The Mexican Independence War was a political and armed movement that began on September 16, 1810, with the ‘Grito de Dolores’ and culminated eleven years later with the signing of the Treaties of Cordoba, thus achieving recognition of Mexico as an independent nation.
The struggle put an end to the colonial period known as the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and although it is something we have learned from history books since we were children, we will explain some of the most important facts of this historical period that could be considered one of the most relevant events in the American Continent since it changed it all.
Mexican Independence War: Backgrounds
Among all the causes that led to the outbreak of the movement were the privileges that the crown and viceregal authorities had with the Spaniards living in Mexico over the incipient Creole bourgeoisie, public offices, mining concessions, and the distribution of arable land favored the Spanish-born. In addition, the political moment Spain was going through was also ideal for the insurgency: Napoleon Bonaparte‘s invasion brought with it a wave of instability in the metropolis, and the first attempt at a Creole insurrection was frustrated in 1809.
Recent inspiration from the French Revolution and U.S. Independence played a transcendental role in the independent movement. Inspired by liberalism emanating from the Enlightenment by names like Rousseau and Montesquieu, Creole nationalism forged a patriotic identity that led the most marginalized to rise in the same context, even though the ideals of Hidalgo and company were far from social equality among all classes.
Mexican Independence War: Most Important Events
The Bajío, granary and main food producer in the country, was the site where the Mexican Independence movement broke out, armed after the Querétaro conspiracy (the second attempt after the failure of Valladolid, which planned the uprising for October in Jalisco) was discovered. Led by military, merchants, and members of the clergy, all Creoles with the fervent desire to preserve the colonial structure of New Spain in the face of Napoleon’s onslaught and, above all, to take over the role that the Spaniards exercised as heads of public offices and great merchants.
The Conspiracy of Querétaro
The conspiracy of Querétaro, whose leaders were the corregidores, Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez and Jose Miguel, the military men Juan Aldama, Mariano Abasolo, and Ignacio Allende, as well as the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, was discovered on September 9, 1910. Six days later, the armed movement began with the parish priest’s harangue, known as the ‘Grito de Dolores.’ In less than a month, the insurgency rose with victories against the royalist troops, and after conquering Guanajuato, Hidalgo headed to Guadalajara, where the first dissidence among the movement took place.
Hidalgo, still terrified by the barbarity of the mob in the capture of Guanajuato, opted to form a government junta, while Aldama chose to continue with the armed movement. From then on, the independence efforts were dispersed in several hands, and from Zacatecas, an advance left for Coahuila in the North, where Hidalgo, Aldama, Allende, and Abasolo were captured. The one in charge of continuing the insurgent movement was Ignacio López Rayón, who was seconded by José María Morelos and Mariano Matamoros, the man who gave the insurgency a deeper ideology.
The Sentiments of the Nation
In 1813, José María Morelos convened the Congress of Chilpancingo, and there he presented the Sentiments of the Nation, a document inspired by classical liberalism as a philosophical current. It is considered a direct heir of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen and the Declaration of Independence of the United States. However, its aspirations went further than just achieving equality between Creoles and peninsulars.
Before that, the movement wasn’t looking for independence, on the contrary. Hidalgo and his followers were fighting against Napoleon’s puppet in Spain and wanted the former King, Ferdinand VII back as head of the country and the New Spain. During his famous ‘Grito’ he even shouted “Viva Fernando VII.” It was Morelos the one who first fought for the actual independence of the territory from the Spanish rule.
The Treaties of Cordoba
The armed struggle maintained a tone of resistance after the death of Morelos in 1815 and received strength at the hands of the most popular movements when it was about to be extinguished. The incursion of two new characters, Vicente Guerrero, leader of the rebellion in the south, and Agustín de Iturbide, who at first served as commander against the insurgency, agreed to resolve the conflict peacefully and after joining forces in the Trigarante Army, Iturbide achieved the signing of the Treaties of Córdoba in 1821 with his Spanish counterpart Juan O’Donoju, where Mexico’s autonomy as an independent nation was accepted.
This long war, not only granted Mexico its independence as a nation, but it also sparked the same sentiments all over the American continent. Following Mexico, other nations rose against Spain to gain their independence. Most of them were led by one man, Simon Bolivar, the Liberator of America. This is why, the Mexican Independence War is so relevant for all the continent.
This story was originally published in Spanish in Cultura Colectiva
