History

Mexicos struggle for independence from its colonizer, Spain, was a significant event that led to the end of the great Spanish Empire. The war that accompanied it is perhaps the first great decolonization war of the nineteenth century. Despite the war being a struggle for liberation, it was also an internal war between ethnic groups and classes, especially Indians seeking to preserve their communities. Although the war mainly focused on wrestling power from the colonialists, rural people were even more concerned about preserving their ways of life against modernization. It is believed that her independence was realized through cross-class, cross-ethnic alliance between the creoles, military leaders as well as the masses. Mexicos Indian villages, parish priests who became insurgent leaders played a major role in the independence struggle (Young, par. 1-3).

The independence struggle in Mexico can be said to have began when Napoleon Bonapartes troops invaded Spain in 1808, took King Ferdinand VII prisoner and forced him to relinquish the throne. Napoleon then named his brother, Joseph, King of Spain and the Indies. At the same time, in Mexico  a Spanish colony, the ruling parties asked the Spanish viceroy to put up a provisional government to rule till Ferdinand was returned to power (Franco, par. 1). Agrarian pressures of violence in rural areas in colonial Mexico also rose with the outbreak of the independence movement. An organized agrarian violence and large estates expropriation, or even a specialized agrarian program or ideologies were not a widespread feature of mass rebellion. Popular rebellion in the rural areas was substantially a cultural resistance by the peasant villagers to the invasion by the Spanish settlers rather than a resistance to the Bourbon state. The elite and popular rebels therefore had different aims when they rose up in arms against the colonial regime (Young, par.5).

The provisional governments installation led to the formation of an unlikely alliance in Mexico, between the liberales or the Liberals, who advocated for a democratic Mexico, and the conservadores or the Conservatives, who called for the rule of a Bourbon monarch. The only thing the liberales and the conservadores agreed on was that Mexico ought to achieve her independence (Young 93).

Meanwhile, the criollos native-born Mexicans of Spanish descent, because they had endured being taken as second-class in their own motherland, saw an opening for the independence of Mexico and separation from the Spanish rule. The initial stages of planning took two years. Secret groups across Mexico joined to discuss how they could form revolutionary movements to bring to an end the oppression. A group of prominent criollos including, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Juan Aldama and Ignacio Allende often met at the city of Quertaro. Sadly though, the colonial government soon found out about their secret meetings, which forced them to launch a sudden revolution (Franco, par. 1-3).

For about three centuries, Mexico, a country in the Northern American continent, was colonized by Spain. Her struggle for independence began in 1810 and went on until 1821. The Mexicans aim was to obtain freedom from the Spanish oppressive rulers and colonizers. Mexico had several native civilizations the Olmec, the Toltec, the Aztecs and the Maya. Her colonization started in the early fourteenth century when Spanish explorers entered Mexico in search of gold and land and in the end seized the country, called it New Spain and then put it as a territory of the Spanish Empire. The colonizers exploited Mexicos resources, as well as her people. The Spanish colonizers forced the natives to become their slaves and do labor work. The Spanish invaders brought in new diseases into Mexico, which led to a fall in the native population and therefore brought in Afro-Americans to do the labor work. The prevalent social classification was one of the major causes of the Mexican War of Independence because Mexicans were a society of class-conscious people. The Spaniards people born in Spain topped the hierarchy, then the Creoles the people born to the Spaniards living in Mexico, followed by the Mestizos half-Spaniard and half- Native. The Native Indians and the Afro-Americans were in the lowest class. The Spaniards took all the high-ranks, but the Creoles and Mestizos never got the top posts, leading to unrest among the Creoles and Mestizos, particularly the Creoles, which prompted them to seek independence. The independence war was ignited by one of the earliest Mestizos, Martin Cortes the first to rise up against colonialist government for the injustice meted on Mexican-born Spaniards (Kartha, par. 1-6).

The actual war, though, began in 1810, on the September 16 and was initiated by Miguel Hidalgo Y. Costilla, a Roman Catholic Church priest who lived and worked in Dolores. The rebellion started by him and his followers began by ringing the churchs bells on September 16, 1810. The famous act came to be called the Cry of Dolores (Minster, par. 5).

Hidalgo is the Mexican War of Independence Movement founder. Hidalgo, greatly upset with the oppressive colonial government, was a voice for the oppressed. Together with his supporters, they started the movement for freedom and went on to capture Guanajuato, a major mining center that had been taken over by the colonial government. As multitudes of revolutionaries approached the San Miguel town, peasants, laborers and Indians joined the movement, armed with clubs, machetes and slingshots, and went behind the priest who advocated for the end of the heavy taxation, the elimination of the system of social stratification by class, as well as the abolition of the widespread slavery the first one in all of the Americas to do so. Generalsimo Hidalgo, as he was known to his followers, continued to gather forces for his troops and it soon numbered almost a hundred thousand. Important cities like Valladolid, Celaya and Guanajuato also joined the independence cause (Franco, par. 5-7).

From that time, every available means was used to frustrate Hidalgo as well as his lieutenants. The royalists realized that together with the insurgents they were minority groups. Their success in defending the Kingdom depended upon the legitimists ability to persuade the uncommitted sections of New Spain. The rebels as well as the royalists relied on psychological warfare and also military warfare. The propagandists on the side of the insurgents aimed most of their weak stabs at the criollos while the royalists tried to convince the criollos not to join Hidalgo. The royalists had the advantage in ideological war. All printing presses were in their hands in the first months of the rebellion. They also controlled a greater part of the country than the insurgents at any given time and were therefore able to circulate large numbers of pamphlets, and proclamations. Moreover, they represented the government and were thus able to put across their case from many pulpits (Hamill 151).

After they broke camp at Cuajimalpa, the insurgents went in the direction of Quertaro. Later, they were intercepted by Calleja together with Flon at Aculco with disciplined troops of seven thousand people. Hidalgo and Allende saw that their troops were dispirited and that they could not fight a major battle despite their large-number advantage. An attempt at battle was made, but because the horde was in confusion, their retreat became their defeat. The royalists, having lost only one man, captured almost the entire insurgents artillery, baggage, as well as livestock together with eight women from the rebels mobile brothel.  Callejas cavalry was under the command of Conde de la Cadena, and his armed troops had all the benefits that a superior discipline and arsenal could offer but its effect remained to be seen, because the fellow countrymen fought for a common cause (Hamill 180).

They fought for long against the colonialist army and captured several parts, but they were unable to conquer the Spanish at Mexico City. Having failed to Capture Mexico City, Hidalgo and his followers were caught as they tried to escape. Hidalgo was executed by a firing squad after being tried in court on July 30, 1811 (Kartha, par. 6).

The Independence movement almost failed because it was without its leader, but Jos Mara Morelos another priest  took command. He was a gifted field marshal. He won a series of convincing victories against the Spanish colonialist forces. He was then captured and executed by the colonialists in December, 1815. The rebellion, however, continued, and two other leaders  Guadalupe Victoria and Vicente Guerrero rose to prominence.  They both had commanded large armed forces in south as well as south-central Mexico. In 1820, the Spanish colonial government chose Agustn de Iturbide, a young army officer, to lead a large army to permanently suppress the rebellion (Minster, par. 6-7).

The Morelos period, represents the time when the independence movement re-organized and re-defined itself. During this period, the aims of the movement were defined more clearly. A document entitled, Will of a Nation is the best reflection of Morelos (Jos Mara Morelos Y Pavn was one of the revolutionary leaders responsible for the movements victories in the South and Central parts of Mexico) social as well as political ideology, and also formally articulates a declaration of Mexicos independence from Spain. Several parts of the country entered the revolutionary movement during this period and therefore the independence movement assumed a national look (Stearns, Michael  Scwartz). From 1815 up to 1821, Javier Mina and Vicente Guerrero managed to keep up Mexicos independence cause, although with little success. The revolution movements forces gradually declined and its efforts were focused in the southern parts. Francisco Javier Minas deeds remain outstanding during this time. He was a Spanish liberal and he fought courageously for the independence cause before he died in 1817. Eleven years of struggle, caused the criollos and the general populace to feel that theirs was a lost cause. Then, a section of Spaniards and criollos, who had previously opposed the independence cause, decided to join the independence movement giving it new strength. Jos de Iturbide using his diplomatic skills created strategic agreements which brought about the guarantees in the Plan of Iguala, which when signed, would make independence for Mexico a reality (Franco, par. 9-15).

King Ferdinand VII signed a liberal constitution of Spain outlining the republics values as well as its practices. Iturbide felt that this might affect the Creoles status in Mexico and made him realize that in case Mexico achieved her independence, the Creoles might have the opportunity of ruling the country. So he switched sides and joined the revolutionaries and produced the Plan of the Three Guarantees or the Plan of Igual which was based on three principles that were to lay Mexicos foundation of independent. The plan said that Mexico would achieve her independence from Spain, that Roman Catholicism would become her official religion, and also that all the Spanish-born Mexicans would have equal status. The Viceroy realized it was clear that the revolutionaries would eventually win the war having the support of Iturbides and his army troops, and therefore he resigned. The Treaty of Cordoba was signed between Iturbide and the representatives of the Spanish Empire declaring Spain as an independent country on the principles of the plan of Iguala (Kartha, par. 9-11). Mexican independence, though, profited only the elite class the Mexican-born Spaniards. When King Ferdinand VII and other monarchs refused to rule Mexico, Iturbide declared himself Emperor of Mexico. However, his was a short-lived rule as his extravagant lifestyle led to his dethronement, and the Congress took over the rule of Mexico under Guadalupe Victoria, Nicolas Bravo and Pedro Celestino Negrete. Spain still tried to regain rule over Mexico, from 1823 to 1829 and it was not until 1836 that Spain at last recognized Mexicos independence (Kartha, par. 12-13).

In the first thirty years after Mexicos independence, military officers controlled the countrys political life which can be described as chaotic. Time and time again, many generals issued pronouncements or pronunciamientos criticizing the government and even promising reforms as well as rewards for people who were willing to join the revolt. Among the most vilified and crafty of the military caudillos was General Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna Prez de Lebrn, who was the leader of the first revolt that rose against Iturbide and, in the period ranging from 1833 and 1855, he served as president on different occasions eleven in all (Country-data, par. 3).

Mexico, celebrates her independence day on every September 16, in memory of that day when Hidalgo called together his followers to join in the fight for freedom. This day is marked with a great splendor in all the towns of Mexico. The celebrations begin on September 15 with the announcement of the grito or cry of independence by a member of the Mexican government as Hidalgo announced.  Independence Day is the day when people remember and pay honor to the heroes of the Great War the people who valiantly fought for the freedom of Mexicos future generations (Kartha, par. 12-14).