The Mexican Independence War

The period of our history known as the War of Independence begins (strictly speaking) on ​​the morning of September 16, 1810, when Father Miguel Hidalgo gives the so-called "Cry of Dolores" and ends on September 27, 1821 (11 years after ) with the triumphal entry of the Trigarante Army, headed by Agustín de Iturbide and Vicente Guerrero, to a jubilant Mexico City.

The main objective of this movement (armed and social) was to liberate our territory from the Spanish yoke and that, in every corner of the Colony, the concept of viceroyalty would be completely forgotten.

As it is logical to suppose, before 1810 there were notable ideological antecedents directed "by that hunger for freedom" that already operated, mainly, in the minds of the criollos (people born in Mexico but of European parents).

It is even known that, before the outbreak of Independence, one of the great thinkers of the time, Fray Melchor de Talamantes, had managed to circulate several subversive writings in which he stated that the Mexican territory, having "all the resources and powers to the sustenance, conservation and happiness of its inhabitants”, could be made independent and that, in addition to being possible, the Independence of Mexico was desirable because the Spanish government did not take care of the general good of New Spain, as a free government would, made up of purely Mexicans.

Stages of Independence

According to specialists, the study of the historical development of this important revolutionary movement can be better understood if the following four most transcendental moments or stages are carefully reviewed:

 1st Stage  It covers from the Grito de Dolores (September 16, 1810) to the battle of Puente de Calderón (in the current municipality of Zapotlanejo, Jalisco, on January 17, 1811), when the crowd led by Hidalgo -with his famous Guadalupe banner in hand - he fought with more passion and courage than strategy.

At this time, when the priest of Dolores arrived for his appointment with history on the Bridge, his forces are estimated at around one hundred thousand men (including Creoles, Indians, mestizos, and caste people). For their part, the royalists, soldiers loyal to the viceroy and the Spanish crown, must have been around 50,000 troops.

 2nd Stage  In this period José María Morelos y Pavón enters the scene. This goes from the beginning of 1811 until the taking of Fort San Diego in Acapulco (in August 1813).During this time, the insurgents scored several victories, the most notorious being those obtained in the central regions -in Cuautla (Morelos), where they managed to break an important siege- and in the south -in Acapulco and Chilpancingo (in Guerrero), where he even managed the first Congress of Anahuac- of the current Mexican Republic.

 3rd stage  This is characterized by a great disorder. With the death of the "Servant of the Nation" (shot in Ecatepec, in the State of Mexico), a great vacuum is created in the command of the insurgent group and the royalists, taking advantage of this situation, under the command of the fearsome General Félix María Calleja manage to regroup and recover the offensive.At this stage, the last major insurgent stronghold surrenders, and technically, the crown loyalists have won the war. Only a few parties, like the one commanded by Vicente Guerrero (in the south), continued to fight. This period ends in February 1821 with the signing of the momentous "Plan de Iguala".

 4th stage  It takes place from February 24, 1821 to September 27 of that same year when the Trigarante Army, commanded by the former royalist, Agustín de Iturbide, enters triumphantly, together with Vicente Guerrero, into Mexico City.The contingent, made up of General Iturbide's soldiers (already converted) and the remaining insurgents, advanced along what is now Madero Street in the citys Historic Center until they reached the popular Zócalo square.