(Resist) -The people of Mexico wanted the end of rule by the Spanish, the equality of races, and the redistribution of land.

Hi, my name is Xavier Lojero and today we'll be talking about the Mexican War of Independence.

By the end of the 19th century american Haiti had achieved their independence and the French Revolution had halted their monarchy and was at war with Europe. On the other hand, Mexico was under Spanish control, their society was very strictly organized around race. Spanish-born peninsulares mainly ruled, angering a lot of Spanish descendants. In 1808 Napoleon forced the two rulers of Spain; King Charles IV and King Ferdinand VII to allow his brother on the throne, with the absence of a king the people of Spain formed “juntas” which were locally formed governments that would serve the Spanish colonial government.

The viceroy of the city José de Iturrigaray disputed the Spanish Juntas and created his own, which worried both the Conservatives and Peninsulares, and resulted in his being arrested and removed from his post. Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla began to speak against the spanish policies, mostly against merchants that were withholding grain. Eventually, authorities began to move against Hidalgo in 1810 Hidalgo called on the population to launch a rebellion against the authorities in Mexico, but at the time most of the people were still loyal to the king.

After Hidalgo's famous grito which occurred in Dolores, Mexico, it attracted a small army after the people were encouraged to trigger a revolt. While this occurred, similar movements against Spanish authorities spread throughout Spanish America. Hidalgo's army later marched onto the capitol and thousands of men joined them and defeated the royal Spanish army outside Mexico City in October. The aftermath resulted in suffering heavy losses and the fear of an encounter with an even bigger Spanish army which led to Hidalgo’s army retreating to Guladajara. This mistake led to his army being defeated and led to Hidalgo being found guilty of treason, and executed.

Later Jose Maria Morelos took control of the rebellion participated in many battles, and convened the congress of Chipancingo in 1813 where Mexico declared independence from Spain and the first national constitution was ratified. But it didn’t stop there, as Spain continued to send armies to reconquer regions that had recently broken from Spanish rule, liberals in Spain led a queue and established a new government bringing back the constitution of 1812 which was a liberal constitution created by the Juntas. This liberal constitution was seen as a threat to the traditional beliefs of the loyalists, which led to the creation of the “Plan de Iguala” which proclaimed Mexico’s independence from Spain, social & political equality for all residents of Mexico regardless of birthplace, and Catholicism as the official religion.

Before entering the modern era Mexico faced economic hardships, civil wars, and invasions for years. The country remained in a poor state. Agricultural, mining, and industrial production declined during the war, and more than half a million Mexicans died. As a new country, Mexico struggled to achieve domestic status.

This event was important because The people determined the institutions currently in place in society had failed and no longer served their intended purpose. Which is why they aimed at effecting change such as economic, technological, political, and social changes.

Thank you for listening to my short podcast on The Mexican War of Independence. I hope you learned something new and interesting!