Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional struggles that occurred within the same period, and can be considered a revolutionary civil war. It culminated with the drafting of the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire in Mexico City on September 28, 1821, following the collapse of royal government and the military triumph of forces for independence.
Clockwise from top left: Miguel Hidalgo, José María Morelos, Trigarante Army in Mexico City, Mural of independence by O'Gorman, Embrace of Acatempan between Iturbide and Guerrero
Cristóbal de Villalpando, 1695. View of the Plaza Mayor of Mexico City, showing damage of the viceroy's palace by the 1692 rioters (top right).
Viceroy José de Iturrigaray, overthrown in a coup d'état by peninsular conspirators in 1808
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, by José Clemente Orozco, Jalisco Governmental Palace, Guadalajara
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It covers 1,972,550 km2, making it the world's 13th-largest country by area; with a population of almost 130 million, it is the 10th-most-populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is organized as a federal constitutional republic comprising 31 states and Mexico City, its capital. It shares land borders with the United States to the north, with Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; as well as maritime borders with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east.
Teotihuacan, the 6th largest city in the world at its peak (1 AD to 500 AD)
Temple of Kukulcán (El Castillo) in the Maya city of Chichen Itza
Artistic depiction of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital and largest city in the Americas at the time. The city was completely destroyed in the 1521 siege of Tenochtitlan and rebuilt as Mexico City.
Storming of the Teocalli by Cortez and his Troops (painted in 1848)