page_title: Afro-Mexicans in the Mexican War of Independence
section_title: Regions of the insurgency
hierarchical_section_title: Afro-Mexicans in the Mexican War of Independence / Regions of the insurgency
caption_attribution_description: Map of first and second campaings of José María Morelos
context_page_description: Afro-Mexicans played an important role in the Mexican War of Independence, most prominently with insurgent leader Vicente Guerrero, who became commander in chief of the insurgency. The initial movement for independence was led by the American-born Spaniard priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in central Mexico. White Mexicans quickly abandoned the movement for independence which had become more of a social revolution, with Indians, mixed-race castas, and other plebeians seeking social equality. The movement for independence remained active on the Gulf Coast and the Pacific Coast, where there were large concentrations of Afro-Mexicans. The royal army and the insurgent forces had reached a stalemate militarily, but the equation changed in 1820. American-born Spaniard and royalist officer Agustin de Iturbide sought an alliance with the insurgents led by Guerrero. Iturbide and the white creoles sought independence, but expected that racial hierarchies would continue in the post-independence period.
context_section_description: The fight for independence originated in the central area of Mexico, but with the failure of the insurgency there and the capture and executions of Hidalgo and other insurgent leaders, the insurgency shifted to the South, where the population was predominantly  indigenous and mixed race. On the Pacific coast, which has been called the "Revolutionary Coast" the main locus of Spanish economic activity was the port of Acapulco, terminus of the Manila galleons, which brought Chinese porcelains and silks, as well as Asian slaves (known as Chinos).  The port was the midpoint in the settled coast, with the Costa Chica to the southwest and the Costa Grandeto the northwest. The Pacific coastal region underwent a population decline in the sixteenth century after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire in 1521, with indigenous populations succumbing to diseases brought by the Europeans.  Spanish conquerors who were awarded labor grants found few Indians and the region became a destination of runaway African slaves, many of whom formed unions with indigenous women. Starting around 1600, Spaniards saw in the Pacific coast the opportunity for tropical agriculture and imported slaves for cotton cultivation. Slave flight to nearby mountains and a strong impulse toward manumission of slaves created a strongly Afro-Mexican population, with Indian and Asians added to the mix. The 1793 population census recorded an overwhelming number of pardos, free Afro-Mexicans.  The Gulf Coast was tropical as well and conducive for sugar plantations, whose Spanish owners utilized black slave labor, who strongly supported independence. The topography was similar to the Pacific Coast, with mountains rising behind the coastal strip. There were few white residents in the region. In the south, insurgent priest José María Morelos led a growing army of mixed-race men.
caption: Map of José María Morelos's campaign's along the Pacific coast and southern interior. Map shows modern state boundaries.
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