AOR: Lesson - Revolutions: Mexico and Central America
Revolutions in Mexico and Central America
New Spain Moves To Revolution
In the first quarter of the 19th century, most of Latin America declared its independence from Portugal and Spain. The first of the mainland revolutions began in New Spain (what is now Mexico). There had been several relatively unsuccessful indigenous revolts against New Spain since the Spanish settlement. The most successful was the Pueblo Rebellion of 1680, which led to the Spanish retreat for 10 years.
Image note: Map of the 4 Viceroyalties in the Americas in 1800: New Spain (now USA, Caribbean, Central America), New Grenada (now Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela), Peru (now Peru and Chile), and Rio de la Plata (now Argentina and Bolivia).
But in the small town of Delores, in central New Spain, a priest, Fr. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, delivered the now-famous “Grito de Delores” (the Cry of Delores) for Mexican Independence in 1810. He was inspired by Enlightenment values and largely by his frustration that his Mestizo and Indigenous congregation was politically and economically unequal to New Spain’s Peninsulares and Creoles.
When Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808 and replaced the Spanish king with his brother, many people in the new world refused to acknowledge the new king. Some worked to restore the old king, but others like Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla secretly joined a group supporting independence. After delivering the Cry of Delores, he and thousands of Mestizos and Indigenous people marched from Delores to Mexico City to demand freedom – but they were captured, and Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was executed.
The Revolution Continued
Image note: Fr. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla waving the banner of Mexican independence. It has the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which originally was an indigenous symbol. It shows his dedication to Native people, as well as how linked the Mexican Revolution was to Catholicism – especially compared to the French Revolution.
Jose Maria Morelos and Mariano Matamoros, both priests, took up the revolutionary banner. Like Hidalgo y Castilla, they supported both independence and racial and economic equality. In 1813, Morelos managed to form a governing body and declare Mexico’s independence, but ultimately, they were stopped by Spanish general Agustín de Iturbide.
Both Morelos and Matamoros were executed. It seemed like the revolution was over until Enlightenment thinkers overthrew the King of Spain and pushed for colonial independence movements, abolition of the Catholic church, and an end to the monarchy. General Iturbide and other Mexican Creoles refused to follow this movement and realized if there was going to be Mexican independence, they wanted it on their terms.
Agustín de Iturbide created a 3-step plan: declare independence, recognize racial equality, and promote Catholicism as the only religion of Mexico. And thus Mexico became independent from Spain in 1821. Iturbide was declared emperor for life. Not everyone supported this. General Antonio López de Santa Anna revolted against Iturbide in favor of a republic, and the area now south of Mexico (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua) declared independence from Iturbide. Emperor Iturbide was exiled and executed.
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“Mapa de la América española (1800).png” (map image at the top of the page) is by Milenioscuro Links to an external site. and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. The image was edited by GAVS.