Independence of Mexico: main characters

In previous lessons we have talked about the Mexico's independence, focusing on the events that happened for the Central American state to achieve its independence. As in all events in history, in the Independence of this country there were a series of highly relevant characters, whose influence was vital to the course of history. For this reason, in this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to talk about main characters of the independence of Mexico.

To understand the protagonists of this great historical event we must understand what was their reason for joining the conflict, and therefore we must meet the different sides that fought in the war.

The first two sides are the ones they fought for the independence of Mexico, that is to say, those who in the end will be the winners of this war. The first of them were the insurgents or the Mexican army, depending on who spoke of them. The insurgents were the first to join the war, mostly made up of volunteers and the followers of the great generals. On the other hand there was the

Trigarante Army, who joined the cause in 1820 led by Agustín de Iturbide, their main function being to spread the Iguala Plan.

The other side is the one that opposed Mexican independence, that is, the Spanish. The side is made up of the Kingdom of Spain, New Spain and the Royalists. The Royalists were those troops entrenched in America who fought to maintain the Spanish monarchy in the region.

To get a better understanding of this lesson on the main characters of the independence of Mexico, we are going to divide the protagonists into two sections depending on which side belonged.

The main protagonist on the part of the Spanish Kingdom, although he never got close to the conflict is Fernando VII, King of Spain behind the War of Independence. The importance of this protagonist is not based on his actions, since he did not physically perform any, but on the fact that a large part of the army The Spanish fought to maintain his rule over Mexico, and a large part of the Mexicans fought for their discontent with the Spanish monarchy.

As for the protagonists who did participate In the war we can name numerous Spanish soldiers and politicians, whose actions had the greatest impact on the war. The main ones being the following:

• Francisco Xavier Venegas: Viceroy of New Spain at the beginning of the War of Independence. He remained in the conflict for three years, until he was replaced because it was thought that his treatment of Mexicans was too benevolent.
• Felix Calleja: Possibly the most relevant Spanish military of the war. He was viceroy of New Spain for two years, being the one who came closest to winning the war on the Spanish side. He was characterized by harsh methods against the Mexicans, conquering many of the most important positions of the insurgents.
• Juan Ruiz de Apodaca: The last viceroy of New Spain, replacing Félix Calleja, but without achieving much less the great feats of him. His arrival brought a return to more benevolent methods against the Mexicans, and at the same time he was one of those most responsible for losing the war.
• Francisco Novella: He held the military post of Apodaca in the last year of the conflict. His tenure was very short, and he was only able to stop a few Mexican advances.
• Juan O'Donojú: He held the position of Senior Political Chief of New Spain for just over a month. He was one of the signatories of the Act of Independence of the Mexican Empire and the Treaties of Mexico.

The protagonists of the Mexico's independencefrom the Mexican side are mainly military, There is a large number of protagonists on the Mexican side because the long duration of the war caused many of the military leaders to perish in the war.

The first military leader was Miguel Hidalgo, one of the protagonists of the Grito de Dolores that started the war. This priest was the one who led the Mexicans during the first years of the war, achieving great victories in their first battles. Hidalgo met his end after the battle of Puente de Calderón in 1811, where he was defeated and shortly afterwards shot. It should be taken into account that Hidalgo had good support in the beginning of him as a leader, commanding men such as Ignacio Allende, one of the great initiators of the independence movement, who died together with Hidalgo after the defeat in the Battle of Puente de Calderón.

After Hidalgo's death, two people replaced him as leaders of the insurgent side, these were Ignacio Lopez and Jose Maria Morelos. Of the two, Morelos was the one that had the greatest impact, achieving great feats as a military man, achieving victories in the south and center of the country, conquering provinces and increasing the number of followers by movement. In 1815, Morelos was shot after a hard defeat, causing the Mexican movement to enter a serious crisis.

There were several soldiers who took charge of the command after the defeat of Morelos, but two must be named as the main protagonists. Vicente Guerrero and Agustín de Iturbide they came together at a time of great tension in Spain. Both signed the Plan of Iguala, uniting the armies of both to form the Trigarante Army. Under the command of Iturbide, this army would be able to win the war, and therefore achieve the independence of Mexico.