Agustin I - The First Emperor Of Mexico

In 1821, after over a decade of fighting, Mexico won its independence from Spain

, ending two hundred years of colonial rule and declaring itself an autonomous, free nation. But the victory was just the beginning: arguments over the structure of new country's government would result in many more struggles between the two sides of the political spectrum. The spark that set this ideological disagreement alight was the First Mexican Empire, which lasted for just ten months and was run by Agustin de Iturbide, the first Emperor.

Agustin was born in the state of Michoacan in 1783, while the country was still called New Spain. His parents were privileged, owning several haciendas and with a long history of serving in political positions in their native Basque. He entered the royalist army while a teenager, became a full lieutenant, and when the War of Independence broke out in 1810, he initially fought with the Spanish royalists against the insurgency.

In 1821 Iturbide was convinced that a decisive victory for Mexico was assured, if he could unite the royalists and the guerrillas in a coalition; changing his mind after he campaigned against the rebellion for over a decade. He accomplished this unlikely truce, with the eventual goal being to bring the Spanish King Ferdinand over to rule the newly independent nation; at that juncture it appeared that Spain's monarchy would collapse completely. He worked out a proposal which appealed to both sides, and was a major figure in ending the war.

Iturbide made himself the President, while searched for a member of the royal House of Bourbon to rule, since Mexico was no longer a colony.. European princes would not take the chance of losing their nobility rights to rule Mexico, due to the possibility that their monarchy would fail, even though Spain still considered Mexico a colony.. People loyal to Agustin, from the congress that he'd assembled, named him Emperor.

The Emperor went mad with power after his coronation on July 21, 1822.. When Congress began to criticize him, he dissolved it; the troops of Commander Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, arrived in Mexico City in December after he became infuriated. Plans were conceived to start a republic government in the place of the monarchy. Agustin de Iturbide fled the throne and the country in March 1823 because he lost military support when the insurrectionist gained the loyalties of the the head of the imperial armies, Echavarri..

The First Emperor of Mexico's regime was the first attempt at a Spain-free governing structure, and it failed fairly quickly. His reign had lasted roughly ten months before collapsing, and while it didn't accomplish a great deal in terms of infrastructure, it marked the true start of the divide between the centrist conservative and the democratic liberal political parties. The definition of this political spectrum would set the stage for a long struggle that would come to shape the country in ways no one could yet imagine.

by: Robert Nickel

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