The War of independence Of Mexico was a set of revolts and armed conflicts between the Mexican colony and the forces of the Spanish Crown, that gave to beginnings of century XIX (1810) and that culminated in 1821 with the signing of the treaty of Cordova.
Although the war began in 1810, the people of Mexico, like the people of the other colonies of Spain in America, never accepted the Spanish yoke, so it can be said that discontent with the Spanish authorities was general and existed Since the conquest.
In addition to general discontent, Enlightenment ideas from Europe, which promoted human rights (such as freedom and equality) and criticized absolutist governments (such as Spain) gained popularity in America and encouraged the colonies to rebel.
So when Spain was invaded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1808, the Mexican territory was more than willing to oppose the Spanish Crown.
The Creoles (Children of Spanish born in America) began to organize independence movements, one of the main leaders being Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.
In addition, other nations (England, the United States, among others) offered their support to Mexico. Thus, the 16 of September of 1810 began the war that would have like result the Mexico's independence .
From this summary, we can see that many actors participated in the independence of Mexico, both directly and indirectly.
These include the thinkers of the Illustration , The Napoleonic army, the countries that offered aid and, finally, the people in the colonies.
Who were part of Mexico's independence?
Philosophers of the illustration
The Enlightenment was a historical period that was developed in the eighteenth century in Europe, mainly in Germany (Aufklärung), France (lumières) and England (Enlightenment).
This philosophical current sought the reorganization of the State and society taking into account the power of reason.
The texts of the Enlightenment were distributed in the Spanish colonies, including Mexico, so it can be said that indirectly the philosophers of the Enlightenment participated in the independence of Mexico.
The ideas of the philosophers Montesquieu and Rousseau were among the most important for the independence of the colonies.
Charles-Louis Montesquieu
Montesquieu was a French thinker. Among its contributions it emphasizes the classification of the political regimes in monarchy, democracy and despotism.
He criticized authoritarian regimes, where power concentrated on a single individual and proposed the division of government power into three organs: executive, legislative and judicial.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau was a Swiss philosopher of the Enlightenment. He stated that all human beings are equal before the law, and that they are born with the same rights: equality, freedom and right to life.
He also complemented Montesquieu's ideas by pointing out that the political authority of a nation resides in the people and not in a particular individual.
Participation of the Napoleonic Army in the Independence of Mexico
In 1789, the French Revolution took place, a movement led by Napoleon Bonaparte. Like the Enlightenment, the ideals promoted by the revolution (equality, freedom and fraternity) spread in the American colonies, encouraging them to free themselves from the Spanish yoke.
However, the intervention of the Napoleonic army does not end here. In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte entered Spanish territory, took control of Spain and left the government at the hands of his brother, Joseph Bonaparte.
The news that Spain was vulnerable due to the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte motivated the colonies and thus began the independence processes in Latin America.
Participation of the people in the independence of Mexico
In the colonies diverse clandestine organizations were created in order to plan the rebellion against Spain. One of these organizations was the literature club of Querétaro.
Initially organizations of this type only included Creole whites, but later Creoles saw that the inclusion of the masses would be beneficial. In this way, the Aborigines and the mestizos were added to the rebellion.
One of the most important members of the Queretaro club was Miguel Hidalgo y Castilla, a liberal father who questioned the policies of the Church (such as celibacy, the prohibition of certain types of literature, the infallibility of the Pope, among others).
In Querétaro, Father Hidalgo met Captain Ignacio Allende. In 1810, these two figures began to plan a rebellion against the Spanish authorities, which was due to explode in December of that same year.
However, the Spanish forces learned of the rebellion and in an attempt to prevent it from exploding ordered the arrest of the insurgents.
Because his strategy had been discovered, Father Hidalgo had no choice but to advance the rebellion. In this way, the 16 of September of 1810 initiated the war by the independence of Mexico.
Despite having no training, colonial forces (composed mainly of aborigines and mestizos) managed to defeat the royalist forces. Subsequently, Hidalgo organized an army proper, composed of 80,000 paid soldiers.
In 1811, Hidalgo and his men were ambushed, captured and later executed.
After the death of Hidalgo, the mestizo priest Jose Morelos organized the captaincies of Mexico that had been liberated by the Mexican army and established a Congress in which he declared independence, abolition of slavery and equality of classes. Morelos was captured and tried by the Inquisition and by the military court. It was executed in 1815.
General Manuel Mier y Terán was the successor of Morelos, however, was not able to unite the Mexican forces, who continued fighting independently, which facilitated their defeat.
Finally, political tensions between the settlers and the royalist authorities led Agustín de Iturbide (official of the Spanish Crown) and Vicente Guerrero (leader of the Mexican forces for 1821) to sign the Plan of Iguala that guaranteed the preservation of the status of the Church Catholic, the independence of Mexico and the equality between Spaniards and Creoles.
On August 24, 1821, Juan O'Donojú and Iturbide signed the treaty of Córdoba and Mexico became a free nation.
References
- People of Mexican War Independence. Retrieved on June 21, 2017, from en.wikipedia.org
- 7 famous Mexican People in History. Retrieved on June 21, 2017, from thoughtco.com
- Mexican War of Independence begins - Sep 16, 1810. Retrieved on June 21, 2017, from history.com
- Struggle for Mexican Independence. Retrieved on June 21, 2017, from history.com
- The Mexican Independence. Retrieved on June 21, 2017, from donquijote.org
- Mexican War of Independence. Retrieved on June 21, 2017, from newworldencyclopedia.org
- Mexican Independence. Retrieved on June 21, 2017, from tamu.edu.