Mexico Wins Independence

Setting the scene

Mexico had been a Spanish colony for 300 years, with a rigid caste system placing peninsulares at the top. The 1808 Napoleonic invasion of Spain created a crisis, and Miguel Hidalgo issued the Grito de Dolores on September 16, 1810, sparking a revolt. Hidalgo was executed in 1811, but the war continued for 11 years under leaders like Morelos and Guerrero.

What happened

In 1820, a liberal revolution in Spain prompted conservative criollo general Agustín de Iturbide to switch sides. Iturbide allied with Guerrero under the Plan of Iguala in 1821, promising independence. The Army of the Three Guarantees marched unopposed, and on September 27, 1821, Iturbide entered Mexico City. Spain recognized independence in the Treaty of Córdoba.

Why it still matters

Mexican independence created the largest Spanish-speaking nation but left a legacy of instability with 50 governments in 30 years. It inspired other Latin American revolutions. Mexico lost Texas in 1836 and half its territory to the US in 1848. The war killed 500,000 and failed to address Indigenous rights, issues that fueled the Mexican Revolution a century later.

Background

The Plan of Iguala shaped the transition.