The Congress of Mexico was summoned on May 19, 1822 to approve the appointment of Agustín de Iturbide as Emperor of Mexico. This was a constituent congress that had been installed on February 24 of the same year.
However, the mandate of Augustine I lasted less than a year, as he did not bring order or stability to the nation, prompting his abdication on March 19, 1823.
Upon returning from his exile in 1824, he was executed, because the very Congress that months before had made him emperor, had now decreed his death.
You may be interested in 7 Causes why the Iturbide Empire Failed.
Background to the convocation of May 19, 1822
Agustín de Iturbide had been loyal to the Spanish monarchy until a liberal coup in Spain.
So he and the conservatives in Mexico joined the independence movement. Iturbide assumed command of the army and, in Iguala, established an alliance with General Vicente Guerrero, who was at the head of the insurgent bands.
In this way, this union gave rise to the Trigarante Army. Its name is due to a pact that Iturbide and Guerrero signed on February 24, 1821, called the Plan of Iguala, and consisted of three agreements.
The first agreement established the search for the independence of the country, and the adoption of the constitutional monarchy as a form of government.
The second contemplated the non-tolerance of another religion different from the Catholic one. And the latter sought to achieve the union between Americans and Spaniards.
Other insurgents and royalist officials embraced this plan. However, Viceroy Juan Ruiz de Apodaca disagreed and was deposed.
This position was held on an interim basis by Don Francisco Novella. On August 24, 1821, after an interview by Iturbide with the last viceroy of New Spain, the Treaties of Córdoba emerged.
These ratified the plan of Iguala, but with some objections relative to the election of the monarch.
However, Spain took away authority from the viceroy and rejected the treaties, insisting that Mexico remained part of the Spanish Empire. It finally surrendered and the Mexican nation achieved its independence.
As the Treaties of Córdoba had given the Mexican Congress the option of electing a Mexican Creole as king, Iturbide maneuvered to be named emperor on May 19, 1822.
Act of Congress of May 19, 1822
The night before the convention was called, the Celaya sergeants had already proclaimed Iturbide emperor.
Although the crowds cheered him and the cavalry and infantry regiments that were stationed in the capital proclaimed him "Emperor of Mexican America," he requested the ratification of the congress deputies.
In that extraordinary session some argued in favor, but others were more cautious and wanted to wait. In the end it was decided in favor of immediate proclamation, as stated in the final part of the minutes:
The meeting was adjourned at four in the afternoon.
References
- Agustin de Iturbide. (2016, February 04). Encyclopædia Britannica. Recovered from britannica.com.
- Serrato Delgado, D. and Quiroz Zamora, M. (1997). Mexico history. Mexico: Pearson Education.
- Heidler, DS and Heidler, JT (2006). The Mexican War. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group.
- Robertson, WS (2013). Iturbide from Mexico. Mexico: Fund for Economic Culture.
- Extraordinary session of Congress, May 19, 1822. (1980). Actas Constitucionales Mexicanas, Vol. I, pp. 280-282.