Mexican Independence

During the Napoleonic Wars, many Spanish colonies in South and North America were rebelling, including Mexico. It started because Spain wanted the colonies to rely on them, not on their goods, meaning they couldn’t get super rich. One priest got tired of it because they burned his vineyard, which he loved very much. His name was Don Miguel and when people were ready to be dismissed from church, he didn’t give them his usual speech before they went out. It was called the Cry of Dolores, and this rallied many rebels, as many as 20,000 and they prepared to take control. They gave Don Miguel a new name- General Hidalgo. General Hidalgo led them to battle at a royal fort, and it was easy to take because superiors underestimated his rebellion. He fought for 3 more years until the Spanish captured him, had a bishop not make him a priest anymore, and then executed him. One of his commanders then tried to continue the independence war, but he also was captured and executed. Then, a man named Iturbide, fought for the rebels. The reason he joined them was because he was a creole serving in the Spanish army against them at first, but when he asked them for a medal he deserved they didn’t give it to him because only peninsulares(people that were from mainland Spain) could get the medal. Because of this, he joined the rebels, and making the war quicker than the other two, making the war last only six more months. And although he was a good solider, he wasn’t a good leader. So, his rivals decided to kick him out and make Mexico a republic. He fled to Italy, where he stayed until his rivals told him that the new government wasn’t really popular, so he still had a chance to take his throne. However, when he came back to Mexico, he was swiftly executed.