by Marcus Brooks

Created on: September 20, 2008

Around America's colonial period (1763-1810), the Spanish monarchy controlled territories from Florida to the Gulf of Mexico and below. Their land acquisitions rivaled in size to the British Empire. Spain was a powerful ally to the Continentals as they pinned down English soldiers and captured several outposts. Their assistance helped win independence for the Rebels.

Nevertheless, they oppressed their Mexican populations. They conquered Mexico and everything beneath. They forced peasants to work long hours at menial labor under hot, desert heat. To add more misery, "governors" administered over each state, such as Jalisco. They taxed the population heavily. Ones who couldn't afford the tax had their property taken. Debtors, or ones who owed debt, suffered imprisonment or execution. Fernando II, the King of Spain, imposed a feudalistic rule over his subjects. Peasants, Mestizos, Amerindians and Zambos endured unimaginable persecution and repression.

The event came on September 16, 1810. Revolutionary hero, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla led an insurgent force and began a movement for independence. A month later, his guerrillas encountered and soundly defeated a better-armed, Spanish army at the Battle of Monte de las Cruces.

Unfortunately, Costilla enjoyed only minimal success. Spain massed their 14,000-man army and repulsed the rebels in Mexico City. After that victory, they pursued their foe to northern Mexico. They trapped their enemy and crushed them at the Battle of the Bridge at Calderon River (January 1811). Guerrilla remnants fled toward the Mexico and United States border. Spanish forces cut them off and encircled them in the state of Jalisco.

They arrested Costilla, and then tried him at The Inquisition. Immediately, they executed him by firing squad, mutilated his body and decapitated him. Soldiers placed his head on a pole in Guanajuato as a warning to deter future uprisings.

The execution and bestial aftermath inspired popular support. The rebels had sympathizers from everywhere. Their forces bolstered to as many as 80,000 "effectives". In addition, a capable leader, Agustin de Iturbide led his men and battlefield victories. After a decade more of fighting, the Spanish monarchy agreed to a peace treaty. The Treaty of Cordoba on August 24, 1821 ended hostilities and guaranteed Mexico their independence.

Earlier in February, an agreement called Plan of Iguala, or the Plan of Three Guarantees (Plan Trigarante), attempted to establish a "constitutional foundation for an independent Mexican Empire". The plan guaranteed an "establishment of Roman Catholicism, proclamation of Mexico's independence and social equality for all social and ethnic groups in the new country".

Despite the hard work, Spain's monarchy voided the Treaty on February 2, 1822. In the following year, they adopted a 1824 Constitution of Mexico. Iturbides became Emperor of Mexico. Vincente Guerrero became President.

Source: Wikipedia

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