the Constitution of Apatzingán, Vicente Guerrero was appointed to undertake the campaign in Oaxaca once again, although at first he was not recognized by Ramón Sesma, who was in Silacoayoapan and was loyal to Rosáins. The Congress of Anáhuac sent Francisco Arróyave to replace the latter, but far from obeying orders, Rosáins had him shot on a charge of treason on December 21, 1814, at a spot on Cerro Colorado known by the nickname of the Palma del Terror (Palm of Terror). On another front, the insurgent Víctor Rosales managed to seize a large booty at the Pinos mine in Zacatecas. At the end of November 1814, the royalist Ciriaco del Llano was defeated by Ramón López Rayón and Epitacio Sánchez at Maravatío, but almost at the same time Agustín de Iturbide defeated and killed Manuel Villalongín at Puruándiro. In order to prevent any landing of weapons destined for the insurgents, the coast of Nautla was secured by the royalist Colonel Manuel González de la Vega.

In March 1815, Iturbide and Del Llano joined forces to attack the Cerro del Cóporo, which was guarded by Ignacio and Ramón López Rayón; the attack led by the royalist lieutenants Vicente Filisola, Juan José Codallos, Pablo Obregón and Ramón de la Madrid was repelled. That same month, the royalist Colonel Márquez Donayo surprised Rosáins, Sesma, and Mier y Terán at Soltepec. Frustrated by the defeat, Rosáins ordered new executions, but his excesses caused his companions to repudiate his military command. In July 1815, after a defeat of the insurgents at Jilotepec, Epitacio Sánchez accepted the pardon of the viceregal government. On July 27, at Jamapa, Rosáins was pursued and defeated by the insurgents themselves; once captured he was sent to the Congress of Anáhuac, but he managed to escape near Chalco and requested the royalist pardon, which was granted to him by Viceroy Calleja in October 1815. In response to the requests made by the merchants of Cádiz to Ferdinand VII, a contingent of two thousand royalists under the command of Brigadier Fernando Miyares y Mancebo landed at Veracruz. Between August and September, Miyares began his campaign against Guadalupe Victoria at Puente del Rey and against Manuel Mier y Terán on the heights of Acultzingo.

Capture and death of Morelos

After his withdrawal from Cerro del Cóporo, Iturbide made an unsuccessful incursion into Michoacán in search of the members of the Congress of Anáhuac. On withdrawing he passed through Pátzcuaro, where he apprehended Bernardo Abarca and had him shot at Tzintzuntzan. To avenge the latter's death, Dr. José María Cos took up arms, joining the insurgent groups of Vargas and Carvajal; however, he was violating the constitutional article that forbade members of the Executive from carrying out such actions. Congress urged him to return to his post, but far from obeying, Dr. Cos published a manifesto in Zacapu expressing his disagreement with the policies adopted by that body, among them that its members had not been popularly elected and that they were seeking military aid abroad, compromising religion and national honor. He also declared that the congressmen had tied the hands of the insurgent military leaders, questioning their actions at every step. Consequently Congress ordered José María Morelos to arrest him; Cos was sentenced to death for his contempt, but on the basis of his merits and at the request of José María Izazaga, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. "The men of law and the men of arms never came to understand each other. The differences that arose between the legislative and the executive power became more pronounced with the passage of time". In Puruarán, on July 14, 1815, Morelos addressed a letter to the President of the United States, James Madison, asking him for recognition of independence and approval for the reception of an ambassador sent by the insurgents:

«The disasters brought by the vicissitudes of war, into which our own inexperience has at times plunged us, have never cast down our spirits; rather, constantly rising above adversity and misfortune, we have sustained our struggle for five years, convincing ourselves in practice that there is no power capable of subjugating a people determined to save itself from the horrors of tyranny…[…]…Our system of government, having begun, as was natural, with the most shapeless rudiments, has been successively perfected as the turbulence of war has permitted, and today it is subject to a Constitution founded on maxims that are by any measure liberal and adapted as far as possible to the genius, customs and habits of our peoples, no less than to the circumstances the revolution has imposed on us. With the passage of time, it will receive modifications and improvements as experience enlightens and teaches us; but we shall never deviate a single line from the essential principles that constitute true civil liberty.»

— Fragment of the letter addressed to James Madison written by José María Morelos, July 14, 1815.Muñoz (2009), p. 100

The members of Congress considered that they were not safe in Michoacán because of the constant harassment they suffered. In addition, they were waiting to receive news from José Manuel de Herrera, who had been sent to the United States as minister plenipotentiary. For these reasons they decided to move to Tehuacán. As a political precaution, they appointed a Subordinate Governing Junta to act in the western provinces of Texas. On September 29, 1815, the Congress left Uruapan. Morelos planned the protection of the expedition: he arranged for Nicolás Bravo to be stationed in Huetamo, Vargas in Tenancingo, and Guerrero in Temalaca, and he assigned José María Lobato as escort of the Congress. On learning of this move, Calleja appointed Lieutenant Colonel Manuel de la Concha to intercept the caravan. On November 5, in an advance party, Morelos, Lobato and Bravo faced the royalist forces at the Battle of Temalaca. The congressmen were able to escape from the place, but during the action Morelos was apprehended by the former insurgent Matías Carrasco. Nicolás Bravo took command of the rest of the troops, but the deputies stripped him of military command. Manuel Mier y Terán made the decision to dissolve the Congress on the same grounds that Dr. Cos had used. This decision was supported, with reservations, only by Francisco Osorno, who was in Apan. Nicolás Bravo, angered by the decision, went to Veracruz, Guadalupe Victoria moved to Ajuchitlán and Vicente Guerrero to Acatlán.

Morelos was taken to Mexico City. On November 27 the tribunal of the Inquisition declared him a "formal negative heretic, abettor of heretics, persecutor and disturber of the holy sacraments, schismatic, lascivious, hypocrite, irreconcilable enemy of Christianity, traitor to God, to the King and to the Pope". The Bishop of Oaxaca, Antonio Bergosa y Jordán, carried out the canonical degradation. By order of Viceroy Calleja, on December 22, 1815, Morelos was executed by firing squad in San Cristóbal Ecatepec.

Third stage: Resistance and guerrilla warfare (1815–1820)

Centers of insurgent resistance between 1814 and 1821.

After the death of Morelos, the insurgent groups fought in isolation; approximately twenty thousand rebels remained in arms. The most disciplined insurgent forces were distributed as follows: Manuel Mier y Terán in Tehuacán, Guadalupe Victoria in Puente de Rey, and José Francisco Osorno in Zacatlán and the plains of Apan, each with two thousand men; the brothers Ignacio and Ramón López Rayón operated with seven hundred men on Cerro del Cóporo; in the south, Nicolás Bravo, Julián de Ávila and Pablo Galeana commanded eight hundred men; Vicente Guerrero in the Sierra Madre del Sur, Ramón Sesma in Silacayoapan and Juan del Carmen in the area of Lower Mixteca had five hundred; on Lake Chapala eight hundred men held out under the command of José Santana, Encarnación Rosas and Father Marcos Castellanos; in Michoacán, Manuel Muñiz, Garza and Correa had four thousand men; the priest José Antonio Torres (namesake of the insurgent who had taken Guadalajara in 1810 and died in 1811) had recruited eight hundred men in El Bajío; Víctor Rosales operated in Zacatecas with three hundred men. In addition, others began to stand out: Pedro Moreno, who established himself on Cerro del Sombrero near León; Patricio López in Santa Gertrudis; José Antonio Couto in the Cumbres de Maltrata; Doctor Ignacio Couto on Cerro Palmillas; Melchor Múzquiz in Monte Blanco; José María Villapinto in Boquilla de Piedras; and Pedro Ascencio together with the parish priest José Manuel Izquierdo on Cerro Goleta.

Spanish soldiers in 1820. Watercolor by Theubet de Beauchamp from the album "Trajes y vistas de México"

During this stage, the Spanish caudillo Francisco Xavier Mina, a man of liberal ideology, organized from the United States an expedition of three hundred men to support the struggle of the pro-independence forces, since his personal goal was to fight against the absolutist regime of Ferdinand VII. Mina was a Navarrese who had fought in his own country and practiced guerrilla warfare in the Pyrenees region against the absolutism of the Spanish Crown, had fled to France and later to England, where he met Servando Teresa de Mier. It was the Dominican friar who inspired his enthusiasm for the struggle for the emancipation of New Spain. Finally he traveled to the United States, from where he embarked to fight on the side of the New Spanish insurgents, entering the country by the coast of Tampico.

While the insurgent forces had diminished considerably, in this state of affairs the royalist forces exceeded forty thousand troops. In the Division of Mexico, Viceroy Félix María Calleja himself had two thousand six hundred men; Colonel Manuel de la Concha in Apan had one thousand five hundred ten; Colonel Alejandro Álvarez de Güitán in the section of Huejutla, one hundred fifty-one; Brigadier Ciriaco del Llano in the Army of the South had six thousand six hundred ninety-nine; Field Marshal José Dávila in the Division of Veracruz had six thousand four hundred eighty-two; for the defense of convoys, Colonel Francisco Hevia had nine hundred sixty-eight; Colonel Cosme de Urquiola on Isla del Carmen had three hundred thirty-nine; Colonel José Gabriel de Armijo in the Division of Acapulco had two thousand six hundred fifty-one troops; in Toluca, Lieutenant Colonel Nicolás Gutiérrez had two hundred eighty-two; in Ixtlahuaca, Colonel Matías Martín y Aguirre, seven hundred eighty-seven; in Tula, Colonel Cristóbal Ordóñez, eight hundred eighty-eight; in Querétaro, Brigadier Ignacio García Rebollo, nine hundred ninety-one; the Army of the North commanded by Colonel José Castro, three thousand eight hundred three; the Reserve Army of Field Marshal José de la Cruz had three thousand three hundred sixty-three; the Division of the Eastern Internal Provinces under the command of Brigadier Joaquín Arredondo, three thousand nine hundred eighty-seven; the Division of the Western Internal Provinces under the command of Field Marshal Bonavia, two hundred seventy-nine; in Old California, Captain Argüello had one hundred nine, and in New California Lieutenant Colonel Pablo Sola had three thousand six hundred five men. To this force must be added an undetermined number of royalists who were in small towns.

Junta of Jaujilla

The Subordinate Governing Junta—formed by General Manuel Muñiz, the lawyer Ayala, Dionisio Rojas, José Pagola and Felipe Carvajal—was established in Taretan. In February 1816, the insurgent general Juan Pablo Anaya, following the example of Mier y Terán, surprised its members at the hacienda of Santa Efigenia and took them prisoner. This act outraged the insurgent leaders who were in the area. Commander José María Vargas arrested Anaya and his followers, but before they could be executed by firing squad they managed to escape. Vargas formed a new Governing Junta in Uruapan, headed by himself together with Remigio Yarza, Víctor Rosales, the priest José Antonio Torres, José María Izazaga, Manuel Amador and José de San Martín.

Juan Pablo Anaya met with Ignacio López Rayón and convinced him not to recognize this junta. Vargas and San Martín traveled to negotiate with the former president of the Junta of Zitácuaro. Although Rayón never recognized this junta, its members were renamed. The Junta of Jaujilla—known by this name because it was installed in the fort of Jaujilla, in the marshes of Zacapu—was made up of Ignacio Ayala, Mariano Tercero, José Pagola, Mariano Sánchez Arriola, Pedro Villaseñor and José de San Martín; Francisco Lojero was appointed Secretary of the Office of War and Antonio Vallejo Secretary of the Treasury. During this reorganization, Doctor José María Cos regained his freedom and returned to López Rayón, but he did not remain at the Cóporo, choosing instead to accept the pardon that Félix María Calleja had offered to all rebels at the time of Morelos's capture. Cos lived in Pátzcuaro until 1819, when he died.

Last royalist campaigns ordered by Calleja in 1816

On the plains of Apan, from February to April 1816, the royalist colonel Manuel de la Concha confronted the insurgents led by Francisco Osorno. Despite the victory the latter won over De la Concha's subordinate Juan Rafols on April 18, three days later De la Concha himself inflicted a heavy defeat on the rebels, who were pursued by Anastasio Bustamante. Osorno was able to escape, but many of his subordinates surrendered and accepted the pardon, joining the royalist ranks.

In Huauchinango, the insurgent Mariano Guerrero surrendered to Captain Francisco de las Piedras, while Alejandro Álvarez de Güitián defeated a small group of pro-independence fighters who had fortified themselves in Tlaxcalantongo. In Huichapan, Sergeant Major Casasola pursued the brothers Rafael and José Manuel Villagrán—the last relatives of Julián. Once defeated, they accepted the pardon. Manuel Mier y Terán gave orders to fortify Cerro de Santa Gertrudis, leaving Francisco Miranda in charge; the place was unsuccessfully besieged by Saturnino Samaniego, since Juan Mier y Terán joined in the defense of the site. In Pénjamo, Agustín de Iturbide managed to disperse the forces commanded by the priest José Antonio Torres; immediately afterward, Pedro Monsalve continued the pursuit of the insurgents as far as Comanja, but there he was repulsed by Pedro Moreno. In the south, Commander Pío María Ruiz was forced by Vicente Guerrero to fall back to Huetamo.

In July 1816, Manuel Mier y Terán undertook an ill-fated expedition to Coatzacoalcos in order to be supplied with four thousand muskets by the American adventurer William Davis Morrison. On September 1, he was surprised at Playa Vicente by the royalist commander Pedro Garrido, and although Mier y Terán was able to withdraw, Morrison was taken prisoner and later executed by firing squad. Along its route of retreat, the insurgent expedition was attacked again on September 10 at Tlacotalpan by Commander Juan Bautista Topete; Mier y Terán was victorious and managed to escape to Tehuacán, where he arrived on the 22nd of the same month. A few days earlier, Juan Mier y Terán had been defeated by the royalist commander Antonio Núñez Castro at Coxcatlán. The survivors of this group of insurgents were able to join the forces of Patricio López in the Sierra of Oaxaca. During the month of August, Manuel de la Concha ordered Anastasio Bustamante to carry out a campaign of pursuit on the plains of Apan, which was a success, since it forced Francisco Osorno to abandon the area, restoring the safety of the roads for royalist convoys. Osorno fled to Tehuacán to join the forces of Mier y Terán.

Juan Ruiz de Apodaca is appointed Viceroy of New Spain

In the first days of September, Lieutenant General Juan Ruiz de Apodaca landed in Veracruz to replace Félix María Calleja as Viceroy of New Spain. His caravan was attacked at Perote by the insurgent Antonio Vázquez Aldana, but thanks to the timely intervention of Colonel Márquez Donayo, Apodaca managed to reach Mexico City on September 20. A month later, Calleja set out for Veracruz escorted by Márquez Donayo. On his return to Spain, Ferdinand VII granted him the title of Count of Calderón as a reward for his performance. Years later, he would be appointed head of an army intended for the reconquest of New Spain, but the purpose of that army was never carried out. He spent his last years as Captain General in Valencia. The policy of the new Viceroy Apodaca was more lenient: he prohibited the execution of insurgent prisoners by firing squad in order to achieve pacification by more humane means, and he promoted pardons even further.

On November 7, three more royalist victories were achieved: José Morán was able to disperse an advance of the insurgent forces commanded by Francisco Osorno and Mier y Terán in the vicinity of San Andrés Chalchicomula, and several subordinates accepted the pardon. Near Actalán, Vicente Guerrero suffered a defeat at the hands of Saturnino Samaniego in the Battle of Cañada de Los Naranjos. Melchor Múzquiz was defeated and captured at Monte Blanco by Colonel Márquez Donayo. Toward the end of the same month, Carlos María Llorente carried out a campaign in Túxpam and Huauchinango, abolishing the customs posts that Guadalupe Victoria had established; in this royalist regiment Antonio López de Santa Anna began to stand out. From La Antigua, Lieutenant Colonel José Rincón made an incursion to Boquilla de Piedras, capturing the small port that served as a point of communication for the collection of weapons by the pro-independence forces. The insurgent José María Villapinto died during the defense of the place.

Capitulations and pardons

At the end of November 1816, José María Vargas—who had formed the Governing Junta of Uruapan—accepted the pardon, handing over the fort of Carrizalillo to Lieutenant Colonel Luis Quintar. A few days later, Fermín Urtiz did the same with the fortification of San Miguel Curistarán. In December, Antonio Linares held skirmishes with Ignacio López Rayón and Juan Pablo Anaya in Pátzcuaro; four months earlier, the island of Janitzio had been occupied by a royalist detachment under the command of Agustín Aguirre. On the 7th of the same month, the insurgent forces of Rafael López Rayón were crushed at Tancítaro by Pedro Celestino Negrete.

For four years, a group of insurgents—under the command of José Santana, Encarnación Rosas and the parish priest Marcos Castellanos—withstood on the island of Mezcala in Lake Chapala the constant siege ordered by José de la Cruz. Since 1812, several royalists such as Pedro C. Negrete, Rosendo Porlier, Ángel Linares, José Navarro, José Antonio Serrato, José María Narváez, Manuel Pastor and Marcelino Croquer had failed in their attempts to take this stronghold. The rebels made furtive incursions at night to the shores of the lake, obtaining provisions and weapons—which were sent by José María Vargas—and even attacked towns such as Ocotlán. During their raids they seized the falúa Fernando en su trono, an event that became an affront to the besiegers. When the balance of victories began to tip in favor of the royalists, De la Cruz ordered the shores of the lake to be laid waste and deployed eight thousand men to strengthen the blockade of the island. It was not until November 25, 1816, that the capitulation and pardon were negotiated. The fate of Encarnación Rosas is unknown, although he probably died during some assault; José Santana was given the governorship of the island itself and died in 1852; the priest Marcos Castellanos returned to Ajijic, where he died in 1826. At the time of the capitulation, the insurgent forces numbered eight hundred men and seventeen cannons.

Matías Martín de Aguirre and Pío María Ruiz stepped up the campaign against Cerro del Cóporo, ordering all the sown fields in the surrounding area to be burned, as well as the villages of Púcuaro, Santa Catarina Ocurio and Encarnación. Having received no help whatsoever for two months, Ramón López Rayón called a meeting with his subordinates. After discussing it, they presented their capitulation and acceptance of the pardon on January 2, 1817. Five days later the royalists took possession of the place, where they found thirty pieces of artillery, three hundred fifty soldiers and more than a thousand civilians who had taken refuge under the protection of the insurgents.

A triple royalist offensive—organized from Teotitlán by Colonel Manuel de Obeso, from the Mixteca by Commanders Félix de la Madrid and Saturnino Samaniego, and from Puebla by Colonel Francisco Hevia—advanced toward Tepexi de la Seda, Tehuacán and Cerro Colorado to attack the brothers Juan and Joaquín Mier y Terán, as well as Francisco Osorno. After nineteen days of fighting on various fronts, on January 21, 1817, Manuel Mier y Terán capitulated and accepted the pardon before Captain Bracho. Likewise, Francisco Osorno surrendered to Major Juan Ráfols on February 11 at San Andrés Chalchicomula. At almost the same time, the insurgent Manuel Pérez was taken prisoner when he abandoned the fort of Santa Gertrudis, Ramón Sesma surrendered the fort of San Esteban, and the royalist brigadier Melchor Álvarez defeated the insurgents Miguel Martínez and José María Sánchez at Silacoayapan. On March 8, Carlos María de Bustamante accepted the pardon in Veracruz and was imprisoned in San Juan de Ulúa for some time. Between March 4 and 10, Colonel Ordóñez took in Guanajuato the plateau known as Mesa de los Caballos, which was defended by the priest Carmona and Encarnación Ortiz. On May 20, at the rancho de la Campana, near Tacámbaro, royalist forces under Miguel Barragán surprised an insurgent group; Víctor Rosales died in this combat. Ironically, the operation was guided by the former insurgent and member of the Junta of Jaujilla, Manuel Muñiz, who had accepted the pardon a few days earlier.

Meanwhile, Vicente Guerrero was besieged by the forces of Gabriel Armijo at Xonacatlán for thirty days; he was able to break the siege, but Juan del Carmen died during the action. Guerrero went to Veracruz to obtain weapons from Guadalupe Victoria, who had been forced to leave Nautla and fall back to Misantla. The priest José Antonio Torres was able to fortify himself on Cerro de San Gregorio near Pénjamo, conducting his military operations in coordination with Pedro Moreno, who sheltered on Cerro del Sombrero in the Comanja mountains. On February 9, Ignacio López Rayón—who had not recognized the authority of the Junta of Jaujilla—was arrested by Nicolás Bravo; the former president of the Junta of Zitácuaro was taken to Patambo. This was the situation in New Spain at the end of the first third of 1817.

Expedition of Francisco Xavier Mina

Main article: Francisco Xavier Mina

Francisco Xavier Mina.

Francisco Xavier Mina was a law student in Zaragoza during the French Invasion of Spain. He took up arms as a volunteer in the armies of the right and center in his birthplace. Fighting against the invaders, he was taken prisoner and transferred to France in 1810. Upon returning to his homeland in 1814, he was dismayed by Ferdinand VII's determination to abolish the Cádiz Constitution and by the arrest warrants that had been issued against politicians and thinkers of liberal ideology. Manuel de Lardizábal y Uribe offered him a command post in New Spain to fight against the insurgents, but he indignantly refused, believing that the cause of the Americans was the same as that of the European Spaniards. He joined his uncle Francisco Espoz y Mina to fight for the restoration of the Constitution, but when this failed he had to go into exile in London, fleeing through France. In 1815 he was convinced by Servando Teresa de Mier to fight against absolutism by supporting the independence of the American colonies. Thus he set sail on May 15, 1816, from the port of Liverpool in the company of Spanish, Italian and English officers. Before reaching New Spain, the expedition sought resources in New Orleans, Galveston, Saint Thomas and Haiti. Aboard the ships Cleopatra, Neptuno and Congreso mexicano, he landed at Soto la Marina on April 15, 1817. He built a garrison at that same place, set up a printing press and published a manifesto explaining the reasons for his expedition.

«Only the king, the officials and the monopolists are the ones who profit from the subjection of America to the detriment of the Americans. They, then, are the only enemies, and the ones who would wish to perpetuate the tutelage in which they hold them, in order to raise their own fortune and that of their descendants upon the ruins of this unhappy people…[…]…Allow me, Mexicans, to share in your glorious labors; accept the services I offer you in favor of your sublime enterprise and count me among your compatriots. May I succeed in deserving this title by causing your liberty to prevail, or by sacrificing my own existence to it! Then, in recompense, say to your children: "This land was twice flooded with blood by servile Spaniards, abject vassals of a king; but there were also liberal and patriotic Spaniards who sacrificed their repose and their lives for our good"».

— Proclamation of April 25, 1817, by Francisco Xavier Mina in Soto la Marina.

Mina's military campaign

One hundred royalist soldiers joined the ranks of the Auxiliary Army of the Mexican Republic, but news of the landing—which was already expected—reached the capital. The royalist armies immediately set out to confront the newcomers. At the same time, the frigate Sabina and the schooners Belona and Prosperina set sail from Veracruz under the command of Commander Francisco de Berenger. The ships of Mina's expedition had been abandoned; nevertheless, they were set on fire and destroyed on Berenger's orders.

Mina, for his part, left one hundred men—among them Servando Teresa de Mier, and under the command of Major José Sardá—to protect the town, and on May 24, 1817, he headed inland with three hundred eight men to join the insurgent armies. He fought his first combat against royalist forces, led by Captain Villaseñor, in the Battle of Valle de Maíz on June 8. Seven days later he was able to repel the attack of a superior force led by Benito Armiñán in the Battle of Peotillos. On June 23, he reached the fort of El Sombrero to join Pedro Moreno. Meanwhile, Brigadier Joaquín de Arredondo forced the small insurgent garrison to capitulate during the Siege of Soto la Marina on June 15. Sardá and the soldiers were imprisoned in San Juan de Ulúa and later exiled to Spain. Teresa de Mier was transferred to the Fortress of San Carlos de Perote and afterward to the prisons of the Inquisition, where he remained a prisoner until 1820.

On June 28, numbering just over five hundred men, the combined forces of Mina and Moreno managed to defeat Captain Cristóbal Ordóñez in the Battle of Los Arrastraderos, but they were besieged in the Fort of El Sombrero by Field Marshal Pascual Liñán from August 1 to 20. During the siege, Mina was able to get out to seek supplies, and the priest José Antonio Torres attempted to aid them with a force of one hundred men, but he was repulsed at Silao by Major Juan Ráfols. Pedro Moreno and Juan Davis Bradburn managed to escape, pursued by Anastasio Bustamante. Insurgent casualties totaled more than four hundred fifty troops.

Mina organized a small group of men at the Fort of Los Remedios and left from there to continue his campaign through El Bajío. On September 3, he carried out the capture of the hacienda of El Bizcocho in San Diego de la Unión; he then headed to San Luis de la Paz and Valle de Santiago to continue increasing the size of his army. He was pursued again by Anastasio Bustamante, whom he had to confront at the hacienda of La Caja. Meanwhile, Pascual Liñán, with a force of six thousand men, began the siege of the Fort of Los Remedios, which was defended by José Antonio Torres in command of one thousand five hundred men. Mina requested help from the Junta of Jaujilla and presented a plan to help Torres's besieged men escape; the stratagem consisted of attacking the city of Guanajuato in order to divert the attention of Liñán's army. However, on October 27, Mina's men were attacked by the regiment of Lieutenant Colonel José María Nova at the hacienda of El Venadito. Pedro Moreno died in the combat, and Mina was captured and placed at the disposal of Colonel Orratia. On the orders of Pascual Liñán, on November 11, 1817, Xavier Mina was executed by firing squad on Cerro del Bellaco in full view of the defenders of the Fort of Los Remedios. For this royalist victory, Viceroy Apodaca received the title of Count of Venadito.

The insurgents withstood the siege for four months. On January 1, 1818, they attempted to flee but were surprised and defeated; Captain Crocker, Doctor Hennessey, the guerrilla fighter Cruz Arroyo, Manuel Muñiz—who had renounced his pardon to join Mina's campaign—and Colonel Diego Novoa were killed. The priest José Antonio Torres managed to escape. On the side of the victors, Pascual Liñán received the Order of Isabella the Catholic, Anastasio Bustamante was promoted to colonel, Miguel Béistegui to lieutenant colonel, and Pedro Celestino Negrete to field marshal.

Situation in other areas during 1817

The insurgent leaders continued to operate independently. In Orizaba, Ignacio Couto was repulsed by Colonel José Ruiz during the first months of 1817; his group of seventy-five men was forced to fall back to Palmillas, where it was besieged throughout the month of July by Colonel Santa Marina. The insurgents tried to escape but were captured and executed by firing squad in Huatusco and Orizaba. Couto was taken to Puebla to be executed, but he managed to escape from prison with the help of José Manuel de Herrera; however, he did not return to arms, because he and his brother José Antonio were granted the pardon months later. In addition, the guerrillas of Nautla, commanded by Serafín Olarte, were completely defeated by Carlos María Llorente. When these positions fell, Guadalupe Victoria, rather than accept the pardon, preferred to take refuge in the area of Jamapa and did not reappear on the scene until 1821. During May and June, Benedicto López was able to repel at Maravatío the sieges of Major Pío María Ruiz, while Nicolás Bravo rebuilt the fortress of Cerro del Cóporo, defeating Colonel Ignacio Mora on September 1 in the Battle of Cerro de Cóporo. The fortress was besieged in November by Commander Márquez Donayo; Benedicto López attempted to break the siege line to bring in food and supplies, but on November 29 he was killed by the royalists. Ramón López Rayón, who had already been pardoned, pointed out to Márquez Donayo the vulnerable points of the fortification, so that the place was taken on December 1, although Bravo managed to escape.

Vicente Guerrero fortified himself at Politla and Ajuchitlán, succeeding in repelling the attacks of Gabriel de Armijo. On the Pacific coast, the insurgents Isidoro Montes de Oca and Francisco Mongoy did the same against the royalist forces commanded by José Joaquín de Herrera and José Aguilera. On the other hand, on October 17, Father José Manuel Izquierdo and Pablo Ocampo succumbed to the attacks of Colonels Marrón and Manuel Gómez Pedraza at Alahuistlán; only Ocampo managed to escape. On December 10, near Huetamo, a group of royalists led by the former insurgent José Antonio de la Cueva and by the priest José Felipe Salazar disguised themselves as insurgents in order to capture José Sixto Verduzco, and on the following day Ignacio López Rayón. Nicolás Bravo attempted a rescue, but he too was captured by Gabriel de Armijo's men on December 22 at the rancho de los Dolores in the Sierra Sur.

Guerrero's resistance

Military activity of Vicente Guerrero (1812–1817).

Vicente Guerrero had joined the troops of José María Morelos at El Veladero in 1811. He was therefore subordinate to the Junta of Zitácuaro and the Congress of Chilpancingo; he swore to the Constitution of Apatzingán and recognized the authority of the Junta of Jaujilla and of those later formed at the ranchería of Zárate and at the hacienda of Las Balsas, thereby recognizing insurgent legality and continuity. Until 1814 his role was secondary, but after the defeats of Valladolid and Puruarán he was commissioned by Morelos to sustain the revolution in the south, an area whose geography he knew very well from his work as a muleteer and merchant before the outbreak of the armed struggle.

In 1816, he rejected the pardon offered by Viceroy Apodaca and chose to remain in arms. He took part in countless military actions, sometimes favorable and sometimes unfavorable, which took place in La Mixteca, on the Costa Chica, on the Costa Grande, along the area of the Mezcala River and in Tierra Caliente. His most important pursuers were the royalist commanders Félix de la Madrid and Gabriel de Armijo.

Siege of the Fort of Jaujilla

Soldier of General Guerrero's division

Beginning on December 15, 1817, Colonel Matías Martín de Aguirre and Colonel José Barradas, with a force of one thousand men, began the siege of the Fort of Jaujilla, whose defense was in the charge of the insurgent colonel Antonio López de Lara and of Captains Christie and Devers. The members of the Junta of Jaujilla, Antonio Cumplido, Ignacio Ayala and the canon José de San Martín, as well as the secretaries Francisco Lojero and Antonio Vallejo, fled the siege to establish themselves at the ranchería of Zárate in the district of Turicato, although Ayala preferred to resign and his place was taken by Pedro Villaseñor. On February 3, the priest José Antonio Torres raised a force of three hundred men in Pénjamo to help break the siege, but his attack was repulsed. Through the interception of a courier, the members of the Junta of Zárate were surprised on February 18 but managed to flee, with the exception of José de San Martín, who was apprehended and imprisoned for three years. Finally, after almost three months of siege, the insurgents of the Fort of Jaujilla capitulated on March 6, 1818.

The members of the Governing Junta reorganized at the ranchería of Zárate in Huetamo; this time it was made up of José Pagola, Mariano Sánchez Arriola and Pedro Villaseñor, and it was decided to relieve the priest José Antonio Torres of his command because, for unknown reasons, he had executed by firing squad his second-in-command, Lucas Flores, and Remigio Yarza, who had been a signatory of the Constitution of Apatzingán. In his place Colonel Juan Arago was appointed, a military man who had arrived with Xavier Mina's expedition. Torres refused to recognize the authority of the Junta of Zárate, preferring to join Colonels Encarnación and Francisco Ortiz, with whom he managed to gather one thousand five hundred men, but they were defeated by the royalist colonel Anastasio Bustamante on April 28, 1818. After the defeat, Torres joined Miguel Borja and, with a small group of three hundred men, recognized Ignacio Ayala as the sole authority, but his force was pursued and dispersed by Colonel Márquez Donayo. Torres was abandoned by most of his followers and finally died in a quarrel with a subordinate. Meanwhile, the Governing Junta was surprised once again on June 10, and José Pagola and the secretary José Bermeo were captured and executed by firing squad by the royalist captain Tomás Díaz. Sánchez Arriola and Villaseñor fled to the hacienda of Las Balsas, where they established themselves under the protection of Vicente Guerrero. Mariano Ruiz de Castañeda was appointed a member of the new Junta.

Vicente Guerrero as general-in-chief of the troops of the south

Dragoon of General Guerrero's escort

Once the new Junta of Balsas had been constituted, calling itself the Superior Republican Government, the appointment of Vicente Guerrero as general-in-chief of the Army of the South was ratified. Invested with this authority, the caudillo devoted himself to recruiting new forces and reorganizing the existing ones in order to build a fort on Cerro de Santiago, which was called the Fort of Barrabás. On April 1, 1818, owing to an act of betrayal, Guerrero was attacked by Gabriel de Armijo at the camp of San Gregorio. The insurgent general was pursued as far as Zacatula, where Captains Isidoro Montes de Oca, Pablo Galeana and Pedro Mongoy, in command of three hundred men, confronted the royalists. The fighting continued for several days without a decisive victory; Armijo moved to Teloloapan and the insurgents toward Coahuayutla.

On September 15, 1818, Armijo launched a new offensive but was defeated in the Battle of El Tamo. With this victory and the weapons captured, Guerrero increased his force from eight hundred to one thousand eight hundred men. Fifteen days later, near Zirándaro, the Battle of Cerro de Barrabás took place, and once again victory went to the insurgents, who managed to capture four hundred more muskets. With a larger army, Guerrero undertook the reconquest of Tierra Caliente, fortifying himself in Huetamo, Cutzamala, Tlachapa and the hacienda of Cuauhlotitlán, where he also inflicted heavy casualties on the royalists. During these campaigns the insurgent Pedro Ascencio Alquisiras began to stand out.

Insurgent capitulations during 1818

In Nueva Galicia, the insurgent Gordiano Guzmán—who had joined the cause in 1811 in Sayula—carried out a series of attacks in the areas of Tecalitlán and Tuxpan, but he was struck down in mid-November by Colonel Rafael Cevallos at a place known as Piedras de Lumbre. In the same province, the Junta of Balsas appointed Colonel Santiago González as military commander of the eastern zone; he was pursued by Lieutenant Colonel Hermenegildo Revuelta, who succeeded in driving him to flee to Silao in the month of September. During the course of 1818, other insurgent leaders accepted the pardon, among them Vicente Vargas and Father Melgarejo in Toluca, Inclán in Xochimilco, and even Rafael Villagrán—who had taken up arms again at the time of Xavier Mina's expedition—in Huichapan. In the area of Veracruz—although Guadalupe Victoria was in hiding—there were some uprisings by the indigenous people of Coxquihui, who attacked Xalapa, and by some other insurgent groups that attacked La Antigua. To counter these outbreaks, Apodaca ordered Ciriaco del Llano and Colonel José Barradas to carry out military campaigns to reduce the fortifications in the area.

Royalist campaigns during 1819

In January 1819, Viceroy Apodaca removed Field Marshal José Dávila from command of the province of Veracruz, appointing Pascual de Liñán in his place. During the same month, in the area of Jamapa, several insurgent officers accepted the pardon. On February 2, Liñán granted freedom to Carlos María de Bustamante. In Nueva Galicia, Hermenegildo Revuelta continued to pursue the small pro-independence groups remaining in the area. During the month of March, in the ravines of Huango, Vicente Lara, with a force of one thousand five hundred men, succeeded in defeating a group of one hundred insurgents led by Colonel Juan Davis Bradburn. The latter was able to escape and join Vicente Guerrero. Shortly after this defeat, Mariano Tercero—who at the time was a member of the Governing Junta—and Juan Pablo Anaya accepted the pardon. In the month of July, Juan Arago and Pablo Erdozaín did the same. In El Bajío, Anastasio Bustamante's regiment captured the guerrilla fighter Andrés Delgado "el Giro", who died at the hands of Ensign Castillo on July 3 near Santa Cruz; his head was displayed in Salamanca. In the Sierra Gorda, a small group of insurgents under the command of Colonel Miguel Borja and Doctor José Antonio Magos still continued to resist the regiment of the royalist Casanova. To subdue this group, Viceroy Apodaca sent Brigadier Melchor Álvarez, who took with him some former insurgents who knew the area and had previously been pardoned. Thus, during the month of June, the guerrilla fighter Guadalupe González was captured and executed by firing squad on the plain of Montenegro; almost immediately Doctor Magos requested the pardon. Borja held out until December 28; he was defeated at San Miguel el Grande and taken to Querétaro, where he was granted the pardon.

Vicente Guerrero carried the war against Gabriel de Armijo as far as Chilapa, but during his battles the Junta was surprised at Las Balsas, and as a result Mariano Sánchez Arriola was captured and executed by firing squad. Thus disappeared the only directing center of the revolution. Pedro Ascencio fortified himself at Tlatlaya, while Guerrero did the same at Coahuayutla. In mid-June, Lieutenant Colonel José Antonio de Echávarri joined the royalist forces in the area and succeeded in capturing the Fort of Barrabás. New offensives by the royalists Pío María Ruiz and Barragán forced Guerrero to cross the Balsas River into Michoacán, where he was defeated on November 5 in the Battle of Agua Zarca. After the defeat, the insurgent caudillo crossed the river again, but this time in the direction of the Sierra Sur.

Fourth stage: Consummation (1820–1821)

It is estimated that more than one million people had died in New Spain after more than ten years of fighting; that is, one sixth of the population of New Spain had perished during the war. War expenses, both in Spain and in America, drove the kingdom to bankruptcy. The mines, many of them abandoned, reduced their output to a third of the levels they had before 1810. The production of the haciendas was likewise diminished by a lack of labor. As a side effect, the Church stopped receiving the customary tithes. The Spanish metropolis continued to impose economic restrictions and to request the shipment of resources to help with its own crisis. The members of the viceregal army were discontented with their low pay and with the open preference shown to the expeditionary troops that had arrived from Spain since 1812.

In Spain, the revolution started by Rafael de Riego began the Liberal Triennium, and in this way the Constitution of Cádiz was restored to force. Anticlerical measures were imposed to reduce the power of the Church, among them the expulsion of the Jesuits and the abolition of the tithe and of the Inquisition. When the elite of New Spain saw its interests affected, it tried to reject the liberal form of government. A series of meetings, headed by Canon Matías de Monteagudo, took place in the oratory of San Felipe Neri and became known as the Conspiracy of La Profesa. Its members saw in Agustín de Iturbide the military chief capable of giving a new turn to the struggle for Independence. Instead of having the popular character championed by Hidalgo and Morelos, the struggle became a project of the novohispanic oligarchy, which wished to return Ferdinand VII to his absolute power.

Campaigns against the insurgents in 1820

At the beginning of 1820, latent centers of insurrection still existed in various parts of New Spain. In New Galicia, Guanajuato and Michoacán, the attacks of Gordiano Guzmán, of Francisco and Encarnación Ortiz, and of the Bedoya brothers persisted. In the south, Pedro Ascencio continued to be pursued without success by Juan Rafols, who after being defeated received reinforcements from the troops of Toluca, Querétaro and Celaya. In any case, Ascencio, with the help of the presbyter José Manuel Izquierdo, achieved new victories in April and May, the most significant being the one at Cerromel. Manuel de la Concha apprehended Nicolás Izquierdo, the insurgent's father; the royalist threatened José Manuel with his father's life if he did not submit to the pardon, and when he refused, gave the order for the execution. For his part, Vicente Guerrero, with the help of José María Lobato, continued attacking the troops of Gabriel de Armijo, preventing him from mounting a real offensive. During the rainy season, the insurgent troops of Ascencio and Guerrero simultaneously attacked the royalist Captain, who chose to resign his post in November.

The restored Spanish Constitution

Main article: Liberal Triennium

In Spain, on January 1, 1820, the Spanish general Rafael de Riego, together with other liberals, persuaded the soldiers in the town of Las Cabezas de San Juan to rebel and restore the Constitution of Cádiz. The revolution spread across the Iberian Peninsula.

This was the rebellion of the 22,000 soldiers of the great expedition to Ultramar that had been concentrated in Cádiz; they abandoned the mission of embarking to suppress the American insurgents, disowning their chief Félix María Calleja del Rey. As a result, King Ferdinand VII was forced to swear to the Magna Carta on March 10:

«I have heard your wishes, and like a tender father I have consented to what my children deem conducive to their happiness. I have sworn the Constitution for which you longed, and I shall always be its firmest support. I have already taken the appropriate measures for the prompt convocation of the Cortes…[…]…Let us march frankly, and I the first, along the constitutional path.»

— Ferdinand VII of Spain, March 10, 1820. Zárate 1880, p. 646

The King appointed a Provisional Consultative Junta, and the liberal politicians and thinkers were released from prison. Elections were scheduled for the new Cortes, which would begin their sessions in July. Instructions were sent to the viceroyalties and captaincies to publish the royal decree restoring the Constitution. Aware of the delay the elections would entail in the colonies, the Provisional Junta chose thirty substitutes to represent the New World. The American deputies, many of them recently freed, protested the decision, demanding a greater number of representatives and also threatening not to take part in the election of substitutes. The Junta did not grant the request, and it was Miguel Ramos Arizpe who convinced them that it was a better option to have few deputies than none. The first deputies of New Spain were Miguel Ramos Arizpe himself, José Mariano Michelena, José María Couto, Manuel Cortázar, Francisco Fagoaga, José María Montoya and Juan de Dios Cañedo. When the Cortes met, the "American question" was raised once again, demanding greater representation, free trade and the abolition of monopolies; in addition, they insisted on establishing a greater number of provincial deputations.

The conspiracy of La Profesa

Main article: Conspiracy of La Profesa

The first news of the triumph of the liberal revolution reached the port of Veracruz on April 26, 1820. The criollos of liberal ideology received this news with enthusiasm, as did the members of the Consulado of Veracruz, who wished to reinstate free trade in New Spain. Three days later the news reached Mexico City, but the Spaniards of absolutist ideas, made up of the aristocratic class and the high clergy, reacted differently. Canon Matías de Monteagudo led a series of secret meetings known as the Conspiracy of La Profesa. They were attended by the Regent of the Real Audiencia of Mexico, Miguel Bataller; the prosecutor of the Inquisition, José Tirado; the Bishop of Puebla, Antonio Joaquín Pérez; Juan José Espinosa de los Monteros; members of the Consulado of Mexico; and others who had taken part in the coup d'état of 1808. Viceroy Apodaca himself was aware of these meetings.

At first the conspirators sought to evade or postpone the oath to the Constitution, but because it was widely accepted by the merchants of Veracruz with the support of Spanish troops, Apodaca swore it on May 31, 1820. Although a Real Acuerdo was convened and the Magna Carta was sworn by the oidores as well as by the high religious authorities, the conspirators did not give up. They sought a military chief to carry out their final plan, which consisted of proclaiming the independence of New Spain in order to establish a monarchy headed by an infante of Spain. It was Matías de Monteagudo who recommended to the new Superior Political Chief, Juan Ruiz de Apodaca, that he appoint Agustín de Iturbide as commander of the armies of the south. Apodaca agreed to the proposal, and on November 15, 1820, Iturbide accepted the post, requesting the rank of brigadier and the assignment of the Celaya regiment, which he had previously commanded.

For the Church the situation worsened, since the Inquisition was abolished, the Society of Jesus was suppressed for the second time, and the disappearance of the monastic orders, the sale of ecclesiastical property and the reduction of tithes were announced. On the one hand, the group known as the Persians feared reprisals for having supported Ferdinand VII's absolutist coup; on the other hand, the insurgents who were in prison were freed: Nicolás Bravo, Ignacio López Rayón, Manuel Mier y Terán, José Sixto Verduzco, Francisco Osorno and many others.

Embrace of Acatempan

Embrace of Acatempan.

Main article: Embrace of Acatempan

On November 16, 1820, Agustín de Iturbide left Mexico City to begin the campaign against the insurgents of the south. Pedro Ascencio had his camps in Tlatlaya and La Goleta, while the forces of Vicente Guerrero were scattered in Ajuchitlán and the mountains of La Coronilla. The royalist forces were located to the north in Zacualpan, Cuernavaca and Cuautla; to the west, under the command of Colonel Juan Rafols, in Tejupilco, Sultepec and Temascaltepec; to the east, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Miota, in Ometepec, Tlapa and the Mixteca Alta; the course of the Mezcala River was watched by Lieutenant Colonel Juan Isidro Marrón; the rest of the troops that Gabriel de Armijo had commanded were under the command of José Antonio de Echávarri in Acapulco, Tixtla, Chilapa and Teloloapan. Iturbide settled in the last of these places to wait for the Celaya regiment, which arrived on December 17 under the command of Francisco Quintanilla, with the junior officers Valentín Canalizo and Miguel Arroyo. Iturbide revealed his plans to Captains Quintanilla, Manuel Díaz de la Madrid and José María González. The project he had in mind consisted of quickly defeating the insurgents and then proclaiming what would be called the Plan of Iguala. To carry out his intentions swiftly, he asked the Viceroy for the help of the Frontera cavalry corps, increasing his troops to two thousand five hundred men. During these days Colonel Juan Davis Bradburn abandoned the insurgents to join Iturbide's forces. This officer, who had arrived with the expedition of Xavier Mina, had refused to obey orders to shoot a group of royalists; upon learning the reason for his desertion, Iturbide did not hesitate to accept him. On December 22 the campaign against the insurgent troops began.

On December 28, Pedro Ascencio, with a group of eight hundred men, surprised the rearguard of Iturbide's contingent near Tlatlaya. As a result, one hundred and eight royalist soldiers died, among them Captain José María González. Quintanilla, Iturbide and the rest of the royalist army fell back to Teloloapan. On January 2, 1821, Vicente Guerrero himself, with four hundred men, defeated a subordinate column commanded by Carlos Moya at the Battle of Zapotepec, near Chilpancingo. Assessing these two defeats, Iturbide concluded that the insurgents knew the terrain very well and that defeating them would take him longer than he had planned. For this reason he changed his strategy and wrote a letter to Guerrero on January 10. The letter, in addition to offering him a pardon, reported that the former insurgents in Mexico City had already been freed and that the novohispanic deputies had traveled to Spain to request many of the things for which the insurgents had fought, among them that all the sons of the country without any distinction be considered citizens, and that the king or an infante of Spain govern the colony. Accordingly, Iturbide asked Guerrero to send him Nicolás Catalán, or some other person of his confidence, so that he could explain the necessary details in order to seal a peace pact.

Guerrero, who had already rejected an offer of pardon before, received Iturbide's proposal with caution and replied in a letter dated January 20 that he had perceived certain ideas of liberalism. He explained from his point of view how the Americans had taken up arms against the peninsulars during the captivity of Ferdinand VII so as not to subjugate themselves to the designs of the Spanish Juntas. He expressed his discontent at the refusals that Viceroy Juan Ruiz de Apodaca had given to the proposals of the insurgent chiefs, as well as the disappointment they felt when they learned of the unequal treatment and lack of representation in the Cortes of Cádiz, and of the refusals given to the petitions of the American deputies. Guerrero made it clear that he held no hopes for the new journey of the American deputies; he told Iturbide that if he fought for the interests of the nation, he would serve under his orders, but he stressed that he did not accept the pardon, which he considered degrading, and that he had no intention of embracing the King's party.

«…I am of the opinion that what has been set forth is sufficient for you to know my resolution and the justice on which I base it, without need of sending anyone to discuss any proposals, because our only motto is independence and liberty. If this system were accepted by you, we shall arrange our relations; I shall expand further, we shall combine plans, and I shall protect your undertakings in every way possible to me; but if you do not separate yourself from the constitutional system of Spain, I shall not again receive a reply from you, nor will you see a letter from me…[…]…I give you this news in advance so that you will not insist, nor consider me impolitic, because you will never convince me to embrace the King's party, whoever he may be…[…]…Act as you see fit, for fate will decide, and it will be more glorious for me to die in the field than to bow my neck to the tyrant…[…]…and I repeat to you that everything not concerning total independence we shall dispute on the battlefield. If some happy change on your part should give me the pleasure I desire, no one will compete with me for the preference of being your most faithful friend and servant…»

— Letter from Vicente Guerrero to Agustín de Iturbide, January 20, 1821.

Before Iturbide received this letter, on January 25, Pedro Ascencio attacked the forces of Colonel Rafols at Totomaloya, forcing the royalists to fall back toward Sultepec. On January 27, the royalist Colonel Francisco Antonio Berdejo, with a force of three hundred men, was defeated by Vicente Guerrero's men at the Espinazo del Diablo, near Chichihualco. On February 4, from Tepecuacuilco, Iturbide wrote a second letter to Guerrero in which he proposed meeting near Chilpancingo to seal a peace pact, sending Antonio Mier y Villagómez as his emissary. Finally, on February 10, according to Lorenzo de Zavala, a meeting took place at Acatempan, where Guerrero and Iturbide, backed by their troops, met, conversed and embraced to seal the peace. According to Lucas Alamán, it was José Figueroa who was commissioned by the insurgents to meet with the royalist commander. From that moment on, Guerrero's military forces of three thousand five hundred men, including Ascencio's men, placed themselves under Iturbide's orders. Iturbide sent the news to Apodaca on February 18, who received it with jubilation without suspecting the outcome.

Plan of Iguala

Main article: Plan of Iguala

Agustín de Iturbide.

Once Iturbide managed to establish peace with the insurgents, he began his letter-writing campaign. He sent a letter to Juan José Espinosa de los Monteros with the draft of the plan. In order to win more supporters, he sent emissaries to explain his intentions to the royalist commanders Pedro Celestino Negrete, Anastasio Bustamante and Luis Cortazar. He met personally in Sultepec with Lieutenant Colonel Miguel Torres. Iturbide's close friend Juan Gómez Navarrete informed the deputies, who were in Veracruz about to set sail for Spain, of the plan that was going to be proclaimed. Most of them received the news with distrust.

On February 24, 1821, Iturbide proclaimed the Plan of Iguala, which was based on three guarantees: the Catholic religion as the only one accepted, the union of all inhabitants, and the independence of New Spain. The document consisted of twenty-four articles that summarized the autonomist and pro-independence aspirations of all sectors of novohispanic society. It proposed the creation of a junta, which Primo de Verdad had desired since 1808; the abolition of slavery and the defense of the Catholic religion, which Hidalgo had proclaimed in 1810; it established that all inhabitants without distinction would be considered citizens, which Morelos had proclaimed in 1813; it proclaimed a constitutional regime, for which Mina fought in 1817; it sought union and peace to end the bloodshed, which, after a decade of fratricidal struggles, the whole population desired; it ratified the privileges and fueros of the clergy, which the Church desired; recognition of rank as well as rewards would be given to the military, which the members of the army desired; it sought to establish a moderate constitutional monarchical regime suited to the entity, whose throne would be offered to Ferdinand VII himself or to one of the infantes of Spain, which left the door open to those who insisted on absolutist ideas. The Army of the Three Guarantees was created, initially made up of the Insurgent army and of the royalist troops under the command of Iturbide, who assumed the post of supreme chief.

The Plan of Iguala was sent to the Superior Political Chief Apodaca, to Archbishop Pedro de Fonte and to other officials of New Spain. In a private letter, Iturbide asked Apodaca to preside over the Governing Junta contemplated in the plan; he told him that he did not believe that Ferdinand VII had voluntarily sworn the Constitution of Cádiz, and that if the Monarch or his family agreed to govern New Spain, a moderate constitution could be drafted that would allow the restoration of the preeminences of which the members of the Church had been stripped. But the Superior Political Chief's response was not what was expected: on March 3, Apodaca published a proclamation urging all inhabitants not to read Iturbide's seductive plans, which were contrary to the Constitution that had been sworn in May. This position was seconded by the Ayuntamiento of Mexico. The absolutists who had taken part in the Conspiracy of La Profesa saw that the Plan of Iguala upset their original plans, since these merely consisted of proclaiming the independence of the colony in order to erect a throne for the absolute Monarch or for one of the infantes of Spain. On March 14, Apodaca declared Iturbide an outlaw and offered a general pardon to those who had sworn the Plan of Iguala, provided they reiterated their oath of loyalty to the Constitution and to the King. At the same time, he ordered the formation of the Army of the South, with a force of five thousand men, initially under the command of Field Marshal Pascual de Liñán and Brigadier Javier de Gabriel. Colonel José Gabriel de Armijo was called to be once again commander general of the South; joining them were Colonel Francisco Hevia's Castilla battalion, the Infante Carlos battalion, part of the cavalry of the Príncipe regiment and part of the troops commanded by Colonel Juan Ráfols, who was in Tejupilco.

Campaign of the Army of the Three Guarantees

Main article: Army of the Three Guarantees

On March 16, Iturbide sent two letters with copies of the Plan of Iguala to Spain. The first was addressed to King Ferdinand VII, whom he invited to govern the kingdom of Northern America or Mexican Empire. The second was addressed to the deputies of the Spanish Cortes, whom he asked to accept the independence of New Spain peacefully, warning them that he had a disciplined army ready to defend this cause.

Before the Army of the Three Guarantees (religion, union and independence) began its campaign, the royalist troops were commanded by Colonel Samaniego in La Mixteca; Colonel Manuel de Obeso in Oaxaca; Colonel Zarzosa in San Luis Potosí; the Extremadura battalion in Puebla; Brigadier Joaquín Arredondo in the Eastern Interior Provinces; Field Marshal Alejo García Conde in the Western Interior Provinces; his brother, Brigadier Diego García Conde, with the help of Colonel Rafael Bracho, in Durango; Field Marshal José de la Cruz in New Galicia; Brigadier Pedro Celestino Negrete in Colima; the Navarra battalion in Zacatecas; Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Rodríguez de Cela, with the help of Miguel Barragán, in Michoacán; Brigadier Domingo Estanislao Luaces, with the help of José María Novoa, in Querétaro and the Sierra Gorda; Colonel Francisco Hevia in Córdoba; Frigate Captain Juan Bautista Topete covering the leeward coast at Alvarado, Tlacotalpan and the sierra of Tuxtepec; Captain Antonio López de Santa Anna covering the windward coast; Captain Carlos María Llorente in Tampico and the Huasteca Potosina; Colonel José María Calderón in Xalapa; Captain Juan Horbegoso in Veracruz; and Colonel Agustín de la Viña in Perote.

During March and the first days of April 1821, the reactions were diverse. The Plan of Iguala was welcomed and proclaimed with enthusiasm by Captain Horbegoso in Veracruz; the junior officer Celso de Iruela in Perote; José Joaquín de Herrera, who advanced to Tepeyehualco and San Juan de los Llanos; Luis Cortázar in Los Amoles, who moved to Salvatierra, Pénjamo and Valle de Santiago; Anastasio Bustamante, who headed to Guanajuato, where he ordered the skulls of Hidalgo, Allende, Aldama and Jiménez to be taken down from the Alhóndiga de Granaditas so they could be buried. He then managed to gather an army of six thousand men in Salamanca, Irapuato, Silao, León and San Miguel el Grande; Sergeant Major Juan Domínguez in Apatzingán; Lieutenant Colonel Miguel Barragán in Ario; as well as Vicente Filisola and Juan José Codallos in Tusantla. The plan was rejected by Vicente Marmolejo in Cuernavaca, Tomás Cajigal in Taxco, Martín Almela in Tixtla, and José María Armijo and José de Ubiella in Iguala, all of whom were under Iturbide's orders but defected to join the royalist troops. On the other hand, Antonio Linares did not accept the plan in Celaya and headed to Querétaro; Agustín de la Viña entrenched himself in the Fortress of San Carlos de Perote, as did Colonel Quintanar in Valladolid.

The first military actions took place when the parish priest of Xalapa, José Martínez, forced Colonel José Rincón to fall back toward Orizaba in search of help from Antonio López de Santa Anna. On March 25, the former insurgent Francisco de Miranda, in combination with José Joaquín de Herrera, obtained the capitulation of Santa Anna and Rincón, who from that moment swore the Plan of Iguala. Herrera entered the city of Córdoba on April 1, forcing the capitulation of the royalist commander Alcocer. The former insurgent Nicolás Bravo began his campaign in Chilpancingo, Tixtla, Chilapa de Álvarez and Izúcar. Juan Álvarez began the siege of Acapulco; Vicente Guerrero and José Antonio Echávarri were assigned to confront the royalist forces of Pascual de Liñán; meanwhile, Iturbide crossed the Tierra Caliente toward Cutzamala, where he was joined by the former insurgent Ramón López Rayón, whom he assigned to fortify once again the hill of El Cóporo in Zitácuaro. In April, Iturbide's party arrived at Acámbaro to meet with Bustamante, Cortázar and Joaquín Parres, after which the former insurgent Epitacio Sánchez was his escort. In El Bajío, the insurgents Francisco Ortiz, Encarnación Oriz, Miguel Borja, José Durán and some others who were still up in arms joined the Army of the Three Guarantees.

The Army of the South, led by Márquez Donayo and Gabriel de Armijo, headed to Zacualpan to confront, without success, the insurgent forces led by Pedro Ascencio and Father José Manuel Izquierdo, on April 9 and 10 in the Sierra de Sultepec. On April 14, the royalist Captain Ignacio Inclán proclaimed the Plan of Iguala in Lerma, attacking the rearguard of the Army of the South; however, he was captured by Captain Jorge Henríquez near Toluca. José Joaquín Herrera began his advance toward Puebla; to stop him, General Ciriaco del Llano ordered Lieutenant Colonel Zarzosa to go out to meet him, but a large part of the royalist troops deserted to join the Trigarantes in the ravine of Ixtapa, and seeing his army diminished, Zarzosa returned to Puebla. Herrera, by contrast, with a larger contingent, managed to take up positions in Chalchicomula and Tepeaca.

Colonel Francisco Hevia pursued the forces of Nicolás Bravo, but when Bravo passed through Atlixco he was joined by Francisco Osorno and other former insurgents who had fought in the Llanos de Apan, and together they headed to Huejotzingo. Believing that Bravo and Osorno would attack the City of Puebla, Hevia returned to Izúcar to prepare the defense, but Bravo headed to Huamantla, where he was joined by Captain Francisco Miranda Palacios. When Hevia and Ciriaco del Llano learned that Herrera was in Tepeaca, they marched with a force of one thousand four hundred soldiers to besiege him; Bravo went to the same place with four hundred men to help Herrera, but after three days of combat, on April 26, the Trigarantes abandoned the town. Bravo headed to the Llanos de Apan and Herrera returned to Córdoba.

Objects from the period of independence.

On April 25, Antonio López de Santa Anna proclaimed independence in Alvarado, allowing the royalist Captain Juan Bautista Topete to withdraw with some of his men toward Veracruz. On May 15, Francisco Hevia began the assault on Córdoba; on the day after the fighting began he was killed in action, and command passed to Lieutenant Colonel Blas del Castillo y Luna, who was able to penetrate the city but was repelled. On May 18, Santa Anna, with a force of five hundred and fifty men, arrived at the site to aid the besieged, and two days later the besiegers fled to Orizaba to join the royalist Colonel Samaniego, who, assessing the situation, decided to fall back to Puebla. Days later, Santa Anna and Joaquín Leña made a surprise attack on the city of Xalapa; after six hours of combat, Captain Juan Horbegoso asked for capitulation. On April 20, after having been in hiding, Guadalupe Victoria joined the Trigarante movement by publishing a proclamation; the guerrillas of the coast rose up in arms again, so that the fort of La Antigua was abandoned by the royalists. The Puente del Rey was taken by the pro-independence forces, and the Indians of Coxquihui took up arms in the Huasteca region against the army of Carlos María Llorente. By the end of May the entire Province of Veracruz, except for its capital, had declared in favor of independence.

On May 1, Iturbide was in León, from where he sent a letter to José de la Cruz to negotiate his adherence to the pro-independence movement. On May 8, near Yurécuaro, the two men met; they agreed on a provisional armistice, and Iturbide asked De la Cruz to persuade Apodaca to accept the Plan of Iguala. When the meeting ended, the supreme chief of the Trigarante headed to Huaniqueo and De la Cruz returned to Guadalajara. As agreed, he sent a messenger to the capital, but Apodaca energetically rejected the proposal. The town of Huniqueo was defended by one thousand six hundred royalists under the command of Colonel Luis Quintanar, who initially refused to surrender; however, a large Trigarante force that grew day by day settled both around Huniqueo and around Valladolid. In addition to this situation, part of the royalist troops deserted to join the Trigarantes. On May 19 both cities were surrendered by Luis Quintanar and Manuel Rodríguez de Cela; the surrender was peaceful, without a single shot being fired. In contrast, Doctor José Antonio Magos, who had proclaimed the Plan of Iguala in Ixmiquilpan, suffered a defeat on May 23 inflicted by the royalist Colonel José María Novoa; and near Tetecala, the regiments of Captain Dionisio Boneta and Commander Cristóbal Húber defeated the forces of Pedro Ascencio on June 3. The former insurgent died during the combat; his head was sent to Cuernavaca, where it was publicly displayed by order of Gabriel de Armijo.

Ascencio's defeat was received with approval by Apodaca, but the surrender of Valladolid dismayed him. In desperation, he published a proclamation canceling freedom of the press and calling for the compulsory enlistment of males between sixteen and fifty years of age. But none of these measures prevented part of the troops in the capital from deserting and fleeing to join the Trigarantes. Enthused by the news of the taking of Valladolid, Pedro Celestino Negrete proclaimed independence on June 13 in San Pedro Tlaquepaque; he was immediately joined by Captain Eduardo Laris, who occupied the Hospicio barracks, and whom Colonel José Antonio Andrade supported with a troop of Trigarantes. Laris was designated to take the port of San Blas, which would capitulate on July 25. Finding himself without protection, José de la Cruz fled Guadalajara to join the division of Hermenegildo Revuelta, and both headed to Zacatecas. After a brief stop, he continued his march toward Durango, where he was well received by Bishop Juan Francisco Castañiza on July 4; during the march of the royalist contingent, at Saín Alto, part of the troops, harangued by battalion corporal José María Borrego, defected and returned to Zacatecas, proclaiming the Plan of Iguala the same day. On July 6, Negrete did the same in Aguascalientes, whose population cheered him.

The town of San Juan del Río, guarded by one thousand one hundred royalists under the command of Colonel José María Novoa, began to be surrounded by the Trigarantes; from Toluca a battalion led by Lieutenant Colonel Almela arrived to help it, but the forces led by Anastasio Bustamante, Juan Domínguez Manso and Luis Quintanar, who had joined the pro-independence movement, intimidated the royalist troops with their numbers, and these deserted en masse. On June 7, Novoa negotiated the capitulation and withdrew to the capital with only four hundred loyal men. Brigadier Luaces found himself in a similar situation, but with six hundred and fifty men, in Querétaro. From San Luis Potosí a contingent of eight hundred royalists set out under the command of Colonels Bracho and Pedro Pérez de San Julián in order to help him. Once again this march was surrounded by the Trigarante troops of José Antonio de Echávarri, Gaspar López, Zenón Fernández, Juan José Codallos, Luis Cortázar and Anastasio Bustamante; with no other alternative, Bracho and Pérez de San Julián surrendered unconditionally on June 22 at San Luis de la Paz. Shortly afterward, the royalist Brigadier Torres Valdivia abandoned the City of San Luis Potosí, which was taken by Colonels Zenón Fernández and Gaspar López. On June 27, the Army of the Three Guarantees surrounding the City of Querétaro consisted of ten thousand men. With no further hope of military support, Brigadier Luaces peacefully surrendered the town. On the other hand, on June 18 the city of Toluca was defended by Colonel Ángel Díaz del Castillo, but he was defeated by the forces of Vicente Filisola, Felipe Martínez and Father José Manuel Izquierdo; three hundred royalists died in the battle and the survivors fell back to the capital.

From the end of May the Fortress of San Carlos de Perote was besieged by the eleventh division of the Trigarante, led by Antonio López de Santa Anna, and defended by the royalist Agustín de la Viña. On June 11, Colonel Saturnino Samaniego broke the siege, forcing the Trigarantes to fall back to Xalapa. Santa Anna planned to take the port of Veracruz; at the beginning of July he managed to capture the bastion of Santa Bárbara, the bastion of La Merced and the bastion of Santa Lucía. But he failed in his simultaneous attempt to assault the Bastion of Santiago, the Practical School of Artillery, and the Fijo barracks, which was defended by Lieutenant Colonel José Rincón. Poor coordination of his men, together with a heavy downpour that wet the gunpowder, gave the victory to Brigadier José García Dávila. Trigarante casualties amounted to almost one hundred men. With his plans frustrated, Santa Anna went to Córdoba and Orizaba, from where he ordered an expedition to Puente del Rey with the aim of cutting communications to the port to prevent a possible royalist advance toward Xalapa.

Deposition of Juan Ruiz de Apodaca

The defeats and capitulations that occurred during the first five months of the campaign of the Army of the Three Guarantees were an affront to the officers of the Spanish expeditionary corps, who blamed these misfortunes on the incompetence and ineptitude of the Superior Political Chief Juan Ruiz de Apodaca. Among these officers were Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Buceli and Captains Lara, Carlos María Llorente, Carballo and Miguel Béistegui. During the night of July 5, 1821, the conspirators arrested Colonels Francisco Javier Llamas and Blas del Castillo y Luna, thus taking command of the Órdenes militares, Castilla and Infante don Carlos regiments and two companies of Marines. With this body of troops they surrounded the Viceregal Palace and burst into the room where Apodaca was meeting with the high military chiefs Pascual de Liñán, Francisco Novella, Juan Sociat and Manuel Espinosa Tello. After a heated discussion, it was determined that Francisco Novella would assume Apodaca's office. This sedition was not well received by the members of the Provincial Junta of Mexico; nevertheless, the appointment was ratified on July 8, 1821.

The advance of the Trigarantes continued. From the end of April, Nicolás Bravo carried out a campaign through Zacatlán and Tulancingo, where he surprised Colonel Manuel de la Concha. The royalist chief fled to the capital, and Bravo seized the weapons stored in Pachuca. On June 14, this Trigarante contingent, made up of three thousand men, left Tulancingo bound for Puebla. As it passed through Tlaxcala, it was joined by the former royalist chiefs Zarzosa and Miota with a cavalry force of three hundred and fifty men. Almost at the same time, José Joaquín de Herrera arrived at Cholula, where he was joined by the former insurgent Manuel Mier y Terán to direct the artillery. The city of Puebla was defended by Ciriaco del Llano, whose second in command was Colonel José Morán, stationed in San Martín Texmelucan. On July 6 hostilities began when a royalist column tried to confront the Trigarantes, but it was forced to return to the city for shelter; Mier y Terán directed an incessant cannonade toward the city. On the 17th an armistice was agreed; during this interval, Colonel Manuel de la Concha approached to help the besieged, but his advance was fought off by Epitacio Sánchez and Joaquín Ramírez y Sesma, who forced him to return to the capital.

Meanwhile, Iturbide marched from Arroyo Zarco toward Cuernavaca, which was garrisoned by Gabriel de Armijo and Cristóbal Húber, but these, upon learning of the large army that was approaching, made no effort to confront it and immediately moved to Mexico City. On July 23, Iturbide entered Cuernavaca, where he addressed a proclamation to the inhabitants:

«You will no longer suffer the yoke of the oppressors, whose language is insult, artifice and lies, and whose law is founded on their ambition, revenge and resentments. The Spanish Constitution, in the part that does not contradict our system of independence, provisionally regulates our government, while the assembled deputies of our provinces dictate and sanction the form most suitable for our social happiness.»

— Proclamation of July 23, 1821, by Agustín de Iturbide addressed to the inhabitants of Cuernavaca.

The supreme chief of the Trigarante continued on his way to Cholula. On July 28, Ciriaco del Llano surrendered the town of Puebla, the Spanish expeditionary troops being allowed to go to Tehuacán with honors, with pay and with instructions to embark for Havana. On August 2, Iturbide made a triumphal entry into Puebla. Some voices were heard greeting him with "Long live Agustín I!". The supreme chief was received by Bishop Antonio Joaquín Pérez, who flattered him with a speech in which he quoted Psalm one hundred twenty-three: laqueus contritus est, et nos liberatis sumus (the snare was broken and we were set free).

The Eastern Interior Provinces were under the command of Brigadier Joaquín Arredondo. When rumors of the proclamation of the Plan of Iguala arrived in mid-March, agitation spread among the population. In June, Arredondo concentrated his military forces in Monterrey and ordered all the funds held in Saltillo to be moved to the same place, but the Treasurer, supported by the members of the Ayuntamiento, refused to obey. The Brigadier sent Captain Nicolás del Moral to the town to arrest the Treasurer and enforce his order, but the Captain, far from obeying, chose to proclaim the Plan of Iguala on July 1 in Saltillo. Arredondo understood that the same reaction would occur in Monterrey, so he anticipated it by proclaiming the plan himself in that city, but those who had proclaimed the plan in Saltillo refused to continue recognizing him as an authority. Thus the Brigadier left for Tampico to embark for Havana.

In the Province of Oaxaca, the presbyter and former insurgent José María Sánchez took up arms again to adhere to the Plan of Iguala; shortly afterward, Lieutenant Colonel Pedro Miguel Monzón moved to the area to help the pro-independence forces. In this way, by June 9 the plan had been proclaimed in Tehuacán and Teotitlán. Ten days later, the royalist Captain Antonio de León decided to join the Trigarantes, managing to take the towns of Tezontlán and Huajuapan for the cause. On July 5, León began the attack on the Fort of San Fernando in Yanhuitlán, which was defended by Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Aldao. The royalist Colonel Manuel de Obeso came to his aid but only managed to advance as far as Huitzo, where he was attacked by León. With no further support, Aldao signed the capitulation on July 17, handing over his weapons to the besiegers. On the 29th, with a large number of indigenous Mixtecs, León headed to Huitzo. After three hours of cannon fire on the royalist positions, Obeso surrendered. On July 30, Antonio de León, the Mixtec contingent and the cavalry of Francisco Miranda peacefully took the city of Oaxaca to proclaim independence.

Treaties of Córdoba

Treaties of Córdoba.

Monument to Encarnación Ortíz, commemorating the Battle of Azcapotzalco in Mexico City.

Main article: Treaties of Córdoba

Ever since the Cortes met in Madrid in 1820, the deputies of the New World had tried to draw attention to resolving the "American question", whose proposals demanded greater representation, the abolition of monopolies and free trade. The American delegation was a minority, since it consisted of only seventy-eight deputies, and therefore the attention of the Cortes focused on solving the internal problems of the Iberian Peninsula. Nevertheless, during the first days of 1821, the deputies Miguel Ramos Arizpe and José Mariano Michelena obtained approval for increasing the number of provincial deputations for the territory of New Spain from six to fourteen, as well as the removal of officials considered "anticonstitutional, brutal and anti-American", among them Juan Ruiz de Apodaca and José de la Cruz. In this way General Juan O'Donojú was appointed to hold the office of Captain General and Superior Political Chief of New Spain; he would set sail from Cádiz on May 30. Before leaving for America, O'Donojú, Ramos Arizpe and Michelena met to discuss plans to create regencies, establish deputations in all the intendancies and strengthen the constitutional order, reaching a perfect understanding, since all three were liberals and fellow Freemasons.

During June, the Cortes debated the possibility of sending an infante of Spain to America to govern and achieve the desired autonomy, but Ferdinand VII opposed the project because he feared that this measure could end up "leading him to the guillotine". An alternative proposal was presented by José María Couto, which sought for some deputies of the legislature of New Spain also to exercise their functions in the Spanish Parliament, but at the same time news arrived of the outbreak of the pro-independence movement begun in February and of the Plan of Iguala. As a result, most of the deputies repudiated any restructuring of the Spanish Empire; the division between Americans and peninsulars became evident, and so discussion of the "American question" was postponed until September.

After a stopover in Puerto Cabello, O'Donojú disembarked from the ship Asia at San Juan de Ulúa on August 3. He was received by Brigadier José García Dávila, who, after the customary protocol ceremony, informed him that, with the exception of Mexico City, Veracruz, Durango, Chihuahua, Acapulco and the Fortress of San Carlos de Perote, all of New Spain had been freed from Spanish rule. The new Superior Political Chief issued a proclamation to the inhabitants in which he rebuked the haste of the pro-independence movement, explaining that the Cortes were debating the possibility of granting the sovereign representation so greatly desired, and he asked that his government be put to the test, and that if it did not meet expectations, he was fully willing to allow another chief to be chosen. O'Donojú ordered a cessation of hostilities on the part of the royalists and sent two emissaries with letters addressed to Iturbide to arrange a meeting. On August 11, the supreme chief of the Trigarante replied, designating the town of Córdoba as the meeting place. He then went to Texcoco, from where he notified Marshal Francisco Novella of O'Donojú's proclamations. Novella requested an armistice and permission to send two commissioners to meet with the newly arrived official. Iturbide agreed, but when the envoys arrived at Texcoco they were denied passage on the pretext that the conditions of the armistice had not been accepted by Novella.

Most of the royalist troops were concentrated in Mexico City; with the return of the divisions of Gabriel Armijo, Cristóbal Húber, Melchor Álvarez and Manuel de la Concha, the force numbered five thousand men. With the prospect of imminent warfare, part of the civilian population preferred to move to the small neighboring towns. The convents filled with women, and many members of the royalist army fled at night to join the pro-independence forces. Novella distributed his troops in Tepeyac, Tacuba, Tacubaya, Mixcoac, Coyoacán and the Peñón; in turn, Luis Quintanar, Anastasio Bustamante and other Trigarante chiefs surrounded the city, taking positions in Chalco, Ixtapaluca, Tepotzotlán, Huehuetoca and Cuautitlán. Although the armistice was fully in force, on August 19 the proximity of the royalist and insurgent troops gave rise to an unnecessary exchange of fire that produced the Battle of Azcapotzalco, which lasted until nightfall. There was no clear favorable result for either of the belligerents, since two hundred royalists and two hundred Trigarantes died in the fray. Among the latter was the former insurgent Encarnación Ortiz, and when his comrades learned what had happened, in revenge, they executed Lieutenant Vicente Gil, who had been taken prisoner on the battlefield. Both sides withdrew to their positions.

On August 24, 1821, after hearing mass, O'Donojú and Iturbide signed the Treaties of Córdoba, composed of seventeen articles, whose main points recognized the sovereignty and independence of the Mexican Empire, which would be a moderate constitutional monarchy. Ferdinand VII or some other member of the royal house would be called to govern, and in the event that none of them accepted, the Cortes of the Empire would designate the sovereign. In the meantime, as stipulated in the Plan of Iguala, a Provisional Governing Junta would be formed.

On the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, Santa Anna ordered Captain Juan Nepomuceno Fernández, in command of four hundred men, to occupy the towns of Acayucan and Coatzacoalcos. By August 31 the advance had successfully extended as far as Villahermosa de San Juan Bautista, Huimanguillo, San Antonio and Cunduacán. At the same time, the royalist Carlos María Llorente proclaimed the Plan of Iguala at Laguna de Tuxpan. On the 26th of the same month, Field Marshal Alejo García Conde, who was commander general of the Western Interior Provinces, did the same in Chihuahua. His brother, Brigadier Diego García Conde, had entrenched himself together with José de la Cruz with one thousand men in Durango. The city was besieged by two thousand six hundred Trigarantes under the command of Pedro Celestino Negrete, who demanded their surrender, explaining to them the general situation prevailing in New Spain. On August 17 the royalists requested an armistice in order to verify the course affairs were taking in the capital, but Negrete ordered the assault to begin on the 22nd; it lasted until the 31st, when the royalists raised a white flag on the cathedral tower. Negrete was wounded by a bullet in the jaw, but despite this, he himself ratified the capitulation, marching at the head of his men to take the town on September 6. José de la Cruz went to Veracruz, where he embarked for Spain.

Junta in Tacubaya

Meeting of O'Donojú, Novella and Iturbide in Tacubaya on September 13, 1821.

On August 30, Francisco Novella received O'Donojú's commissioners in the capital; they carried a copy of the Treaties of Córdoba. That same day a general council of war was convened, attended, in addition to the high military commanders, by Archbishop Pedro de Fonte; for the provincial deputation, Doctor José Miguel Guridi y Alcocer and Juan Bautista Lobo; for the Ayuntamiento of Mexico, Juan José Acha and Francisco Manuel Sánchez de Tagle; for the ecclesiastical chapter, the canons Bucheli and Matías de Monteagudo; for the Audiencia of Mexico, the oidores Osés and José Yáñez; for the Consulado of Mexico, the Count of la Cortina; for Mining, Fausto Elhuyar and José Alegría; as well as other persons of lesser importance. First it was argued that O'Donojú did not have the authority to sign the treaties, and that he should be required to explain his position in person. For this purpose Doctor Alcocer and Colonel Castillo y Luna were commissioned, and at the same time an extension of the armistice was requested.

On September 5, with an army of sixteen thousand men surrounding the capital, Iturbide set up his headquarters in Azcapotzalco. Members of the aristocracy came to this place to pay him homage, as did the military officers Domingo Luaces, Melchor Álvarez, Juan Horbegoso, José Morán, Cela and Arana, who joined the Army of the Three Guarantees, immediately receiving appointments to direct the siege of the capital.

O'Donojú met with the commissioners. In addition to requiring him to visit the Viceregal Palace, they asked him to recognize Novella in the office of Superior Political Chief. O'Donojú refused this request, alluding to the violent and criminal removal of Apodaca. Novella then asked to be recognized as Captain General. Irritated, O'Donojú again refused to give such recognition, which he would only accept if Apodaca were restored to his office. Finally both parties agreed to meet on September 13 in Tacubaya, provided that Iturbide was present. The meeting of Generals O'Donojú and Novella was held behind closed doors. At its conclusion, it was only announced that the armistice was extended for three more days.

Back in the capital, on September 15, Novella made public his recognition of O'Donojú as the new Superior Political Chief. Orders were issued to release supporters of independence from prison, freedom of the press was restored and free passage into the city was permitted. On September 16, 1821, from Tacubaya, O'Donojú announced the end of the war. Iturbide published a proclamation inviting the population to gather under the banners of liberty so that they might share in the benefits of victory.

The Intendancy of Yucatán, for its part, which depended judicially on the Viceroyalty of New Spain, was governed by Juan María Echéverri. Upon learning of the pro-independence movements in Tabasco, he convened the provincial deputation and the Ayuntamiento to a meeting in Mérida to decide what position to take. Thus, on September 15 the independence of Yucatán was declared, and Colonel Juan Rivas Vértiz and the lawyer Francisco Antonio Tarrazo were designated as emissaries to express to Iturbide and O'Donojú the desire to join the Mexican Empire.

During the first half of September, the province of Chiapas, which belonged to the Captaincy General of Guatemala, likewise declared its independence. The Intendant Juan Nepomuceno Batres swore the Plan of Iguala, and its inhabitants expressed their interest in joining the Mexican Empire.

On September 15, 1821, in the Province of Guatemala, Gabino Gaínza convened a junta with the local authorities, in which it was decided to proclaim the Plan of Iguala, but the population was displeased by the annexation of the Province of Ciudad Real de Chiapas, agreed upon in Comitán. Although the oath to the Plan was taken, the population expressed its desire for absolute independence from both Spain and Mexico. Almost at the same time, the Province of San Salvador, the Province of Comayagua and the Province of Nicaragua and Costa Rica declared their independence, and although there were strong disagreements among them, they joined the Mexican Empire.

Entry of the Army of the Three Guarantees into Mexico City, signing of the Act of Independence

Entry of the Army of the Three Guarantees into Mexico City through the Garita de Belén on September 27, 1821.

Main article: Act of Independence of the Mexican Empire

Tacubaya was the temporary residence of Iturbide and O'Donojú. They were visited by the members of the provincial deputation, the Ayuntamiento, the ecclesiastical chapter and the Consulado, as well as by the governor of the miter of Michoacán, Manuel de la Bárcena, the oidor José Isidro Yáñez, and the Bishop of Puebla, Antonio Joaquín Pérez, who aspired to form part of the new government. In this way the thirty-eight members of the Provisional Governing Junta were chosen, but none of the former insurgents was called to take part. On September 22 and 25, two preparatory sessions were held. From September 21 to 24, the expeditionary troops of Spain left the capital to settle in Texcoco and Toluca, places where they would remain until organizing their departure and embarkation for Havana. On the 24th, José Joaquín Herrera occupied the Chapultepec Forest; on the 25th Vicente Filisola entered the city, and on the 26th Juan O'Donojú.

On September 27, 1821, Filisola's division left Chapultepec to join the bulk of the troops of the Army of the Three Guarantees in Tacuba. At ten in the morning, the supreme chief led the entry parade into the capital, advancing along the Paseo Nuevo to Corpus Christi avenue, where he stopped at the corner of the convent of San Francisco beneath a triumphal arch. The senior alcalde, José Ignacio Ormachea, handed him the keys of the city. 16,134 men paraded, of whom 7,416 were infantry, 7,955 cavalry dragoons and 763 artillerymen, who transported 68 cannons of different calibers. Among its principal officers were Agustín de Iturbide, Domingo Estanislao Luaces, Pedro Celestino Negrete, Melchor Álvarez, Epitacio Sánchez, José Morán, Vicente Guerrero, Nicolás Bravo, Anastasio Bustamante, José Joaquín Parrés, José Antonio de Echávarri, José Joaquín de Herrera, Luis Quintanar, Miguel Barragán, Vicente Filisola, José Antonio Andrade, Felipe de la Garza, Manuel de Iruela, Antonio López de Santa Anna, Gaspar López, Mariano Laris and Juan Zenón Fernández. Once the parade was over, a mass was celebrated in the Cathedral of Mexico, at which the Te Deum was sung; afterward Iturbide addressed a speech to the population:

Mexicans: You are now in a position to salute the independent fatherland, as I announced to you in Iguala; I have now traveled the immense distance that lies between slavery and liberty, and I have touched the various springs so that every American might express his hidden opinion […] Now you see me in the capital of the most opulent empire without leaving behind streams of blood, nor razed fields, nor disconsolate widows, nor unfortunate children who fill with curses the murderer of their father; on the contrary, the principal provinces of this kingdom have been traversed, and all, united in celebration, have addressed expressive cheers to the Trigarante army and vows of gratitude to heaven […] The Junta will be installed; the Cortes will meet; the law that is to make you fortunate will be sanctioned, and I exhort you to forget the words of alarm and extermination, and to pronounce only union and intimate friendship…

— Agustín de Iturbide, September 27, 1821.

General Iturbide receives the keys of Mexico City from Colonel Ormaechea. Watercolor by Theubet de Beauchamp.

On September 28, the Provisional Governing Junta held its first session in the council hall of the newly named Imperial Palace. The thirty-eight members went to the Cathedral to swear the Plan of Iguala and the Treaties of Córdoba. At nine o'clock at night the Act of Independence of the Mexican Empire was signed. The Junta elected five members to form a Regency, in which the Executive Power was vested: Agustín de Iturbide as President, and as members Manuel de la Bárcena, José Isidro Yáñez, Manuel Velázquez de León and Juan O'Donojú; but the last of these died of pleurisy on October 8, and was therefore replaced by the Bishop of Puebla, Antonio Joaquín Pérez.

On October 9, Antonio López de Santa Anna carried out the military actions that achieved the capitulation of the Fortress of San Carlos de Perote. On October 15, Isidoro Montes de Oca designated Colonel Juan Álvarez to accomplish the same task at the Fort of San Diego in Acapulco. On October 26, the interim governor of Veracruz, Manuel Rincón, adhered to the plan of independence; he replaced Brigadier José García Dávila, who chose to take refuge in the fortress of San Juan de Ulúa, this being the last Spanish redoubt, which did not capitulate until November 18, 1825.

Reactions of Spain

Last page of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship signed by Miguel Santa María and José María Calatrava on December 28, 1836.

Main article: Attempts at Reconquest in Mexico

In the Cortes of Madrid it was determined that the substitute deputies from America could no longer take part in the new sessions, since they had been elected only for one term. Therefore, legislators such as Miguel Ramos Arizpe and Mariano Michelena were excluded. The news of the independence of New Spain and Guatemala inflamed the passion of the peninsular deputies, who rejected the signing of the Treaties of Córdoba. The novohispanic deputies Lucas Alamán, Juan Gómez de Navarrete and Miguel Puchet argued eloquently that if the Cortes did not recognize the demands of the New World as legitimate, Spain would lose its American kingdoms. But the European deputies refused to make concessions to the Americans, and the latter gradually lost hope of seeing their petitions agreed upon. On February 13, 1822, the Cortes once again decided by a large majority to postpone the "American question" until the following regular sessions. No deputy from the New World objected, since none of them remained in the Spanish Parliament. They had set out on the journey back to their lands, convinced that only independence could give them the government they desired. On June 30, 1822, Ferdinand VII again tried unsuccessfully to recover absolute power with the help of his Corps of Royal Guards. In April 1823, the Monarch achieved his goal with the help of the Holy Alliance, allowing the French army to set foot once again on Spanish territory, and thus managing to restore absolutism. Rafael de Riego was hanged in November 1823 in the Plaza de la Cebada in Madrid. In the Iberian Peninsula, the period known as the Ominous Decade began.

There were several attempts at reconquest in Mexico on the part of the Spaniards, the last of which took place in 1829. On this occasion, General Isidro Barradas and Admiral Ángel Laborde set out from Cuba with almost four thousand soldiers and nineteen ships. They landed on July 26 at Cabo Rojo, near Tampico, but General Antonio López de Santa Anna coordinated the defense and finally, on September 11, defeated the Spaniards at the Battle of Pueblo Viejo.

It was not until December 28, 1836, after peace and reconciliation negotiations had been carried out, that Spain recognized the independence of Mexico. On behalf of the Spanish government, the treaty was signed by María Cristina de Borbón, widow of Ferdinand VII, and José María Calatrava, while on behalf of the Mexican government it was signed by Miguel Santa María and the interim President José Justo Corro.

Mexico emerges into independent life

Main article: First Mexican Empire

Map of the United Mexican States, 1828

From the appointment of the members of the Provisional Governing Junta, it was symptomatic that none of the former insurgent leaders was among them. The election of deputies for the Constituent Congress was called. It was by estates, which prevented an equitable representation of the provinces. Nevertheless, a heterogeneous group was formed. During the first assembly the holder of sovereignty was disputed; the Congress assumed it, thus provoking a clear estrangement from the Regency, of which Iturbide was the head.

Within the Congress, without there being political parties as such, two main majority groups were formed: the republicans and the Iturbidists, as well as a minority group, the Bourbonists, who longed for a regime governed by the Bourbons. On May 18, the Iturbidists, made up of the high clergy and members of the Imperial Army, requested and obtained the crown for Agustín I, who was crowned on July 21, 1822.

The reduction of taxes and alcabalas produced an economic crisis; the army's salaries could not be paid. The Congress proposed reducing the armed forces. The liberals' opposition to the Emperor intensified, and a conspiracy organized to establish the republic was discovered. Because of this, several deputies were arrested.

Iturbide decided to dissolve the Congress on October 31, whereby the pact of union established in the Plan of Iguala was broken. This despotism was denounced by Antonio López de Santa Anna on December 6 through the Plan of Veracruz. Although Iturbide sent José Antonio de Echávarri to suppress the uprising, in February 1823 the Plan of Casa Mata was proclaimed, which the former insurgents Guadalupe Victoria, Nicolás Bravo and Vicente Guerrero joined. In only seven weeks, the sixteen provincial deputations, eager to obtain greater autonomy, adhered to the new plan. On March 19, 1823, the short-lived empire ended with Iturbide's abdication of the crown and his exile.

A triumvirate was established, made up of Guadalupe Victoria, Nicolás Bravo and Pedro Celestino Negrete, whose substitutes were José Mariano de Michelena, Miguel Domínguez and Vicente Guerrero, thus taking the definitive step toward the establishment of the republican regime. The political class was made up of centralists, whose main promoters were the members of the Scottish Masonic lodge, and of federalists, whose main promoters were the members of the York Masonic lodge.

On January 31, 1824, the Constitutive Act of the Mexican Federation was approved, and on October 4 the Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824, in whose drafting Miguel Ramos Arizpe, Servando Teresa de Mier, José Miguel Guridi y Alcocer, Carlos María de Bustamante, Valentín Gómez Farías, Lorenzo de Zavala and Manuel Crescencio Rejón, among many others, took part. That same year, the Mexican Republic was made up of nineteen states (Yucatán would later argue for its incorporation as a federated republic), five territories and a federal district.

See also

• Our Lady of Sorrows
• Cry of Dolores
• New Spain
• Battles of the Mexican War of Independence
• Hispanic American wars of independence
• Independence of Yucatán
• First Mexican Empire
• International relations of Mexico between 1821 and 1855

Works cited

• Alamán, Lucas (1849). Historia de México, desde los primeros movimientos que depararon su independencia en 1808 hasta la época presente (in español). Electronic version. Mexico: Herrerías. Archived from the original on December 21, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
• Arias, Juan de Dios; Olavarría y Ferrari, Enrique (1880). "México independiente". In Vicente Riva Palacio (ed.). México a través de los siglos (in español). Vol. IV. Mexico: Ballescá y compañía. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
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External links

• El Despertador Americano (first newspaper published by the insurgents of Mexico) in PDF version. Retrieved November 6, 2009. Available at: antorcha.net
• Atlas de historia de la revolución de independencia. Retrieved November 6, 2009. Published by INEGI.