The coronation of Iturbide as emperor of Mexico was supported by the military, members of the clergy and wealthy Creoles. The other side was made up of the Bourbonists.
The latter were peninsular living in Mexico, who advocated that a member of the House of Bourbon accept the Mexican Empire, and thereby preserve national unity.
Agustín de Iturbide
These two groups were monarchists. There was a third group, the Republicans, who preferred the formation of a federal government in order to ensure the equality of Mexican citizens.
In the end, the Iturbidistas prevailed and, in an extraordinary session of Congress convened on May 19, 1822, Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico.
Events prior to the
Posthumous full-body portrait of Vicente Guerrero painted to adorn the Iturbide Room of the then Mexican Imperial Palace. Ramón Sagredo, via Wikimedia Commons.
Creole landowner and former Spanish army officer Agustín de Iturbide had assumed leadership of the Mexican independence movement in 1820.
On February 24, 1821, in alliance with the insurgent commander Vicente Guerrero, he signed the Plan of Iguala. With this plan the immediate independence of the nation was proclaimed, but still respecting Spain.
This pact contemplated establishing a constitutional monarchy governed by a European prince or, failing that, a Mexican.
It also asked for the maintenance of all the powers of the Roman Catholic Church and the military, equal rights for Creoles and peninsulares, and the elimination of property confiscations.
Soon, almost all the influential groups in the country approved the plan as it assured them to maintain the status quo and the economic one, threatened by the liberal government recently installed in Spain.
Then, on August 24, 1821, Iturbide and the Spanish viceroy Juan O'Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba. O'Donojú, considering the improbability of recovering Spanish authority over the rebel colony, ratified the Iguala Plan and agreed to withdraw the royalist troops.
The Spanish government subsequently refused to accept the terms of this treaty, but the events that would culminate in Iturbide's coronation were already underway.
The
When the independence of the Mexican nation was proclaimed, a Provisional Government and Regency Board was appointed, presided over by Iturbide. This dedicated his efforts to configure the bases of the new monarchical government that had not yet been formed.
Following the agreements of the Iguala Plan, a Congress was established in which all the provinces were represented. Its members were clergymen, military chiefs and magistrates who had served the previous regime, thus guaranteeing to protect the interests of the aristocracy.
It did not take long for infighting to begin between the opposing factions that made up the Junta and the Congress.
Bordonistas, Iturbidistas and Republicans engaged in a power struggle to impose their particular interests. The former were a majority in Congress, and the confrontations between them and Iturbide's supporters intensified.
In February 1822, in Mexican lands it was known that the Spanish Courts had annulled the Treaty of Córdova, denying the country's independence.
This heated up the spirits, and caused the bordonistas to lose ground. Those who supported Iturbide did not miss this opportunity to promote him as the ideal person to occupy the throne since this national hero had made enough merits during the independence process.
On the eve of May 19, 1822, an army of 35,000 men proclaimed Agustín de Iturbide as Emperor of the Mexican Empire.
The next day, a few members of Congress spoke in favor of consulting with the provinces before ratifying the proclamation. In the end, the majority prevailed. The inhabitants of the capital received the news with jubilation, acclaiming their new monarch.
References
- Gómez, M., Ortiz, P. Sales, C. and Sánchez, G. (2003). Mexico history. Mexico: Editorial Limusa.
- Iguala Plan (2011, May 04). Encyclopædia Britannica. Recovered from britannica.com.
- Hagg and Saab, G. (2005). A Sketch of History in Mexico. Mexico: Pearson Education.
- Heidler, DS and Heidler, JT (2006). The Mexican War. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group.
- Delgado de Cantú, GM (2002). History of Mexico, Volume 1. Mexico: Pearson Education.