This lesson examines the political and economic conditions that helped spark the Mexican War of Independence and the first major uprising led by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.
Napoléon’s campaigns disrupted Spanish rule in Europe and left the Spanish king absent from power. In 1808, creoles and peninsulares in Mexico City formed an autonomous conservative junta while professing loyalty to the king. Tensions increased in 1810 when peninsular judges deposed the viceroy and installed their own leader. Creole royalists, who had hoped to gain more influence, were encouraged to seek control of the government themselves.
All flashcards
Act of Consolidation
A Spanish measure requiring the Catholic Church to deposit its wealth with the government; the Church then called in loans from borrowers, including creole landowners and merchants.
Grito de Dolores
Miguel Hidalgo’s September 16, 1810, call for people to rise against the viceroyalty’s government and pursue independence and social reforms.
Virgin of Guadalupe
A religious figure whose association with Indigenous devotion made her image a powerful rallying symbol for the rebellion and later Mexican national identity.
Sentiments of the Nation
Morelos’s 1813 program advocating independence, popular sovereignty, government divided into three branches, social reforms, and Catholicism as the sole religion.
Plan de Iguala
Iturbide’s 1821 plan that joined independence, Roman Catholicism, and equality as the Three Guarantees.
Quiz questions
Why did conservative creoles in New Spain fear the restoration of the Cádiz Constitution in 1820?Answer: They feared reforms that threatened the privileges of the Church and military.
Which three branches of government did Morelos’s Sentiments of the Nation propose?Answer: Executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
Which principles made up the Three Guarantees of the Plan de Iguala?Answer: Independence, Roman Catholicism, and equality.
What does the composition of the royalist forces indicate about the independence struggle in New Spain?Answer: It was a civil conflict, since most royalist troops were Mexican.
What event directly intensified opposition to Iturbide’s rule and preceded his abdication?Answer: He dissolved congress, prompting opposition and uprisings.
Based on World History Volume 2, from 1400 by Ann Kordas, Ryan J. Lynch, Brooke Nelson, Julie Tatlock (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.