Agustín of Mexico

**Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu** (September 27, 1783 - July 19, 1843), better known as **Agustín de Iturbide** and then as Emperor **Agustín I of Mexico** was a soldier, revolutionary, and monarch who reigned as the first independent sovereign of Mexico and as the founder of the House of Iturbide, which would control Mexico for all but twenty four of the following hundred years.

After entering the royal Spanish army in 1805, Agustín de Iturbide quickly rose through the ranks to become a senior military leader by the time of the Mexican War of Independence. During the war, Iturbide initially fought insurgent forces rebelling against the Spanish crown before changing sides in 1820 and leading a coalition of former royalists and long-time insurgents under his Plan of Iguala. After succeeding in establishing Mexican independence in the summer of 1821, Iturbide proceeded to sideline and arrest former political allies amongst the independence movement, before seizing total control over the new revolutionary government in August 1821.

In September 1821, Agustín de Iturbide proclaimed the independence of Mexico and became the first emperor of the new Mexican monarchy as Agustín I. During his reign, the Mexican Empire expanded into Central America and fought several low intensity wars with the United States of America over lost territories. Whilst Agustín's early reign was turbulent and partially unstable, the regime consolidated itself by the 1830s and emerged as a successful constitutional monarchy, albeit one with a significantly empowered sovereign. Agustín I instituted a series of economic, political, and military reforms which saw the monarchy and its associated nobility permeate all levels of government, whilst simultaneously growing a strong notion of Mexican statehood and nationality by promoting culture and the arts with generous government funding.

## History

Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu was born in the city of Valladolid on September 27, 1783. The fifth child born to his parents, he was the only male to survive childhood and eventually became head of the family. Iturbide's parents were part of the privileged landed class of Valladolid, owning agricultural land including the haciendas of Apeo and Guaracha as well as lands in nearby Quirio. Agustín studied at the Catholic seminary called Colegio de San Nicolás in Valladolid, enrolled in the program for secular officials, though he was not a distinguished student. After that, he worked as an overseer at one of his family's haciendas for a short time, discovering he was a very good horseman.

## Military Career

Agustín de Iturbide entered the royal army in 1805 after being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Valladolid regiment of the provincial infantry. In 1806, he was promoted to full lieutenant. Ongoing insurgency in the colony of New Spain against the rule of Ferdinand VII of Spain meant that the royal Spanish guard was frequently deployed in battle against rebellious groups. Iturbides' prowess in the field gained him the *nom de guerre* of "El Dragón de Hierro" or "The Iron Dragon", and his successes in battle led to rising support from powerful royalist groups.

### Mexican War of Independence

After the outbreak of the War of Independence in 1810, leader of the insurgency, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, offered Iturbide the rank of lieutenant general in the insurgent forces, which Iturbide rejected, remaining firmly a royal army officer at the outbreak of the war. From the start, Iturbide was ambitious and compiled a brilliant record of victories against the insurgents, often against far larger numbers. He was also well known by contemporaries of all factions for his cruelty against his opponents, the insurgents themselves as well as their families, including women and children.

### Defection to rebellion

From 1810 to 1820, Agustín de Iturbide had fought against those who sought to overturn the Spanish monarchy and the Bourbon dynasty's right to rule New Spain; however, the growing rebellion had greatly weakened the Spanish monarchy, whilst political turmoil within Spain had led to the government largely neglecting its colonies. The Cadiz Constitution of Spain, which was reinstated in 1820 after the successful Riego Revolt, established a constitutional monarchy, which greatly limited Ferdinand VII's powers. There was serious concern in Mexico that the Bourbons would be forced to abandon Spain altogether, which in turn led to the led to the disintegration of viceregal authority in Mexico City. Agustín de Iturbide's high popularity amongst the existing ruling class of New Spain allowed him to emerge as the head of a new movement which sought to gain Mexican independence as a conservative monarchy; whilst the Mexican rebel forces disagreed ideologically with Iturbide's plan, the prospect of independence united many forces behind Iturbide's 'Plan of Iguala'.

## Transition to Empire

Following the capitulation of the Spanish royal guard in early summer 1821, Agustín de Iturbide's Revolutionary Guard of Mexico successfully captured major cities across the country and established a new *de-facto* government to replace that of the Spanish crown, though the colony of New Spain remained legally a Spanish territory. Whilst many in the existing Mexican political elite wished to proclaim independence and establish a board of regents to rule until a suitable monarch could be found, Agustín de Iturbide led calls for a speedy independence with himself at the head of the state. On August 29, 1821, Iturbide led a coup d'état against the political leadership of the independence rebellion and placed himself as the supreme leader (Spanish: *comendador*) of the new revolutionary administration. Almost exactly a month later, on September 27, 1821, Iturbide marched into Mexico City alongside his combined armed forces and moved the seat of the revolutionary government to the city. On September 27, 1821, Iturbide proclaimed the independence of New Spain from the Kingdom of Spain as the Mexican Empire, with himself as the first reigning emperor.

## Reign

 Prime Minister
 Congress

Iturbide's coronation was held at the Mexico City Cathedral on 21 July 1822, and his wife, Ana María, was crowned empress, in an elaborate ceremony. It was attended by the bishops of Puebla, Guadalajara, Durango, and Oaxaca. Archbishop of Mexico Pedro José de Fonte y Hernández Miravete objected and did not attend. Iturbide was crowned by Rafael Mangino y Mendivil, the head of the Congress, in itself a statement by Congress: the state, not the church or any other power, would be sovereign. As emperor, Agustín I had sovereignty over lands bordered by Panama in the south and the Oregon Country in the north, including large portions of Central America and the US states of California, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico.

### Government

Upon his accession to the Mexican throne on September 28, 1821, Agustín I established the office of president of the Council of Ministers and appointed the notable physician and liberal politician Valentín Gómez Farías as the first holder of the office. Whilst much of the work of government was carried out by the Council of Ministers on behalf of Agustín, the monarchy remained the ultimate sovereign power in the new Mexican empire and Agustín I regularly carried out reshuffles of his cabinet, though Gómez Farías remained in office throughout Agustín's reign. In 1823, a new constitution was created to enshrine the monarchy's position at the heart of government and diminished the power of the Congress relative to the crown, though Congress retained the sole prerogative to raise new taxes and to agree to constitutional modifications.

### Reforms of 1821-28

During the first seven years of Agustín I's reign, the government introduced a series of constitutional amendments, budgets, and legislation which radically restructured the government, economy, and civil society in general. In September 18-27, 1822, a popular rebellion in Mexico City forced Agustín I to flee the city and threatened to topple the newly established monarchy; however, after returning to the city at the head of the armed forces on September 26, 1822, the rebellion was crushed and the government reclaimed control over the country. The 1823 constitution allowed for the creation of a centralised government, whilst local administrations were similarly centralised to have their leader appointed by the monarchy. The 1824 and 1825 budgets saw the government of Valentín Gómez Farías bring vast swathes of land under the control of the crown, before devolving control of the land back through the appointment of noble titles.

### Succession Crisis of 1837

In August 1837, Agustín I suffered a heart attack and stepped back from public life for several weeks. Whilst the heart attack was minor, tensions began to rise in congress over the nature of the monarchy and whether it was hereditary or not; royalist factions argued for Agustín's son Pedro to be placed as heir to the throne, whilst the constitutionalist faction argued that the throne would become vacant upon Agustín's death and that it would be congress' role to appoint a successor. On November 13, 1837, Agustín I issued a decree to proclaim the imperial throne as hereditary and officially granted his son Pedro the title of crown prince to confirm his position as heir apparent - whilst some members within the constitutionalist faction sought to overturn the decree, the majority of congressmen backed the decree as legitimate and a constitutional amendment was added in January 1838 to codify the degree into the constitution.

## Death

On July 19, 1843, Agustín I died of coronary heart failure at the Palace of Iturbide. Upon the demise of the crown, Agustín's eldest son Pedro ascended to the throne of Mexico as Emperor Pedro I and became the head of the House of Iturbide. Whilst his son Pedro I would only rule for a decade and was deposed in a coup in 1853, Agustín's grandchild Pedro Iturbide re-established the imperials throne in 1881. Both Agustín's grandchildren, Pedro II and Juan I, would rule as Iturbide monarchs from 1881 to 1910 and 1910 to 1921 respectively. After Juan I's deposition in 1921, the imperial throne temporarily became a constitutionally elected position before being restored as a hereditary institution in 1956 under the House of Rodríguez.

## Styles

* 1783 - 1821: *Señor* **Agustín de Iturbide**
* 1821 - 1831: *His Imperial Majesty*, Emperor **Agustín the First** of the Mexican Empire, Defender of the Faith
* 1831 - 1843: *His Imperial Majesty*, Emperor **Agustín the First** of the Mexican Empire, Defender of the Faith and Guardian of Independence