In the first few decades of the nineteenth century, two waves of revolutionary fervor swept New Spain. In 1816, Miguel Hidalgo proclaimed Mexico’s independence from Spain with the Grito de Dolores and led a largely Indigenous and mestizo army to overthrow the colony’s government. However, Hidalgo’s call for widespread social reforms and the violence of his followers led creoles to desert both his movement and the calls of his successor José Maria Morelos for social equality.        

The second wave was more successful. Following the adoption of liberal reforms by the Spanish government, Mexican creoles sought independence in order to retain the privileges their status granted them. In 1821, Agustín de Iturbide proclaimed the Plan de Iguala, which declared Mexico’s independence and transformed the country into a constitutional monarchy with protections for the Catholic Church and guarantees of social equality. Iturbide allied himself with Vicente Guerrero, the leader of Indigenous and mixed-race rebels, to form the victorious Army of the Three Guarantees. Iturbide became Mexico’s first emperor in 1822, but in 1823 he abdicated, and Mexico became a republic.            

All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/8-2-spanish-north-america            

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