El Día de la Independencia de México 16 de septiembre

Mexico’s Independence Day 16th

Information from: http://www.elbalero.gob.mx/kids/about/html/holidays/home.html Accessed September 14, 2007

On September 16th, 2000, celebrated the 190th Anniversary of its Independence.

In Mexico, we celebrate our Independence on two days, the 15th and the 16th of September. We call this the (Patria means Country), and it is our biggest national holiday.

On September 16th, back in 1810, Father started the Revolution that was to lead to Mexico's independence from Spain. He rang the church bells and called on the people to take up arms. You can read the history in this section on the Independence and find out why this date was chosen as our most important national holiday.

On the night of the 15th, the President comes out on the balcony of the and rings the very same bell that Father Hidalgo rang at that time in his church in Dolores. Then the President repeats some of Hidalgo's words, starting with: ", Long Live Mexico!" (¡Mexicanos, que Viva México!). The crowd gathered in the Zócalo or Main Square, answers; "¡Viva!", as he waves the flag from the balcony. After this, there are fireworks, music and a great fiesta that lasts into the night. This ceremony is repeated in cities and towns all over the country. The Governor, or the Municipal President gives the (or Grito de Dolores, as we call it in Spanish). In foreign lands, the Ambassador or Consul is in charge of the act. The next morning, on September 16th, most cities in Mexico have a big parade.

As is now traditional, the Grito is given in the main square of , in all our states and in Mexican embassies abroad.

September is the month of the Mexican nation and, throughout the world, Mexican citizens join in the celebrations.

We decorate our houses and place flags in our windows and cars. On the evening of September 15th, we have pozole and buñuelos for dinner, get together with families to give the Independence cry at home, go to our city's main square, or to the esplanades outside the headquarters of our local political delegations where colorful celebrations are held. The following day, we go off to see the September 16th military parade.

1 The Independence Revolution Information excerpts from: http://www.elbalero.gob.mx/kids/history/html/independ/home.html Accessed September 14, 2007

The Enlightenment

In the XVIII century many men and women began to rely more on reason than on the authorities to study, work and organize. They even went as far as to revise and rectify the things that the wise men of the past had said. They felt that reason was a powerful light that would end the darkness of ignorance, backwardness and poverty. This period is therefore known as the Century of Lights or the Enlightenment. The Zócalo, Mexico City, painted by Casimiro Castro in 1869. It first began in England and France and later spread to the rest of Europe.

The thinkers of the Enlightenment were in favor of freedom and equality in the eyes of the law, and against the privileges of the kings, nobles and the Catholic Church. Throughout Spanish America, these ideas led some people to believe that it was possible to fight against unjust governments in favor of Independence.

During the Enlightenment, underwent great economic growth that was primarily based on mining. However, this wealth only benefited the Spaniards and a few Creoles.

The Spanish kings ruled their territories without taking the opinion of their inhabitants into account. Most of the important positions in the Government, the Catholic Church and the Army of New Spain were given to peninsular Spaniards who had been born in Spain. The Creole children of these Spaniards were born in the lands of the viceroyalty, and enjoyed far fewer opportunities.

Although the Creoles felt that New Spain was their homeland and that they should participate in its government, they were not considered by the Spanish authorities. Together with the enormous differences between the very few rich people and the many poor people, their discontent gradually led to a growing social uneasiness.

The Independence Revolution 2

During the two previous centuries, England had occupied some of the lands in North America and finally formed thirteen colonies. In 1776, these colonies fought England for their Independence and each became a state. The thirteen states then joined a Republic called the United States of America.

In 1776, these colonies fought England for their Independence and each became a state. The thirteen states then joined a Republic called the United States of America.

In 1789, the French Revolution took place. Under the influence of the great thinkers of the Enlightenment, the French people overthrew their monarch, Louis XVI and turned France into a Republic. The French revolutionaries proclaimed the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity for all people. Their ideas quickly spread throughout Europe and America.

Napoleon Bonaparte became governor of France and was named emperor. Napoleon I conquered a large part of Europe and in 1808, invaded Spain. He forced the Spanish monarchs to abdicate and placed his brother, Joseph Bonaparte on the throne. Spain and its American possessions were therefore left without their government.

Although the Creoles of New Spain remained loyal to the exiled king, some people thought that they should rule their own land until the king removed by Napoleon returned. They would therefore be free from the rule of the invaders. Others believed that they should obey the government set up in Spain to oppose Napoleon. The two groups finally fought; the struggle was won by those who thought it was best to continue obeying the Spanish government.

The Querétaro Conspiracy

Meanwhile, and as in the other countries of Spanish America, some Creoles began to hold secret meetings to plan ways of changing the government of the Viceroyalty. In 1809, one of these conspiracies was discovered at the city of Valladolid, now known as Morelia.

The following year, Miguel Domínguez, the magistrate (a kind of judge) of Querétaro, and his wife Josefa Ortíz de Domínguez, began to meet with soldiers like and . These meetings were also attended by the parish priest of Dolores, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.

The conspiracy was discovered. However, before the authorities could capture its participants, Doña Josefa managed to warn Allende, who then rode unseen through the night from Querétaro to Dolores to tell Hidalgo: their plans had been betrayed.

3 The Cry of Dolores (El Grito de Dolores)

Hidalgo and Allende brought forward the date of their armed uprising. In the early hours of Sunday September 16, 1810, Hidalgo ordered the church bells to be rung to gather the people together. He recalled the injustice they had suffered and urged them to fight against the bad government.

His words quickly filled the hearts of the people of Dolores and led them to join the uprising. The first thing they did was to free the prisoners from the jail and put the Spanish authorities in their place.

The men and women who followed Hidalgo were not an organized army. They were simply people who wanted a fair government in which they could participate. Since they did not have enough arms, they took up their sticks, slings, machetes and work tools. Hidalgo began his with six hundred people, a group that grew to almost eighty thousand in just a few days. Indians, Mestizos, Creoles and some Spaniards; soldiers, workers, miners and priests all went along together.

Hidalgo's Campaign

The campaign led by Hidalgo began at Atotonilco. Here, Hidalgo took up a banner bearing the Virgin of Guadalupe. When the revolutionaries reached , the intendant tried to defend the city and locked himself in the so-called Alhóndiga de Granaditas or corn exchange with the rich Spaniards. […]

The insurgent troops took the building, killed its occupants and ransacked the city; Hidalgo and Allende were unable to prevent this. Several days later, they moved on to Valladolid; since its inhabitants were terrified by the events of Guanajuato, the city surrendered without a fight.

[…]

Hidalgo took Zitácuaro and Toluca, and advanced towards Mexico City. Near the capital, he fought the battle of Monte de las Cruces, where he totally defeated the Spanish Royalist army.

After this victory, Allende proposed that they take the capital city, but Hidalgo did not agree. Maybe he thought that they did not have enough soldiers and arms, or perhaps he feared that the city would be ransacked like Guanajuato. He therefore decided to return to Valladolid; discouraged by this decision, many of his followers abandoned the army.

4 Shortly afterwards, the insurgents were attacked [… and] they suffered a terrible defeat. Their forces were almost completely destroyed and they lost a large part of their arms and provisions. Hidalgo retreated to Guadalajara, where he ended slavery and tribute (taxes paid with products) paid by the Indians. Meanwhile, uprisings had sprung up in other areas of the country, following his example.

Finally, on January 16, 1811, the insurgents suffered what would be their final defeat at the hands of Calleja, at Puente de Calderón near Guadalajara.

Accompanied by just a few soldiers, Hidalgo and Allende marched northwards to buy arms at the border. In , they were betrayed and taken prisoner along with Aldama and José María Jiménez. They were placed on trial in the city of Chihuahua and sentenced to death. Hidalgo was executed on July 30, 1811. His head, together with those of Allende, Aldama and Jiménez, were placed in iron cages on the corners of the corn exchange in Guanajuato, as a warning to the population.

Morelos's Campaign

Meanwhile, José María Morelos had risen up at the head of a small but well organized and motivated army, and had won a series of victories. The campaign of Morelos started off well and he took

Cuautla in February 1812. […] Morelos reached the conclusion that a government was needed to unify the Independence movement, and José María so he decided to organize a Congress to draw up a Constitution. The Morelos Congress of Anáhuac met for four months in Chilpancingo.

Morelos presented a document entitled The Sentiments of a Nation before Congress and declared that the country should be independent. He proposed the abolition of slavery and the equality of all men and women in the eyes of the law. Although Congress bestowed the title of Highness upon him, Morelos rejected it and took on the title of Servant of the Nation.

In 1814, Congress drew up the Constitution of Apatzingán, the first body of Mexican laws. However, it never came into effect because the insurgents began to suffer one defeat after another. Morelos was taken prisoner while escorting the members of Congress to Tehuacán. He was shot at San Cristóbal Ecatepec, in the present-day state of Mexico, on December 22, 1815.

[…] The first Independence leaders had died, but the new insurgent leaders like Nicolás Bravo, Pedro Moreno and struggled on, and Vicente Guerrero continued with the rebellion in the southern mountains.

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Nicolás Bravo Pedro Moreno Vicente Guerrero

The Consummation of Independence

While Hidalgo and Morelos were fighting for Independence, the people of Spain were struggling to expel the French armies who had invaded their country in 1808. The provisional government formed by the Spaniards summoned a meeting of representatives from all over the empire, including the colonies, that would be held at the port of Cádiz.

This measure generated great interest in the Spanish domains of America, since it was the first time that the Creoles had been taken into account. The Cádiz Courts (the name given to the representatives of the ), were attended by seventeen representatives from New Spain. These representatives demanded that Spaniards and Hispano-Americans be considered as equals in the eyes of the law; that the caste laws be annulled (the discrimination among Spaniards, Indians and people of African descent); that more roads, schools and industries be built; that the inhabitants of New Spain be allowed to participate in their government; that freedom of the press be respected; and that sovereignty (the right and authority to govern) be handed over to the people.

The document produced by the Courts was known as The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy, and was published in March 1812. The document limited the powers of the king and declared that all inhabitants of the empire, whether born in Spain or in America, were equal. Furthermore, tribute (a tax paid in goods by the indigenous peoples) was abolished.

Many American and Spanish representatives agreed that this situation should be changed. They wanted freedom and a government that would respect the law. These people were liberals. However, many others did not want things to change. Since they thought it was best to conserve everything as it was, they were known as conservatives.

[…]

6 New Spain around 1820

[…]

By 1820, although many of the insurgents had been defeated, others still fought on. They were led by Juan Alvarez, Guadalupe Victoria Vicente and Vicente Guerrero among others. Guerrero

The Spaniards and the rich Creoles had opposed Hidalgo and Morelos, and did not agree with the Courts of Cádiz. However, in 1820, they started to think that the moment had come to make New Spain independent. They did not agree with the ideals of equality and popular sovereignty, and were not really interested in improving the living conditions of the people. Nonetheless, […] If New Spain achieved its Independence, then they would be able to control the situation and maintain their privileges.

Now, the rich Creoles and Spaniards began to conspire at La Profesa church Mexico City. […] they persuaded the viceroy to send Creole colonel Agustín de Iturbide to fight Vicente Guerrero.

Iturbide tried to defeat Guerrero, but the insurgent knew the southern sierras too well and there was no way of beating him. The Agustín viceroy convinced Guerrero's father to offer his son a pardon if he Iturbide would give up the struggle; however, the insurgent leader replied, "The Nation comes first".

Then, in January 1821, Iturbide wrote to Guerrero, requesting that he attend a meeting to discuss Independence. They met […] in Iguala, where Guerrero agreed to support Iturbide and remove all obstacles lying in the way of national Independence.

Both leaders were interested in finishing the Independence process. Guerrero was the heir of the movement started by Hidalgo and Morelos; Iturbide represented the interests of the rich Creoles and the Spaniards living in New Spain who no longer wished to depend on Spain.

Triumph of independence

The solemn and peaceful entrance of On February 24, 1821, and with the the Army of the Three Guarantees into support of Guerrero, Iturbide signed a Mexico City on September 27, 1821. document in which he called on all the Anonymous 19th century painting. inhabitants of New Spain to forget their

7 differences and join together to achieve Independence. This document was called the Plan of Iguala or of the plan of Three Guarantees.

The three guarantees were the ideals that united the insurgents: a sole religion (Catholicism), the union of all social groups, and the Independence of Mexico as expressed by a constitutional monarchy.

Around the middle of 1821, the last Spanish Viceroy, Juan O'Donojú, arrived to govern New Spain. O'Donojú realized that the Mexicans wanted Independence; he was convinced that he would be unable to govern and that it was impossible to reverse all that had been done to achieve national liberation. He therefore signed the Treaties of Córdoba with Iturbide, in which he recognized the Independence of Mexico.

On September 27, 1821, Iturbide triumphantly entered Mexico City at the head of the Army of the Three Guarantees. The entire country celebrated the consummation of Independence.

The rebellion begun in 1810 had finally come to an end, and the new nation began. Everyone spoke of Mexico's great wealth and looked forward to a magnificent period of prosperity. Few people realized that the war had impoverished the country and that there were very few roads and large uninhabited areas. Society was completely disorganized and the country was plagued by political disorder; a new government had to be organized.

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