1.
Spanish American wars of independence
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These conflicts started in 1809 with short-lived governing juntas established in Chuquisaca and Quito opposing the composition of the Supreme Central Junta of Seville. When the Central Junta fell to the French invasion, in 1810, Cuba and Puerto Rico remained under Spanish rule until the Spanish–American War in 1898. The new republics from the abolished the formal system of racial classification and hierarchy, casta system, the Inquisition. Slavery was not abolished immediately, but ended in all of the new nations within a quarter century, criollos and mestizos replaced Spanish-born appointees in most political offices. Criollos remained at the top of a structure which retained some of its traditional features culturally. For almost a century thereafter, conservatives and liberals fought to reverse or to deepen the social and political changes unleashed by those rebellions, both armies originated from Spanish colonial troops of Americas. The events in Spanish America were related to the wars of independence in former French colony of St-Domingue, Haiti, a more direct cause of the Spanish American wars of independence were the unique developments occurring within the Kingdom of Spain and its monarchy during this period. Political independence was not necessarily the outcome of the political turmoil in Spanish America. There was little interest in outright independence, humphreys and John Lynch note, it is all too easy to equate the forces of discontent or even the forces of change with the forces of revolution. Since by definition, there was no history of independence until it happened, because Spanish American independence did occur, there are a number of factors that have been identified. First, increasing control by the Crown of its overseas empire via the Bourbon Reforms of the mid-eighteenth century introduced changes to the relationship of Spanish Americans to the Crown. The language used to describe the overseas empire shifted from kingdoms with independent standing with the crown to colonies and this meant that Spanish American elites were thwarted in their expectations and ambitions by the crowns upending long-standing practices of creole access to office holding. The regalist and secularizing policies of the Bourbon monarchy were aimed at decreasing the power of the Roman Catholic Church, the crown had already expelled the Jesuits in 1767, which saw many creole members of the Society of Jesus go into permanent exile. In the economic sphere, the sought to gain control over church revenues. In a financial crisis of 1804, the crown attempted to call in debts owed the church, shortening the repayment period meant many elites were faced with bankruptcy. Prominently in Mexico, lower clergy participated in the insurgency for independence with priests Miguel Hidalgo, in some areas—such as Cuba, Río de la Plata and New Spain—the reforms had positive effects, improving the local economy and the efficiency of the government. Other factors may include Enlightenment thinking and the examples of the Atlantic Revolutions, the Enlightenment spurred the desire for social and economic reform to spread throughout Spanish America and the Iberian Peninsula. Ideas about free trade and physiocratic economics were raised by the Enlightenment in Spain and spread to the overseas empire, the political reforms implemented and the many constitutions written both in Spain and throughout the Spanish world during the wars of independence were influenced by these factors
Spanish American wars of independence
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The
Battle of San Lorenzo in 1813
Spanish American wars of independence
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Decisive events of the war:
Cortes de Cádiz (1812) (top left);
Congress of Cúcuta (1821) (bottom left);
Crossing of the Andes (1817) (bottom right);
Battle of Tampico (1829) (top right).
Spanish American wars of independence
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The
Battle of Rancagua in 1814
Spanish American wars of independence
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The
Battle of Ayacucho, in Peru, ensured the independence of South America in 1824
2.
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
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He was a professor at the Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo in Valladolid and was ousted in 1792. He served in a church in Colima and then in Dolores, after his arrival, he was shocked by the poverty he found. He tried to help the poor by showing them how to grow olives and grapes, both of Hidalgos parents were descended from well-respected families within the criollo community. Hidalgos father was a manager, which presented Hidalgo with the opportunity to learn at a young age to speak the indigenous languages of the laborers. Eight days after his birth, Hidalgo was baptized into the Roman Catholic faith in the church of Cuitzeo de los Naranjos. Hidalgos parents would have three sons, José Joaquín, Manuel Mariano, and José María. In 1759, enlightened despot Charles III of Spain ascended to the throne of Spain, he sent out a visitor-general with the power to investigate. During this period, Don Cristobal was determined that Miguel and his younger brother Joaquin should both enter the priesthood and hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, being of significant means he paid for all of his sons to receive the best education the region had to offer. After receiving private instruction, likely from the priest of the neighboring parish, at the age of fifteen Hidalgo was sent to Valladolid, Michoacán to study at the Colegio de San Francisco Javier with the Jesuits, along with his brothers. When the Jesuits were expelled from Mexico in 1767, he entered the Colegio de San Nicolas and he completed his preparatory education in 1770. After this, he went to the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico in Mexico City for further study, earning his degree in philosophy and his education for the priesthood was traditional, with subjects in Latin, rhetoric and logic. Like many priests in Mexico, he learned some Indian languages, such as Nahuatl, Otomi and he also studied Italian and French, which were not commonly studied in Mexico at this time. He earned the nickname El Zorro for his reputation for cleverness at school, Hidalgos study of French allowed him to read and study works of the Enlightenment current in Europe but, at the same time, forbidden by the Catholic church in Mexico. Hidalgo was ordained as a priest in 1778 when he was 25 years old, from 1779 to 1792, he dedicated himself to teaching at the Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo in Valladolid, it was one of the most important educational centers of the viceroyalty. He was a professor of Latin grammar and arts, as well as a theology professor, beginning in 1787, he was named treasurer, vice-rector and secretary, becoming dean of the school in 1790 when he was 39. As rector, Hidalgo continued studying the liberal ideas that were coming from France, authorities ousted him in 1792 for revising traditional teaching methods there, but also for irregular handling of some funds. The Church sent him to work at the parishes of Colima and San Felipe Torres Mochas until he became the parish priest in Dolores, Guanajuato, succeeding his brother Felipe, who died in 1802. Although Hidalgo had an education for the priesthood, as an educator at the Colegio de San Nicolás, he had innovated in teaching methods
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
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Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
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Generalísimo of the Mexican Army
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
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Miguel Hidalgo
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
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The Dolores bell was moved to
Mexico's National Palace.
3.
Vicente Guerrero
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Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña was one of the leading revolutionary generals of the Mexican War of Independence. He fought against Spain for independence in the early 19th century and he was of Afro-Mestizo and Filipino descent, championed the cause of Mexicos common people, and abolished slavery during his brief term as president. His execution in 1831 by the government that ousted him in 1829 was a shock to the nation. Guerrero was tall and robust, and dark complected, and he was at times called El Negro, the region where he grew up had a large concentration of indigenous groups, and as a young man he was more conversant in the local language than Spanish. His fathers family included landlords, rich farmers and traders with broad business connections in the south, members of the Spanish militia and gun, in his youth, he worked for his fathers freight business that used mules for transport. His travels took him to different parts of Mexico where he heard of the ideas of independence, vicentes father, Pedro, supported Spanish rule, whereas his uncle, Diego Guerrero, had an important position in the Spanish militia. As an adult, Vicente was opposed to the Spanish colonial government, mi patria es primero is now the motto of the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, named in honor of the revolutionary. Guerrero enlisted in José María Moreloss insurgent army of the south in December 1810, in 1810 Guerrero joined in the early revolt against Spain, first fighting in the forces of secular priest José María Morelos. Morelos described him as A young man with bronzed, tall and strong, aquiline nose, bright and light-colored eyes, when the War of Independence began, Guerrero was working as a gunsmith in Tixtla. He joined the rebellion in November 1810 and enlisted in a division that independence leader Morelos had organized to fight in southern Mexico. Guerrero distinguished himself in the battle of Izúcar, in February 1812, initial victories by Moreloss forces faltered and Morelos himself was captured and executed in December 1815. Guerrero joined forces with Guadalupe Victoria and Isidoro Montes de Oca, in 1816, the royal government under Viceroy Apodaca sought to end the insurgency, offering amnesty. Guerreros father carried one appeal for his son to surrender, and he remained the only major rebel leader still at large, keeping the rebellion going through an extensive campaign of guerrilla warfare. He won victories at Ajuchitán, Santa Fe, Tetela del Río, Huetamo, Tlalchapa and Cuautlotitlán, hoping to extinguish the rebellion, the royal government sent Agustín de Iturbide against Guerreros forces. Guerrero was victorious against Iturbide, who realized there was a military stalemate, Guerrero appealed to Iturbide to abandon his royalist loyalty and join the fight for independence. Events in Spain had changed in 1820, with Spanish liberals ousting Ferdinand VII, Guerreros appeal to join the forces for independence was successful. Guerrero and Iturbide allied under the Plan de Iguala and their forces merged as the Army of the Three Guarantees. The Plan of Iguala proclaimed independence, called for a monarchy and the continued place of the Roman Catholic Church
Vicente Guerrero
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Statue in honor of Vicente Guerrero in Nuevo Laredo
Vicente Guerrero
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A half-length, posthumous portrait by Anacleto Escutia (1850)
4.
Army of the Three Guarantees
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The decree creating this army appeared in the Plan de Iguala, which stated the three guarantees which it was meant to defend, religion, independence, and unity. Mexico was to be a Catholic country, independent from Spain, the Army of the Three Guarantees was created on February 24,1821, and continued battling Spanish royalist forces which refused to accept Mexican independence. These battles continued until August 1821, when Iturbide and Spanish Viceroy Juan de ODonojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba, the Army was a decisive force during the Battle of Azcapotzalco. The victory in this last battle of the war cleared the way to Mexico City, on September 27,1821, the Army of the Three Guarantees triumphantly entered Mexico City, led by Iturbide. The following day Mexico was declared independent, by that time, the Army of the Three Guarantees was composed of 7,616 infantrymen,7,755 cavalry,763 artillery with 68 cannons
Army of the Three Guarantees
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- Toribio Cortina
Army of the Three Guarantees
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The flag of the Three Guarantees as displayed at the General Archive of the Nation in Mexico City.
5.
First Mexican Empire
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The Mexican Empire was a short-lived monarchy and the first independent post-colonial state in Mexico. It was the former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence and for a short time, together with the Empire of Brazil. The First Mexican Empire was short-lived, lasting less than two years, the first and only monarch of the state was Agustín de Iturbide, reigning as Agustín I of Mexico, for less than eight months. The empire was briefly reestablished by the French in 1864, under the 24 February 1821 Plan of Iguala, to which most of the provinces subscribed, the Mexican Congress established a regency council which was headed by Iturbide. If the king refused the position, the law provided for another member of the House of Bourbon to accede to the Mexican throne, however, the goal was merely a political tactic to appease the last royalists, and a full independence was expected. King Ferdinand, however, refused to recognize Mexicos independence and said that Spain would not allow any other European prince to take the throne of Mexico, on 19 May 1822, Mexican Congress named Iturbide as a constitutional emperor. On 21 May it issued a decree confirming this appointment, which was officially a temporary measure until a European monarch could be found to rule Mexico, iturbides official title was, By Divine Providence and the National Congress, First Constitutional Emperor of Mexico. His coronation took place on 21 July 1822 in Mexico City, in August 1822 a plot to overthrow the monarchy was discovered and on August 25, plotters, including 16 members of Congress, were arrested. As factions in the Congress began to sharply criticise Iturbide and his policies, santa Anna and his troops revolted against Iturbide, calling for the restoration of the Congress on 1 December 1822. Santa Anna had secretly persuaded General Echávarri, the commander of the Imperial forces, to switch sides and support the revolution when it was ready to be proclaimed throughout Mexico. The independence heroes Vicente Guerrero, Nicolás Bravo and Guadalupe Victoria soon joined, signing the Plan of Casa Mata on February 1,1823, the insurrectionists sent their proposal to the provincial governments and requested their adherence to the plan. In the course of just six weeks, the Plan of Casa Mata traveled to remote places as Texas. Each provincial government that accepted the plan thereby withdrew its allegiance from the Imperial government and this left Emperor Agustín I isolated with little support outside of Mexico City and a few factions of the Imperial Army. Consequently, he reinstalled the Congress, which he had abolished, abdicated the throne. Santa Anna and the proponents of the Plan of Casa Mata went on to oversee the drafting of a new constitution. The territory of the Mexican Empire corresponded to the borders of Viceroyalty of New Spain, excluding the Captaincies General of Cuba, Santo Domingo, subsequent territorial evolution of Mexico over the next several decades would eventually reduce Mexico to less than half its maximum extent. The first Mexican empire was divided into the following intendances, History of Mexico Second Mexican Empire Federal Republic of Central America Imperial House of Mexico Mexican Empire
First Mexican Empire
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Flag
6.
Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire
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The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire, is the document by which the Mexican Empire declared independence from the Spanish Empire. Three copies of the act were drafted, one copy remained in the Chamber of Deputies until it was destroyed in the fire of the Chamber in 1909. The other copy was stolen and sold in 1830 and that copy was recovered by Maximilian I of Mexico and after his execution it was taken out of the country by Agustín Fischer, confessor of the former emperor. Later, the Spanish antiquarian Gabriel Sánchez sold the act to the historian Joaquín García Icazbalceta who retained it, García Pimentel sold the act to Florencio Gavito and he stipulated in his will that after his death, the act should be given to the president Adolfo López Mateos. On November 14,1961, the result of two opinions were given to the president by which it was found that the act is one of the two originals drafted in 1821, on November 21, Florencio Gavito Jáuregui gave the document to President López Mateos. The third copy was owned by the Ruiz de Velasco family for 128 years and this document was passed down through generations from Nicolás Bravo. On August 22,1987, Pedro Ruiz de Velasco gave the document as a gift to Mexico, José Francisco Ruiz Massieu accepted this gift and secured this historical document in the Museo Historico de Acapulco Fuerte de San Diego in Acapulco in the State of Guerrero. The document, 20½ inches wide and 28¾ high, is kept at the General Archive of the Nation. On September 28, Iturbide installed the Provisional Governing Board formed by 38 people, the board was chaired by Antonio Pérez Martínez y Robles and Juan José Espinosa de los Monteros as secretary. The board immediately proceeded to elect the five members of the Regency of the Empire, on the afternoon of September 28, members of the Board met at the National Palace to draft the Declaration of Independence of the newly independent nation. The resulting two documents were drafted in its form by Juan José Espinosa de los Monteros, Secretary of the Board. The acts were signed by 33 of the 38 members of the Board, the signatures of other four members were not added. Juan Jose Espinoza de los Monteros signed twice in each act, once as a member of the Board and the second as secretary, so that the acts contain 35 signatures and the designated to ODonojú. A copy of the act was for the government and one for the board, Declaration of the independence of the Mexican Empire, issued by its Sovereign Junta, assembled in the Capital on September 28,1821. The Mexican Nation, which for three hundred years had neither had its own will, nor use of its voice, nor the freedom of religion. The following is the list of the people who signed the Declaration of Independence, Juan ODonoju did not sign but his name was written in the acts. Of the 38 members of the Provisional Governmental Board only 34 signed the document, the signatures of Francisco Severo Maldonado, José Domingo Rus, José Mariano de Almanza and Miguel Sánchez Enciso did not appear to have suffered a possible impairment due to illness. After being drafted, one copy was given to the Provisional Governmental Board, which was put on display in the Chamber of Deputies until 1909
Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire
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Original copy of the Declaration
Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire
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Entry of the
Trigarante Army to
México City.
Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire
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Rear of the act.
Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire
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Cover of the certificate of authenticity of the act.
7.
Viceroyalty of New Spain
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New Spain was a colonial territory of the Spanish Empire, in the New World north of the Isthmus of Panama. It was established following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521, after 1535 the colony was governed by the Viceroy of New Spain, an appointed minister of the King of Spain, who ruled as monarch over the colony. The capital of New Spain was Mexico City and it developed highly regional divisions, which reflect the impact of climate, topography, the presence or absence of dense indigenous populations, and the presence or absence of mineral resources. The areas of central and southern Mexico had dense indigenous populations with complex social, political, silver mining not only became the engine of the economy of New Spain, but vastly enriched Spain, and transformed the global economy. New Spain was the New World terminus of the Philippine trade, although New Spain was a dependency of Spain, it was a kingdom not a colony, subject to the presiding monarch on the Iberian Peninsula. Every privilege and position, economic political, or religious came from him and it was on this basis that the conquest, occupation, and government of the New World was achieved. The Viceroyalty of New Spain was established in 1535 in the Kingdom of New Spain and it was the first New World viceroyalty and one of only two in the Spanish empire until the 18th century Bourbon Reforms. The Spanish Empire comprised the territories in the north overseas Septentrion, from North America, to the west of the continent, New Spain also included the Spanish East Indies. To the east of the continent, it included the Spanish West Indies and this was not occupied by many Spanish settlers and were considered more marginal to Spanish interests than the most densely populated and lucrative areas of central Mexico. To shore up its claims in North America starting in the late 18th century, Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest explored and claimed the coast of what is now British Columbia and Alaska. The indigenous societies of Mesoamerica brought under Spanish control were of unprecedented complexity, the societies could provide the conquistadors, especially Hernán Cortés, a base from which the conquerors could become autonomous, or even independent, of the Crown. As a result, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, since the time of the Catholic Monarchs, central Iberia was governed through councils appointed by the monarch with particular jurisdictions. Thus, the creation of the Council of the Indies became another, the crown had set up the Casa de Contratación in 1503 to regulate contacts between Spain and its overseas possessions. A key function was to gather information about navigation to make trips less risky and they were accompanied by maps of the area discussed, many of which were drawn by indigenous artists. The Francisco Hernández Expedition, the first scientific expedition to the New World, was sent to gather information medicinal plants, an earlier Audiencia had been established in Santo Domingo in 1526 to deal with the Caribbean settlements. That Audiencia, housed in the Casa Reales in Santo Domingo, was charged with encouraging further exploration, management by the Audiencia, which was expected to make executive decisions as a body, proved unwieldy. Therefore, in 1535, King Charles V named Don Antonio de Mendoza as the first Viceroy of New Spain. After the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in 1532 opened up the vast territories of South America to further conquests, the Crown established an independent Viceroyalty of Peru there in 1540
Viceroyalty of New Spain
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"Vázquez de Coronado Sets Out to the North" (1540) by
Frederic Remington, oil on canvas, 1905
Viceroyalty of New Spain
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Flag
Viceroyalty of New Spain
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Indian Wedding and Flying Pole, circa 1690
Viceroyalty of New Spain
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Route from Philippines to Acapulco, México
8.
Mexican Army
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The Mexican Army is the combined land and air branch and largest of the Mexican Armed Forces, it is also known as the National Defense Army. It was the first army to adopt and use a self-loading rifle, the Mexican Army has an active duty force of 766,750. Mexico has no major foreign nation-state adversaries and it officially repudiates the use of force to settle disputes and rejects interference by one nation in the affairs of another. Although it has not suffered a major international terrorist incident in recent decades, in the prehispanic era, there were many indigenous tribes and highly developed city-states in what is now known as central Mexico. In Aztec society, it was compulsory for all males, nobles as well as commoners. Itzcoatl Obsidian Serpent, fourth king of Tenochtitlán, organized the army defeated the Tepanec of Atzcapotzalco. His reign began with the rise of what would become the largest empire in Mesoamerica, then Moctezuma Ilhuicamina The arrow to the sky came to extend the domain and the influence of the monarchy of Tenochtitlán. He began to trade to the outside regions of the Valley of Mexico. This was the Mexica ruler who organized the alliance with the lordships of Texcoco, the Aztec established the Flower Wars as a form of worship, these, unlike the wars of conquest, were aimed at obtaining prisoners for sacrifice to the sun. Combat orders were given by kings using drums or blowing into a sea shell that gave off a sound like a horn. Giving out signals using coats of arms was very common, for combat outside of cities, they would organize several groups, only one of which would be involved in action, while the others remained on the alert. In the early morning of September 16,1810, the Army of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla initiated the independence movement, Hidalgo was followed by his loyal companions, among them Mariano Abasolo, and a small army equipped with swords, spears, slingshots and sticks. Captain General Ignacio Allende was the brains of the insurgent army in the first phase of the War of Independence. The Spaniards saw that it was important to defend the Alhóndiga de Granaditas public granary in Guanajuato, the insurgents entered Guanajuato and proceeded to lay siege to the Alhóndiga. With this stunt, the managed to bring down the door and enter the building. Hidalgo headed to Valladolid, which was captured with little opposition, on November 29,1810, Hidalgo entered Guadalajara, the capital of Nueva Galicia, where he organized his government and the Insurgent Army, he also issued a decree abolishing slavery. At Calderon Bridge near the city of Guadalajara Jalisco, insurgents held a battle with the royalists. During the fierce fighting, one of the ammunition wagons exploded
Mexican Army
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Aztec warriors as shown in the 16th century
Florentine Codex. Note that each warrior is brandishing a
Maquahuitl.
Mexican Army
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Mexican infantry
Mexican Army
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This page from the
Codex Mendoza shows the gradual improvements to equipment and tlahuiztli as a warrior progresses through the ranks from commoner to porter to warrior to captor, and later as a noble progressing in the warrior societies from the noble warrior to "Eagle warrior" to "Jaguar Warrior" to "Otomitl" to "Shorn One" and finally as "Tlacateccatl".
Mexican Army
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Guanajuato. At center: the Alhóndiga de Granaditas
9.
Spanish Empire
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The Spanish Empire was one of the largest empires in history. The Spanish Empire became the foremost global power of its time and was the first to be called the empire on which the sun never sets, the Spanish Empire originated during the Age of Discovery after the voyages of Christopher Columbus. Following the Spanish–American War of 1898, Spain ceded its last colonies in the Caribbean and its last African colonies were granted independence or abandoned during Decolonisation of Africa finishing in 1976. The unity did not mean uniformity, nevertheless, some historians assert that Portugal was part of the Spanish monarchy at the time, while others draw a clear distinction between the Portuguese and Spanish empires. During the 15th century, Castile and Portugal became territorial and commercial rivals in the western Atlantic. The conquest was completed with the campaigns of the armies of the Crown of Castile between 1478 and 1496, when the islands of Gran Canaria, La Palma, and Tenerife were subjugated. The Portuguese tried in vain to keep secret their discovery of the Gold Coast in the Gulf of Guinea, chronicler Pulgar wrote that the fame of the treasures of Guinea spread around the ports of Andalusia in such way that everybody tried to go there. Worthless trinkets, Moorish textiles, and above all, shells from the Canary and Cape Verde islands were exchanged for gold, slaves, ivory and Guinea pepper. The Crown officially organized this trade with Guinea, every caravel had to get a government license, the treaty delimited the spheres of influence of the two countries, establishing the principle of the Mare clausum. It was confirmed in 1481 by the Pope Sixtus IV, in the papal bull Æterni regis, thus, the limitations imposed by the Alcáçovas treaty were overcome and a new and more balanced worlds division would be reached at Tordesillas between both emerging maritime powers. Seven months before the treaty of Alcaçovas, King John II of Aragon died, Ferdinand and Isabella drove the last Moorish king out of Granada in 1492 after a ten-year war. The Catholic Monarchs then negotiated with Christopher Columbus, a Genoese sailor attempting to reach Cipangu by sailing west, Castile was already engaged in a race of exploration with Portugal to reach the Far East by sea when Columbus made his bold proposal to Isabella. Columbus discoveries inaugurated the Spanish colonization of the Americas and these actions gave Spain exclusive rights to establish colonies in all of the New World from north to south, as well as the easternmost parts of Asia. The treaty of Tordesillas was confirmed by Pope Julius II in the bull Ea quae pro bono pacis on 24 January 1506, Spains expansion and colonization was driven by economic influences, a yearning to improve national prestige, and a desire to spread Catholicism into the New World. The Catholic Monarchs had developed a strategy of marriages for their children in order to isolate their long-time enemy, the Spanish princes married the heirs of Portugal, England and the House of Habsburg. Following the same strategy, the Catholic Monarchs decided to support the Catalan-Aragonese house of Naples against Charles VIII of France in the Italian Wars beginning in 1494. As King of Aragon, Ferdinand had been involved in the struggle against France and Venice for control of Italy, these conflicts became the center of Ferdinands foreign policy as king. Only a year later, Ferdinand became part of the Holy League against France and this war was less of a success than the war against Venice, and in 1516, France agreed to a truce that left Milan in its control and recognized Spanish control of Upper Navarre
Spanish Empire
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Columbus and the Catholic Monarchs (The return of Columbus to Spain).
Spanish Empire
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Flag
Spanish Empire
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The death of French general
Gaston de Foix at the
Battle of Ravenna (1512).
Spanish Empire
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Upon the death of
Ferdinand the Catholic, the lordship of the Spanish Indies became Kingdoms of the Indies.
10.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
Spain
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Lady of Elche
Spain
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Flag
Spain
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Altamira Cave paintings, in
Cantabria.
Spain
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Celtic castro in
A Guarda,
Galicia.
11.
Royalist (Spanish American independence)
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The creation of juntas in Spanish America in 1810 was a direct reaction to developments in Spain during the previous two years. In 1808 Ferdinand VII had been convinced to abdicate by Napoleon in his favor, the Supreme Central Junta had led a resistance to Josephs government and the French occupation of Spain, but suffered a series of reverses resulting in the loss of the northern half of the country. On February 1,1810, French troops took Seville and gained control of most of Andalusia, the Supreme Junta retreated to Cadiz and dissolved itself in favor of a Regency Council of Spain and the Indies. As news of this arrived throughout Spanish America during the three weeks to nine months—depending on time it took goods and people to travel from Spain—political fault lines appeared. It is important to note that, at first, the claimed to carry out their actions in the name of the deposed king. Juntas were successfully established in Venezuela, Río de la Plata and New Granada, in the months following the establishment of the Regency, it became clear that Spain was not lost, and furthermore the government was effectively reconstituting itself. The Regency successfully convened the Cortes Generales, the parliament of the Spanish Monarchy. The Regency and Cortes began issuing orders to, and appointing and those who supported the new government came to be called royalists. Those that supported the idea of maintaining independent juntas called themselves patriots, as the Cortes instituted liberal reforms and worked on drafting a constitution, a new division appeared among royalists. Conservatives did not want to see any innovations in government, while liberals supported them and these differences would become more acute after the restoration of Ferdinand VII, because the king opted to support the conservative position. Regional rivalry also played an important role in the wars that broke out in Spanish America as a result of the juntas. The disappearance of a central, imperial authority—and in some cases of even a local, viceregal authority —initiated a prolonged period of balkanization in many regions of Spanish America. It was not clear which political units which should replace the empire, more often than not, juntas sought to maintain a provinces independence from the capital of the former viceroyalty or captaincy general, as much as from the Peninsula itself. Armed conflicts broke out between the provinces over the question of some provinces were to be subordinate to others in the manner that they had been under the crown. This phenomenon was particularly evident in New Granada and Río de la Plata and this rivalry also lead some regions to adopt the opposing political cause from their rivals. The creation of juntas in Río de la Plata allowed Peru to regain control of Upper Peru for the duration of the wars. Ferdinand justified his actions by stating that the Constitution and other changes had made by a Cortes assembled in his absence. He also declared all of the juntas and constitutions written in Spanish America invalid and restored the former law codes, most Spanish Americans were moderates who decided to wait and see what would come out of the restoration of normalcy
Royalist (Spanish American independence)
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New Spain,
Guatemala,
Cuba &
Puerto Rico Félix María Calleja
Royalist (Spanish American independence)
Royalist (Spanish American independence)
–
New Granada,
Venezuela &
Quito Pablo Morillo
Royalist (Spanish American independence)
–
Río de la Plata, Montevideo & Paraguay Santiago de Liniers
12.
Miguel Hidalgo
–
He was a professor at the Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo in Valladolid and was ousted in 1792. He served in a church in Colima and then in Dolores, after his arrival, he was shocked by the poverty he found. He tried to help the poor by showing them how to grow olives and grapes, both of Hidalgos parents were descended from well-respected families within the criollo community. Hidalgos father was a manager, which presented Hidalgo with the opportunity to learn at a young age to speak the indigenous languages of the laborers. Eight days after his birth, Hidalgo was baptized into the Roman Catholic faith in the church of Cuitzeo de los Naranjos. Hidalgos parents would have three sons, José Joaquín, Manuel Mariano, and José María. In 1759, enlightened despot Charles III of Spain ascended to the throne of Spain, he sent out a visitor-general with the power to investigate. During this period, Don Cristobal was determined that Miguel and his younger brother Joaquin should both enter the priesthood and hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, being of significant means he paid for all of his sons to receive the best education the region had to offer. After receiving private instruction, likely from the priest of the neighboring parish, at the age of fifteen Hidalgo was sent to Valladolid, Michoacán to study at the Colegio de San Francisco Javier with the Jesuits, along with his brothers. When the Jesuits were expelled from Mexico in 1767, he entered the Colegio de San Nicolas and he completed his preparatory education in 1770. After this, he went to the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico in Mexico City for further study, earning his degree in philosophy and his education for the priesthood was traditional, with subjects in Latin, rhetoric and logic. Like many priests in Mexico, he learned some Indian languages, such as Nahuatl, Otomi and he also studied Italian and French, which were not commonly studied in Mexico at this time. He earned the nickname El Zorro for his reputation for cleverness at school, Hidalgos study of French allowed him to read and study works of the Enlightenment current in Europe but, at the same time, forbidden by the Catholic church in Mexico. Hidalgo was ordained as a priest in 1778 when he was 25 years old, from 1779 to 1792, he dedicated himself to teaching at the Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo in Valladolid, it was one of the most important educational centers of the viceroyalty. He was a professor of Latin grammar and arts, as well as a theology professor, beginning in 1787, he was named treasurer, vice-rector and secretary, becoming dean of the school in 1790 when he was 39. As rector, Hidalgo continued studying the liberal ideas that were coming from France, authorities ousted him in 1792 for revising traditional teaching methods there, but also for irregular handling of some funds. The Church sent him to work at the parishes of Colima and San Felipe Torres Mochas until he became the parish priest in Dolores, Guanajuato, succeeding his brother Felipe, who died in 1802. Although Hidalgo had an education for the priesthood, as an educator at the Colegio de San Nicolás, he had innovated in teaching methods
Miguel Hidalgo
–
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
Miguel Hidalgo
–
Generalísimo of the Mexican Army
Miguel Hidalgo
–
Miguel Hidalgo
Miguel Hidalgo
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The Dolores bell was moved to
Mexico's National Palace.
13.
Capital punishment
–
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a government sanctioned practice whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime. The sentence that someone be punished in such a manner is referred to as a death sentence, etymologically, the term capital in this context alluded to execution by beheading. Fifty-six countries retain capital punishment,103 countries have abolished it de jure for all crimes, six have abolished it for ordinary crimes. Capital punishment is a matter of controversy in various countries and states. In the European Union, Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union prohibits the use of capital punishment, also, the Council of Europe, which has 47 member states, prohibits the use of the death penalty by its members. The United Nations General Assembly has adopted, in 2007,2008,2010,2012 and 2014, non-binding resolutions calling for a moratorium on executions. Although most nations have abolished capital punishment, over 60% of the population live in countries where executions take place, such as China, India. Execution of criminals and political opponents has been used by nearly all societies—both to punish crime, in most countries that practise capital punishment it is reserved for murder, terrorism, war crimes, espionage, treason, defection or as part of military justice. In many countries use the death penalty, drug trafficking is also a capital offence. In China, human trafficking and serious cases of corruption are punished by the death penalty, in militaries around the world courts-martial have imposed death sentences for offences such as cowardice, desertion, insubordination, and mutiny. The use of formal execution extends to the beginning of recorded history, most historical records and various primitive tribal practices indicate that the death penalty was a part of their justice system. Communal punishment for wrongdoing generally included compensation by the wrongdoer, corporal punishment, shunning, banishment, usually, compensation and shunning were enough as a form of justice. The response to crime committed by neighbouring tribes or communities included a formal apology, a blood feud or vendetta occurs when arbitration between families or tribes fails or an arbitration system is non-existent. This form of justice was common before the emergence of a system based on state or organized religion. It may result from crime, land disputes or a code of honour, acts of retaliation underscore the ability of the social collective to defend itself and demonstrate to enemies that injury to property, rights, or the person will not go unpunished. However, in practice, it is difficult to distinguish between a war of vendetta and one of conquest. Elaborations of tribal arbitration of feuds included peace settlements often done in a religious context, compensation was based on the principle of substitution which might include material compensation, exchange of brides or grooms, or payment of the blood debt. Settlement rules could allow for animal blood to replace human blood, the person offered for execution did not have to be an original perpetrator of the crime because the system was based on tribes, not individuals
Capital punishment
–
Anarchist
Auguste Vaillant guillotined in France in 1894
Capital punishment
–
Hanged, drawn and quartered: the execution of
Hugh Despenser the Younger, as depicted in the
Froissart of Louis of Gruuthuse
Capital punishment
–
The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer, by
Jean-Léon Gérôme (1883).
Roman Colosseum.
Capital punishment
–
Giovanni Battista Bugatti, executioner of the
Papal States between 1796 and 1865,
carried out 516 executions (Bugatti pictured offering
snuff to a condemned prisoner).
Vatican City abolished
its capital punishment statute in 1969.
14.
Ignacio Allende
–
Ignacio José de Allende y Unzaga, born Ignacio Allende y Unzaga, was a captain of the Spanish Army in Mexico who came to sympathize with the Mexican independence movement. He attended the meetings organized by Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez. He fought along with Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in the first stage of the struggle, Allende was captured by Spanish colonial authorities while he was in Chihuahua and executed for treason. Allende was born on January 21,1769, to a wealthy Spanish criollo family in San Miguel el Grande in Guanajuato and his father was Domingo Narciso de Allende, a wealthy trader. In 1802, he joined the Viceregal army of New Spain, in 1806, he started to favor the possibility of independence from Spain. His attendance at a meeting in Valladolid was discovered, in 1809, by the Spanish. Regardless, Allende kept supporting the independence movement. He was eventually invited by the mayor of Querétaro, Miguel Domínguez and it was during one of these meetings where Allende met Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and his captain Juan Aldama. Originally, the movement was to be led jointly by Allende. A change of plans prompted by the discovery of the conspiracy forced Hidalgo to start the rebellion earlier than agreed, the Grito de Dolores uttered by Hidalgo signaled the beginning of the revolution, after which the conspirators rallied behind him. The rebel army quickly captured the town of Dolores and marched towards San Miguel el Grande, on September 22,1810, Hidalgo y Costilla was officially made captain general of the Revolutionary army while Allende was made lieutenant general. After the famous capture of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, in Guanajuato, as a consequence of the rebels defeat in the Battle of Calderón Bridge, the leadership of the Revolutionary army demanded the replacement of Hidalgo as their leader. Allende took this new responsibility and, with a army, he decided to march north to the United States, hoping to gather more money, weapons. The rebels, however, were ambushed at the Wells of Baján due to the betrayal of Ignacio Elizondo, leading to the capture of Allende, Hidalgo, allendes illegitimate child Indalecio was killed during this ambush. Allende was taken to the city of Chihuahua where he was tried for insubordination and his body was decapitated and his head taken to the Alhóndiga de Granaditas where it was shown to the public inside a cage hung from one corner of the building. In 1824 his remains were buried in the reserved for the viceroys. His remains were moved in 1925 to the Independence Column in Mexico City, Allende is a national hero of Mexico. Places named in his honor include the municipality and town of San Miguel de Allende in the state of Guanajuato, history of Mexico Account of the Grito de Dolores, by Ignacio Allende
Ignacio Allende
–
Portrait by Ramón Pérez (oil over canvas, 1865)
Ignacio Allende
–
Allende statue in Chihuahua City, Chihuahua
15.
Mariano Matamoros
–
Mariano Matamoros y Guridi was a Mexican Roman Catholic priest and revolutionary rebel soldier of the Mexican War of Independence, who fought for independence against Spain in the early 19th century. Matamoros was born in Mexico City in 1770, where he studied art and he finished his studies in art in 1786, was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1796 and served in several churches around the city. During this time, he started to sympathize with rebellious issues and for this reason and he managed to escape from prison and eventually joined the revolutionary army of José María Morelos in December 16 of 1811. One night Matamoros broke the siege and could join Miguel Bravo in Aculco, once the siege was lifted, the campaign continued in Oaxaca, it was surrounded in November 25 of 1812. After Matamoros won some battles, first in Santo Domingo Tonalá against Manuel Lambrini followed by San Juan Coscomatepec, Michoacán Matamoros was in the Battle of Valladolid close to the city of Valladolid in Michoacán, the present day city of Morelia, where the Spanish army won. Allegedly Morelos offered 200 Spanish prisoners in exchange for Matamoros, but was turned down by the Spanish colonial authorities, Matamoros was removed from the priesthood and tried for treason. He was executed by firing squad in Valladolid, Michoacán on February 3,1814, in 1823, Matamoros was honored as Benemérito de la Patria. His remains now rest in the Independence Column of Mexico City, Matamoros is a national hero of Mexico. History of Mexico Viceroyalty of New Spain Mexico Desconocido. com. mx, Mariano Matamoros Biography
Mariano Matamoros
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House where Mariano Matamoros was born in Mexico City
Mariano Matamoros
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A painting of Mariano Matamoros.
16.
Guadalupe Victoria
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He was a deputy in the Mexican Chamber of Deputies for Durango and a member of the Supreme Executive Power following the downfall of the First Mexican Empire. After the adoption of the Constitution of 1824, Victoria was elected as the first President of the United Mexican States, during his term as President he established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom, the United States, the Federal Republic of Central America, and Gran Colombia. He also abolished slavery, founded the National Museum, promoted education, Victoria was the only president who completed his full term in more than 30 years of an independent Mexico. He died in 1843 at the age of 56 from epilepsy in the fortress of Perote, on 8 April of the same year, it was decreed that his name would be written in golden letters in the session hall of the Chamber of Deputies. Guadalupe Victoria was born as José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix on 29 September 1786 in Tamazula in the province of Nueva Vizcaya and his parents, who died early in his childhood, were Manuel Fernández and Alejandra Félix. He was baptized by his paternal uncle Agustín Fernández, at time the priest of Tamazula. He studied at the Seminary of Durango, having no resources to pay for food, he made copies of a Latin grammar text to sell to other students for two reales. In 1807, he went to Mexico City, where he enrolled in the college of San Ildefonso to pursue degrees in Canon Law and he studied under a tense atmosphere, because the school was militarized by a colonial order. On 24 April 1811, he submitted his review and graduated as a Bachelor of Laws, in 1812, he joined the insurgent forces of Hermenegildo Galeana and fought alongside José María Morelos at the Siege of Cuautla. He also participated in the assault on Oaxaca and joined the troops of Nicolás Bravo in Veracruz and he dedicated himself and his troops to controlling the passage of El Puente del Rey and became famous for his successful attacks on military convoys until 1815, when he was defeated. The assault of Oaxaca was an action which took place on 25 November 1812 in the city of Oaxaca. Insurgents led by José María Morelos defeated the royalist forces of Lieutenant General Gonzalez Saravia, other members of the insurgent forces that participated in the assault of Oaxaca were Hermenegildo Galeana, Nicolás Bravo, Mariano Matamoros, Manuel Mier y Terán, and Vicente Guerrero. He then swam across the moat and cut the rope of a bridge, due to his success in Oaxaca, by order of the Congress of Chilpancingo, Victoria was granted the command of the insurgent army in Veracruz. At the same time, José Miguel Fernández y Félix decided to change his name to Guadalupe, due his devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe, in 1815, Victoria commanded the insurgent movement in the region of Veracruz. Using guerrilla warfare tactics, he obtained control of Puente del Rey, when he learned that royalist troops were coming to fight, he reinforced the defenses on the bridge, but was still forced to retreat to Nautla in July of that year. In order to have a point of supply from the Gulf of Mexico, Victoria took control of the Boquilla de Piedras, a port located between Tuxpan and the port of Veracruz. This port was fitted with docks, warehouses and batteries for its defense and remained under the control of Victoria until November 1816, shortly after, Naolinco became the headquarters of the insurgents, and from there they controlled the area of Misantla, Puente Nacional and Huatusco. Also in 1816, when the new viceroy Juan Ruiz de Apodaca arrived at New Spain, Victoria attacked his convoy to Mexico City, in late 1816, Victoria held back Nautla, defeating the royalist garrison
Guadalupe Victoria
–
Entry of the
Army of the Three Guarantees to Mexico City on 27 September 1821.
Guadalupe Victoria
–
Portrait of Guadalupe Victoria
Guadalupe Victoria
–
Coronation of Iturbide on 21 July 1822.
17.
Francisco Xavier Mina
–
General Martín Francisco Javier Mina y Larrea, nicknamed El Mozo, was a Spanish lawyer and army officer, who later became a Mexican revolutionary figure. Francisco Javier Mina was born in Otao, Navarre, to Juan Mina, a wealthy farmer, Mina studied Latin, mathematics, and humanities at the local seminary, while living in Pamplona with his uncle and aunt, Clemente and Simona Espoz. At the age of 18, he left Otao to continue his education in Zaragoza, during the Peninsular War in early 1808, Spain was under occupation by French troops, prompting Mina to flee to the hills and forests of his native region. There he formed a guerrilla force of ten men. Under his leadership, the force quickly grew to over 200 men. Mina launched raids on the French and succeeded in capturing arms, ammunition and these additional resources allowed Mina to expand his small army to over 1,200 men and 150 mounted cavalry. Finding new strength in numbers, he began to engage in full-scale military actions. Mina was captured in March 1810 and sent to Vincennes prison in France and he was finally released in April 1814, concurrent with the collapse of Napoleons government. On returning to Spain he was made a colonel of the Navarre Hussars by King Ferdinand VII, however, Mina didnt sympathize with the King, because he had abolished the democratic government created under the Constitution of 1812. After a planned coup against the King failed, Mina fled to France, Servando Teresa de Mier recruited him to fight the absolute monarchy of Ferdinand VII in his colonies. A few English lords made Minas voyage to America possible, in May 1816,20 Spanish officers and an Italian and English crew left Liverpool. First, Mina and his crew sailed from Baltimore in the U. S. A. to Puerto Principe, Haiti, and from Puerto Principe to Galveston, Nueva España and he then moved to what is now the nation of Mexico. In April 1817, General Mina took a force of about 250 men southward in ships provided by the French privateer and they arrived at Soto la Marina, Tamaulipas. His plan was to join the southern Mexican revolutionaries led by Guadalupe Victoria, Mina started the resistance war, a period of the Mexican War of Independence. On May 24 of 1817, Mina left his base with 300 men, moving to several villages on his way to Fuerte del Sombrero, General Mina published a letter stating that he was fighting the Kings tyranny and not the Spanish empire. On August 1, marshal Pascual Liñán arrived at the fort with a powerful army, Mina escaped to Fuerte de los Remedios to help José Antonio Torres. In October 1817, Francisco Javier Mina was captured and Pedro Moreno was killed, the prisoner was presented to Colonel Orrantia who took him to Silao. Eventually, Mina was sent to the marshal Pascual Liñán, on November 11 of 1817, General Francisco Javier Mina was executed by a firing squad on a hill close to the Fuerte de los Remedios region of the Sierra de Pénjamo, by the Zaragoza battalion
Francisco Xavier Mina
–
Francisco Javier Mina
18.
Ferdinand VII of Spain
–
Ferdinand VII was twice King of Spain, in 1808 and again from 1813 to his death. He was known to his supporters as the Desired and to his detractors as the Felon King and he reestablished the absolutist monarchy and rejected the liberal constitution of 1812. He suppressed the liberal press 1814-33 and jailed many of its editors and writers, under his rule, Spain lost nearly all of its American possessions, and the country entered into civil war on his death. His reputation among historians is very low, historian Stanley Payne says, He proved in many ways the basest king in Spanish history. Cowardly, selfish, grasping, suspicious, and vengeful, seemed almost incapable of any perception of the commonwealth and he thought only in terms of his power and security and was unmoved by the enormous sacrifices of Spanish people to retain their independence and preserve his throne. Ferdinand was ostensibly the eldest surviving child of Charles IV of Spain, Ferdinand was born in the palace of El Escorial near Madrid. The Queens confessor Fray Juan Almaraz wrote in his last will that she admitted in articulo mortis that none, none of her sons and daughters, none was of the legitimate marriage. In his youth Ferdinand occupied the position of an heir apparent who was excluded from all share in government by his parents and their advisor and Prime Minister. National discontent with the government produced a rebellion in 1805, in October 1807, Ferdinand was arrested for his complicity in the El Escorial Conspiracy in which the rebels aimed at securing foreign support from the French Emperor Napoleon. When the conspiracy was discovered, Ferdinand submitted to his parents, following a popular riot at Aranjuez Charles IV abdicated in March 1808. Ferdinand ascended the throne and turned to Napoleon for support and he abdicated on 6 May 1808. Napoleon kept Ferdinand under guard in France for six years at the Chateau of Valençay, while the upper echelons of the Spanish government accepted his abdication and Napoleons choice of his brother Joseph Bonaparte as king of Spain, the Spanish people did not. Uprisings broke out throughout the country, marking the beginning of the Peninsular War, provincial juntas were established to control regions in opposition to the new French king. After the Battle of Bailén proved that the Spanish could resist the French, on 24 August, Ferdinand VII was proclaimed king of Spain again, and negotiations between the Council and the provincial juntas for the establishment of a Supreme Central Junta were completed. Subsequently, on 14 January 1809, the British government acknowledged Ferdinand VII as king of Spain, the Spanish people, blaming the policies of the Francophiles for causing the Napoleonic occupation and the Peninsular War by allying Spain too closely to France, at first welcomed Fernando. Ferdinand soon found that in the years a new world had been born of foreign invasion. In his name Spain fought for its independence and in his name as well juntas had governed Spanish America, Spain was no longer the absolute monarchy he had relinquished six years earlier. Instead he was now asked to rule under the liberal Constitution of 1812, before being allowed to enter Spanish soil, Ferdinand had to guarantee the liberals that he would govern on the basis of the Constitution, but, only gave lukewarm indications he would do so
Ferdinand VII of Spain
–
Portrait by
Vicente López y Portaña
Ferdinand VII of Spain
–
Triumphal welcome of Ferdinand at
Valencia, 1814
Ferdinand VII of Spain
–
Ferdinand VII and María Cristina by Luis de la Cruz y Ríos (1823)
19.
Francisco Javier Venegas
–
Venegas began studies for a literary career, but gave them up to serve in the military. He rose in rank to lieutenant colonel, taking part in the fighting against the French Republic and he had retired from service at the time of the Napoleonic invasion of Spain, but returned then to active duty. He took part in the Battle of Bailén, and was named commander of a division in Andalucía and his services in the war with the French were valuable, and he demonstrated his intelligence, energy and courage. With the patronage of the minister Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis, he advanced rapidly, on Christmas Day 1808, Venegas and his division attempted a surprise attack on a brigade of French dragoons at Tarancón. They surrounded the town but the French cavalrymen became aware of the trap, when the Spanish infantry formed into squares across their path, the enemy cavalry galloped through the gaps between the squares. The French escaped with the loss of about 60 troopers, the late arrival of Venegas cavalry prevented further damage from being inflicted on the dragoons. On 13 January 1809, Venegas with 9,500 infantry,1,800 cavalry, in the Battle of Uclés,12,500 French foot soldiers and 3,500 horsemen under Marshal Claude Perrin Victor crushed the force led by Venegas. Victor ordered one division and his cavalry to mount an assault while his second division attempted an envelopment. The frontal attack was successful in driving the Spanish force into the arms of the second division, for only 150 casualties, the French inflicted losses of 1,000 killed and wounded and captured 5,866 prisoners and all four guns. His superior officer, who had failed to come to Venegas aid with 9,000 troops, despite the setback, Venegas was given command of the Army of La Mancha after its previous commander was badly beaten at the Battle of Ciudad-Real on 27 March 1809. In mid-July 1809 Venegas and his 23,000 soldiers sparred with the French IV Corps, however, the IV Corps managed to elude Venegas and join the army of Joseph Bonaparte for the Battle of Talavera on 27–28 July. Fortunately the action resulted in an Anglo-Spanish victory, with only a handful of enemies in front of him, Venegas had a brief chance to recapture Madrid, but he allowed the opportunity to slip away. At the head of an army of 20,000 foot and 3,000 horse, Venegas ignored Cuestas orders to retreat, Venegas believed that he faced only 14,000 Frenchmen, but in fact Josephs army consisted of 17,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry. In the Battle of Almonacid the Spanish army was defeated with the loss of 800 killed,2,500 wounded,2,000 prisoners, French casualties numbered 319 killed and 2,075 wounded, indicating that the Spanish troops fought well. A few weeks later, Venegas was replaced in command by Juan Carlos de Aréizaga, during the French invasion of Andalusia in January 1810, Venegas was military governor of Cádiz. Before the powerful invading army, the Spanish defenders rapidly collapsed, fortunately, José María de la Cueva, 14th Duke of Albuquerque was able to bring 12,000 troops to reinforce the weak Cádiz garrison. A squabble arose between Venegas and Albuquerque over who was the superior officer and this problem was resolved when the Junta appointed Venegas to the position Viceroy of New Spain and gave Albuquerque command of Cádiz. Venegas was a man of few words, active, cruel, on February 20,1810 he was named viceroy of New Granada
Francisco Javier Venegas
–
Francisco Javier Venegas
20.
Juan Ruiz de Apodaca, 1st Count of Venadito
–
Ruiz de Apodaca was born in Cádiz into a family of renowned Basque merchants. He entered the navy in 1767 and took part in the campaign against Algerian pirates, in 1770 he was promoted to the rank of ensign. He was in Peru from 1770 to 1778 and England in 1779, from 1781 to 1790 he was a captain, in charge of ships of the line, and afterward he was in charge of the reconstruction of the harbor at Tarragona. In October 1802 he was named commandant of the arsenal at Cadiz, now in command of a squadron, he made major improvements at Cadiz. He was subsequently ambassador plenipotentiary in Britain and Captain General of Florida and his reputation was that of a man of tact and good judgment. For his services he was awarded the military crosses of San Fernando, as a new viceroy Apodaca offered amnesty to the rebels. Thousands of insurgents accepted, with only Vicente Guerrero in the south and Guadalupe Victoria, the viceroy also reversed the harsh policies of Calleja and ordered that in no circumstances were rebel prisoners to be summarily shot. He banned the flying of kites and he closely reviewed the public accounts, finding that Calleja had kept them accurately and carefully. He paid off the debt, stopped relying on loans to fund the government. He revived the commercial and mining sectors of the economy, insofar as that was possible in a time of war, on April 17,1817, Spanish liberal Francisco Javier Mina and 308 volunteers arrived at Soto la Marina, Nuevo Santander, from London and New Orleans. Mina issued a manifesto saying he was not fighting against Spain, on May 24 his troops began a march into the interior to join with rebels under Pedro Moreno at Fuerte del Sombrero, northeast of Guanajuato. Apodaca sent a column against Mina and his allies, under the command of Field Marshal Pascual Liñán. After active fighting, Liñán killed Moreno and took Mina prisoner at the Rancho del Venadito, Mina was executed by firing squad on November 11. As the result of action, the viceroy received the title of Conde de Venadito. Once again it looked as though the insurrection might be over, therefore, Apodaca was given instructions to redouble the vigilance on the coasts. The insurgents managed to capture an armed trading ship from Veracruz, American William Robinson managed to occupy Altamira and Tampico, hoping to give new impetus to the revolution, but Robinson was taken prisoner in Tampico and sent to Cádiz. He escaped to Gibraltar, with the assistance of the British, later, Spain and the United States signed the Adams-Onís Treaty on February 22,1819. The treaty established boundaries between the United States and New Spain, which had been in dispute since the Louisiana Purchase, the U. S. obtained Florida and renounced its claim to Texas
Juan Ruiz de Apodaca, 1st Count of Venadito
–
Ruiz de Apodaca as viceroy of New Spain.
Juan Ruiz de Apodaca, 1st Count of Venadito
–
Portrait by
Antonio María Esquivel (1834).
Insurgents
Army of the Three Guarantees (1821)
(1810–11)
Ferdinand VII
Francisco Venegas (1810–13)
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