Mexican War of Independence

The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict from 1810 to 1821 in which insurgents fought Spanish rule in New Spain, ending with Mexico’s independence.

Grito de Dolores: Miguel Hidalgo’s call for rebellion in Dolores on September 16, 1810, which began the Mexican insurgency. Hidalgo’s call launched the conflict’s first major uprising.
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla: A Catholic priest whose 1810 uprising against Spanish rule began the Mexican independence movement. His revolt gave the war its initial mass insurgency.
New Spain: The Spanish viceroyalty that governed much of North America from Mexico City until independence movements dissolved its authority. The war unfolded across this colonial jurisdiction.
Mexican Empire: The short-lived monarchy established in 1821 after Mexican independence, ruled first by Agustín de Iturbide. The independence settlement initially produced an empire rather than a republic.
Siege of Cuautla: A 1812 siege in which José María Morelos’s forces resisted royalist troops before escaping Cuautla. The siege showed how Morelos sustained insurgency after Hidalgo’s defeat.
José María Morelos: A priest and military leader who directed insurgent campaigns after Hidalgo’s execution and promoted an independent republic. He organized the insurgency’s strongest military and political phase.
Spanish American wars of independence: The early nineteenth-century conflicts that ended Spanish rule across most of the Americas. Mexico’s war formed part of the wider collapse of Spain’s American empire.
Mexican War of Independence casualties: The deaths and demographic losses caused by a decade of warfare in New Spain, including substantial population decline in affected regions. The conflict’s human cost burdened the society that emerged independent.
Congress of Chilpancingo: A 1813 insurgent assembly that declared independence and adopted Morelos’s political principles. It gave the insurgency a formal program for independence.
Agustín de Iturbide: A royalist officer who joined the independence movement in 1821, led the Army of the Three Guarantees, and became Mexico’s emperor. His defection and alliance-building helped secure independence.

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