The coronation of Iturbide, emperor of Mexico, was an important event in the history of the country for its political and social reasons. His coronation took place in the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the skies of Mexico City, on July 21, 1822.
The proclamation was carried out by a faction of the army. The main protagonists of the support for the coronation were Pío Marchá and Colonel Rivero.
Agustín de Iturbide, considered by opinion as the great hero of Mexican independence and by many academics as a simple adventurer of military caste, was a Mexican caudillo born in 1783 and Emperor of Mexico between 1822 and 1823.
Being mestizo (of a Spanish father and Mexican mother), Iturbide had an elitist training and at an early age he enlisted in the royalist army. As such, he was on the trail of various insurgents and was charged with fighting rebellions that arose against the Spanish Crown.
Two important rebel generals - General José María Morelos and General Vicente Guerrero - were pursued by Iturbe. However, he would later convince Guerrero to meet him and fight together for the independence of Mexico.
Finally, in 1821 the declaration of independence was produced, thus separating the Mexican nation from the Kingdom of Spain.
In the following days, a constituent congress was established - an assembly whose purpose would be to create new laws and changes - of the now Mexican Empire. In the presence of this congress, the “Regency” was sworn in, with General Iturbide as leader.
However, multiple differences emerged between these two sectors, Republicans, and on the other, the supporters of the monarchy.
In the midst of a climate of division and military conspiracies on the one hand, and Iturbista generals on the other, in May 1822 the proclamation of General Iturbide as Emperor took place, under the title of Agustín I.
Although this apparently occurred due to the will of the people and military groups, Iturbide himself had started a movement, with the collaboration of one of his regiments in the town of Celaya, in order to promote the idea among the population.
Faced with such a situation, Congress was forced to hold a public session in which the appointment was approved.
The "constitutional coronation"
Despite the tensions between the newly proclaimed emperor and the congress, it was precisely the latter who had to draft the ceremony project.
This was a first for the traditional enthronement and coronation rituals as they were known in the Spanish and European courts in general, as Congress took part in them in an important way.
In addition, the “constitutional” character of the new monarchy was also a matter that conferred a complete originality to the ceremony, despite having been elaborated based on the European liturgies.
July 21, 1822 was the day of the coronation of Augustine I as Emperor, in the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the skies of Mexico City.
Ringing of bells in all the churches of the nation and cannon salutes every hour, began the celebration that would be remembered in history as one of the most elaborate coronation ceremonies.
The ritual began with the procession of representatives of the congress, which consisted of 2 commissions of 24 deputies each, including some opponents of Iturbe.
The Emperor's procession left the house of Moncada towards the cathedral; nearby streets and houses were adorned and accompanied by a group of cavalry with imperial banners. Indigenous, religious, academic, political, diplomatic representations among other personalities were also part of the cortege.
Next followed the empress, Ana María Huarte, the princesses and their bridesmaids, wearing the crown, the ring and the mantle - the imperial insignia - and who were accompanied by some generals and a commission from Congress.
Afterwards, the emperor passed, escorted by 4 generals, his father, the prince, the congressmen and other people in his service. The imperial insignia were also worn, which in this case included, in addition to those already mentioned, the scepter and the sword.
The emperor and empress were received by two bishops at the gates of the cathedral, with each of their processions.
Shortly after the president of the congress, Rafael Mangino, placed the imperial insignia on the altar, the Mass began, the bishop of Guadalajara (in charge of the consecration) anointed the emperor and empress on the right arm, as had been established in this ceremonial by the congressmen and unlike other rituals.
Subsequently, the holy chrism was imposed on them and the insignia were blessed; immediately, the president of the congress, who again took an important part in the ceremony, placed the insignia on the Emperor.
This is considered as a symbol that he owed his coronation to the people and the Congress, and substituted the modality of self-coronation.
Once the crown and the other elements were received, the emperor crowned the empress and both moved to the great throne that had been arranged in the cathedral and at the end of the corresponding prayers, the "Vivat Imperatur in aeternum" was heard (What the emperor live forever!).
The ceremony continued with the bishop of Puebla's sermon and the presentation of the offerings. Traditionally they consisted of gold and silver, according to the French rite that followed the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte. A gold leaf, a silver leaf, 26 coins (13 of each metal) embedded in two tapers and a chalice were brought to the altar by five deputies.
To end the ceremony, the coronation was proclaimed and announced with the phrase "Long live the Emperor and the Empress," an announcement that was accompanied by ringing bells and cannon shots. While silver coins were thrown with the face of the Emperor and then retired to the palace that currently houses the Banamex Palace of Culture.
Thus concluded the ceremony, which would later be classified as a novelty and above all, with the constitutional nature that the congress wanted to make very clear when drafting the guidelines for the ceremony.
The role played by the deputies during the entire rite stands out, when the usual according to European traditions was for the emperor to surround himself only with his closest relatives and servants.
Undoubtedly, this was an expression of the political differences between the Congress and the Emperor, approached in a subtle way but evident enough to go down in history as a remarkable fact.
References
- Agustin de Iturbide, Emperor of Mexico. Recovered from britannica.com.
- Alaman, L. (1852). History of Mexico, from the first movements that prepared its independence in 1808 to the present time. Second Part. Mexico, JM Lara Printing.
- Anna, T. (2001). Forging Mexico, 1821-1835. Nebraska, University of Nebraska Press.
- Carbajal, D. (2011). Scielo: A liturgy of rupture: the ceremonial of consecration and coronation of Augustine I. Recovered from: scielo.org.mx.
- Vázquez, J. (1997). Dictionary of Mexican Rulers, 1325-1997. Westport, Greenwood Press.