First Mexican Empire: A Visual History

The First Mexican Empire (1821-1823) was the state that emerged from Mexico's independence from Spain. Agustin de Iturbide, a royalist officer who switched sides and negotiated independence under the Plan of Iguala, was proclaimed Emperor Agustin I in 1822. It briefly included Central America and covered about 4.4 million km2, but the empty treasury, quarrels with Congress and a military revolt led by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna forced Iturbide's abdication in March 1823. A federal republic followed.

When it existed: the era ribbon

The bold bar is First Mexican Empire. The lighter bars are empires and wars from the same era and the same part of the world. Click any bar to jump to its page.

Territory of the empire

The empire's claims included what became the United Provinces of Central America and lands later lost to the United States.

Timeline of the First Mexican Empire

1. Feb 1821
   Plan of Iguala
2. Sep 1821
   IndependenceThe Army of the Three Guarantees enters Mexico City.
3. Jan 1822
   Central America annexed
4. May 1822
   Iturbide proclaimed emperor
5. Dec 1822
   Santa Anna revoltsPlan of Casa Mata.
6. Mar 1823
   Abdication
7. 1824
   Iturbide executedOn returning from exile.

Independence by compromise

After a decade of insurgency, Iturbide, sent to crush the rebel Vicente Guerrero, instead joined him. The Plan of Iguala (February 1821) promised independence, Catholicism and equality of Spaniards and Americans, under a monarchy to be offered to a European prince. Spain's last viceroy signed the Treaty of Cordoba, and the Army of the Three Guarantees entered Mexico City on 27 September 1821. Central America joined the new state in January 1822.

Emperor Agustin

When Spain refused to send a prince, a demonstration by Iturbide's soldiers pressed Congress to name him emperor in May 1822. He was crowned in the cathedral in July with elaborate ceremony modelled on Napoleon's. But the state was bankrupt, the army unpaid, and Congress hostile; Iturbide dissolved it in October and arrested opponents.

Fall

In December 1822 Santa Anna rose in Veracruz and proclaimed a republic; other generals joined under the Plan of Casa Mata. Iturbide abdicated on 19 March 1823 and went into exile. Central America split off in July. Iturbide returned in 1824 unaware he had been declared a traitor, and was shot. Mexico became a federal republic; a second empire under Maximilian would follow in the 1860s.

Related empires and wars

Chosen automatically by overlap in time and geography, plus a few hand picked connections.

Empires of the same era and region

• Spanish Empire (1492 to 1976)
• United States (1776 to present)
• British Empire (1583 to 1997)
• Danish colonial empire (1536 to 1953)
• Dutch Empire (1602 to 1975)
• First French colonial empire (1534 to 1814)

Wars of the same era and region

• Mexican War of Independence (1810 to 1821)
• Colombian War of Independence (1810 to 1825)
• American Civil War (1861 to 1865)
• American Revolution (1775 to 1783)

8 surprising things about the First Mexican Empire

1. Iturbide's coronation was modelled on Napoleon's, down to a crown he placed on his own head.
2. Mexico's flag, with its green, white and red, dates from the Army of the Three Guarantees.
3. The empire was the largest state in the Americas at the time by area, larger than the United States then was.
4. Iturbide's brief reign lasted ten months.
5. He returned from exile in 1824 offering to help Mexico against a Spanish invasion, was arrested on landing and shot within days.
6. Central America's five republics all began as provinces of the Mexican Empire.
7. Iturbide's remains were moved to Mexico City cathedral in 1838 and he is honoured, ambivalently, as a founder of the nation.
8. The Mexican national anthem's original lyrics mentioned Iturbide, later removed.

Sources

• First Mexican Empire Wikipedia
• Agustin de Iturbide Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Mexico: Independence Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Timothy E. Anna, The Mexican Empire of Iturbide (1990) University of Nebraska Press

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