History of the Mexican Independence Movement

The Independence of Mexico was the result of a political and social process solved by means of arms, which ended the Spanish rule in the territories of New Spain. The war for independence lasted from Mexican Grito de Dolores, the September 16, 1810, to the entrance of the Army Trigarante to Mexico City, on September 27, 1821.

The Mexican independence movement is under the Enlightenment and the liberal revolutions of the late eighteenth century. By that time the educated elite began to reflect on the relations between Spain and its colonies. Changes in the social and political structure derived from the Bourbon reforms, to which was added a deep economic crisis in New Spain, also generated unease among some segments of the population.

The French occupation of the metropolis in 1808 in New Spain triggered a political crisis that led to the armed movement. In that year, King Carlos IV and Fernando VII abdicated on for Napoleon Bonaparte, who left the crown of Spain to his brother Joseph Bonaparte. In response, the City of Mexico, with support from Viceroy José de Iturrigaray-claimed sovereignty in the absence of the legitimate king, the reaction led to a coup against the viceroy and led to jail the leaders of the movement.

Despite the defeat of the natives in Mexico City in 1808, in other cities in New Spain gathered small groups of conspirators who tried to follow the steps of the City of Mexico. Such was the case of the plot of Valladolid, discovered in 1809 and whose participants were imprisoned. In 1810, the conspirators of Querétaro were nearly the same fate but, to be discovered, chose to take up arms on September 16 in the company of peasants and indigenous inhabitants of the town of Dolores (Guanajuato), convened by the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.

Since 1810, the independence movement went through several stages, as successive leaders were imprisoned or executed by forces loyal to Spain. At first they claimed sovereignty over Fernando VII Spain and its colonies, but leaders later took more radical positions, including social issues such as the abolition of slavery. José María Morelos y Pavón summoned the separatist provinces to form the Congress of Anáhuac, which gave the insurgency a proper legal framework. After the defeat of Morelos, the movement was reduced to a guerrilla war. By 1820, there were only a few kernels rebels, especially in the Sierra Madre del Sur and Veracruz.

The restoration of the Constitution of Cadiz in 1820 encouraged the change of position of the elite of New Spain, which until then had supported Spanish rule. Seeing affected their interests, creoles monarchists decided to support the independence of New Spain, which sought to ally with insurgent resistance. Agustín de Iturbide led the military wing of the conspirators, and the beginning of 1821 could meet Vicente Guerrero. Both proclaimed the Plan de Iguala, which called for the union of all insurgent factions

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