A Call for Independence

In 1807, French forces occupied Spain and imprisoned King Ferdinand VII. Confusion spread in Mexico. Some criollos (Mexican-born Spaniars) plotted to seize the colony's government. One of these men was Miguel Hidalgo, a priest. The criollos plan for revolution did not originally focus on the manpower of the Mexicans. Rather, the criollos sought to avoid military confrontation by convincing criollo army officers to sever their allegiance to the gachupines. By claiming loyalty to the defeated King Ferdinand, the criollos aimed to establish Mexico as an independent nation within King Ferdinand's Spanish empire. The gachupines who claimed authority under Bonaparte's rule would be driven out of Mexico. When Hidalgo learned on September 15th, 1810, that the conspiracy had been discovered by the Spanish authorities, he had no choice but to begin the rebellion. Late on the night, he called Indians and mestizos to his church in the town of Dolores. He made a speech known as the Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores), in which he called for a rebellion so that Mexicans could govern Mexico. It would be fought until its successful conclusion in 1821. His decision to call the exploited groups to revolution completely changed the character of the revolution. The movement became a bloody class struggle instead of a shrewd political maneuver. When Hidalgo called the Indians to action, he tapped into powerful forces that had been simmering for over three hundred years. With clubs, slings, axes, knives, machetes and intense hatred, the Indians took on the challenge of the Spanish artillery. At first, Hidalgo gained support for his cause. But most of his followers were Indians and mestizos, and not criollos. Some Indian communities also refused to support Hidalgo because of the violent ways of the rebels. Hidalgo was forced to retreat. In 1811, Spanish troops captured and executed him. Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon, another priest, continued Hidalgo's struggle. In 1813, Morelos held a Congress that issued the first formal call for independence. The Congress wrote a constitution for a Mexican republic. Morelos hoped to attract the criollos who wanted reform. He succeeded further than Hidalgo. In 1815, however, Morelos too was captured and executed by the Spaniards. By 1816, Spanish troops had captured or killed almost all of the rebels. Mexico was again at peace, and King Ferdinand VII had returned to the Spanish throne. But the king did not realize that most criollos supported him, and that they still only wanted reform. Instead, the king thought that all Mexicans were traitors to Spain. Ferdinand taxed the criollos and organized a large army to put down any revolutionary movement. His actions convinced many criollos that they no longer could trust Spain. Revolt leads to independence In 1820, a revolt by liberals swept Spain. Ferdinand's power weakened, and many criollos saw their chance for revolution. A group of powerful criollos supported Agustin de Iturbide, a military officer. Iturbide had been given command of a Spanish army to crush the last rebel leader, Vicente Guerrero. Instead of fighting Guerrero, Iturbide met with him peacefully. In February 1821, the two leaders agreed to make Mexico independent. They joined their armies and won the support of the liberal and conservative criollos. Following independence, the criollos could not agree on a form of government. Conservatives wanted a monarchy, but liberals called for a republic. The conservatives, who formed the majority, sought a monarch. They could not persuade a member of the royal family of Spain to be king, and so Iturbide became Emperor in 1822. But Iturbide was a poor ruler, and most groups turned against him. In 1823, a military revolt drove him from power. Mexico becomes a republic Mexico's Congress then followed the wishes of the liberals and began to write a constitution for a federal republic. But the criollos still disagreed on how the constitution should be written. Conservatives wanted a strong central government and wanted Roman Catholicism to be the national religion, as it had been under Spanish rule. Liberals wanted the central government to have less power and the states more, and they called for freedom of religion. The groups finally reached a compromise, though many conservative criollos did not support it. In 1824, Mexico became a republic with a president and a two-house Congress heading the national government, and governors and legislatures heading the states. Guadalupe Victoria, a follower of Hidalgo and Morelos, became the first president.

San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico