Cádiz en la guerra de la Independencia (Spanish Edition)

Mexican War of Independence

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As a consequence, these historians overstate the supposed inequality of representation between the Peninsula and the other regions of the Spanish Monarchy By , most Americans expected the French to triumph. Napoleonic armies, after all, controlled the majority of the Peninsula. Fear of French domination strengthened the desire of many in the New World to seek autonomy. All these regions sought to establish caretaker governments to rule in the name of Fernando VII.

The autonomy movements of , unlike those of , inadvertently unleashed other social forces. Discontented groups and regions capitalized on the opportunity to redress their grievances. Within a short time, civil wars consumed large parts of the American continent The elections had a great impact throughout the New World. The capitals of most of the provinces eligible to elect deputies consulted widely with the villas and pueblos of their regions. Each urban center prepared lists of notables by consulting prominent individuals of the area.

During the process of consultation, there was widespread discussion in public places, such as plazas, markets, garitas, government buildings, parks, eating places, inns, and taverns. Curas discussed the importance of the event at mass and outside of church, emphasizing the significance of opposing the godless French — who were a threat to the holy faith, the king, and the patria — by participating in the government of the Spanish Nation.

The elections in the provincial capitals were generally conducted in public and were accompanied by ceremonies that usually began with a mass of Espiritu Santo and ended with a Te Deum, the ringing of bells and other public celebrations. Cities, villas, and pueblos decorated the center of the town to commemorate the festive occasion. In large capital cities, the celebrations were accompanied by the firing of cannon and fireworks. These events created a spirit of optimism and gave Americans a sense that they could overcome the grave political crisis.

When the Cortes convened, deputies were present, 30 of them represented the overseas territories. The others were admitted as they arrived.

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Since the Cortes was extraordinary , it had to establish rules and regulations. On the second day, the members appointed a commission of five deputies to prepare a Reglamento for the governance of the body. The commission, which acted with great care, took months to complete its project that was submitted on August 18, In the ensuing debates, which lasted several months, the deputies addressed fundamental issues, such as the role of the Cortes, the king, and the Judiciary; the nature of provincial and local government; the nature of citizenship and political rights; the nature of trade, the role of education and the military, and taxation.

In the process of debating the articles of the proposed constitution, the deputies were forced to make political compromises among competing interest groups and ideologies represented in the Spanish Monarchy. The extensive parliamentary debates were widely disseminated by the press and significantly influenced those Spanish Americans who supported as well as those who opposed the new Hispanic government The Constitution of was not a Spanish document; it was a charter for the Spanish world.

The arguments and proposals of American deputies convinced many Spaniards to embrace substantial change in America as well as the Peninsula. With the creation of the provincial deputations, the Cortes abolished the viceroyalties, transformed the audiencias from judicial and quasi-administrative bodies into high courts of appeal, and divided the Spanish world into provinces that dealt directly with the national government in Spain.

Ramos Arizpe and Guridi y Alcocer also played a key role in the establishment of the second home rule institution created by the Cortes, constitutional ayuntamientos, which substituted popularly elected officials for the hereditary elites who had heretofore controlled city government. Deputies from New Spain also successfully argued for the expansion of those governments in Spanish America; formerly city governments existed only in major cities. The Constitution, therefore, provided Americans who desired autonomy a peaceful means of obtaining home rule. A majority of Americans seized this opportunity.

It created a unitary state with equal laws for all parts of the Spanish Monarchy, substantially restricted the authority of the king, and entrusted the legislature with decisive power. When it enfranchised all men, except those of African ancestry, without requiring either literacy or property qualifications, the Constitution of surpassed all existing representative governments, such as Great Britain, the United States, and France, in providing political rights to the vast majority of the male population.

The judiciary received little independent power and the executive was subservient to the legislature. National sovereignty was entrusted to the Cortes. Mass political participation was ensured in two ways. First, local government increased dramatically because population centers with a thousand or more inhabitants were granted the right to form ayuntamientos. The change would have the greatest impact in America which previously possessed fewer ayuntamientos than the Peninsula.

And second, granting all males, except those of African ancestry, the franchise without requiring either literacy or property expanded the scope of popular politics beyond that of any other contemporary Western government. When it allowed cities and towns with a thousand or more inhabitants to form ayuntamientos constitucionales, it transferred political power from the center to the localities by incorporating vast numbers of people into the political process The Constitution of was widely introduced in those regions of the Monarchy that recognized the government in Spain.

It is striking that New Spain and Guatemala, lands that contained more than half of the population of Spanish America, implemented the new constitutional order more fully than any other part of the Spanish Monarchy, including Spain itself. Spanish Americans established more than a thousand constitutional ayuntamientos and sixteen provincial deputations during Several areas held two elections, first to establish and then to renew their provincial deputations. Americans also elected more than a hundred deputies to the Cortes in Madrid. Hundreds of thousands of citizens, perhaps more than a million, including Indians, mestizos, castas, and blacks, participated in the elections and in government both at the local and provincial levels.

It is ironic that scholars have tended to ignore this great political revolution and instead have focused almost exclusively on the insurgencies. By any standard, the political revolution was more profound and extensive than the insurgencies, which have primarily occupied historians Relatively free elections occurred in those areas dominated by the royalists. Although the elite clearly dominated politics, hundreds of thousands of middle-and lower-class men became involved in politics in a meaningful way and made their presence felt. In a number of regions, such as Cuenca and Loja in the Kingdom of Quito, they not won control of their local towns they also formed inter-ethnic coalitions to participate in the government of the larger provincial capitals Ironically, the new Hispanic political system forced many insurgent governments to enhance their legitimacy by drafting constitutions and holding elections.

For example, the elections held in New Spain for the Congress of Apatzingan, involved a few thousand voters. Virtually every act that had occurred since — the struggle against the French, the political revolution enacted by the Cortes and the autonomy movements in America — was taken in his name.

His autocratic government relied on force to restore royal order in the New World. There followed a five year period in which, unfettered by the Constitution, the royal authorities in the New World crushed most insurgent movements. The restoration of constitutional government elicited disparate responses from the American regions. New Spain and the Kingdom of Guatemala enthusiastically reestablished the constitutional system.

In the months that followed, they conducted elections for countless constitutional ayuntamientos, provincial deputations, and the Cortes. Political instability in the Peninsula during the previous dozen years, however, convinced many novohispanos that it was prudent to establish an autonomous government within the Spanish Monarchy. They pursued two courses of action. At the same time, fearing that their proposal might be rejected, they organized a movement throughout New Spain to establish an autonomous monarchy under the Constitution of When the Spanish majority in the Cortes, faced with political, social and economic crises in the Peninsula, rejected their proposal to create autonomous American kingdoms, the leaders of New Spain chose to secede and established the Mexican Empire.

Mexico achieved independence not because royalist forces were defeated militarily but because novohispanos no longer supported the Monarchy politically. They convinced royalist military officers who were weary of fighting the insurgency to change sides. Central America also declared independence and joined the newly formed Mexican Empire That fact is clearly demonstrated in the two documents central to the process of independence: By novohispanos generally agreed on the need to establish an autonomous commonwealth within the Spanish Monarchy.

Because autonomists in the southern cone gained control early and did not face major opposition from royalist forces, civilians were not forced to relinquish power to military leaders. Although Buenos Aires and Santiago experienced partisan conflicts and civil wars during the early years, the region escaped the brutal campaigns waged in northern South America.

Similarly, Chile endured only limited combat in the struggle for emancipation and the military forces that liberated the Andean nation in quickly departed to secure the independence of Peru.

File:Cádiz an la guerra de la independencia, cuadro historico (1862) (14595291180).jpg

As a result, civilians dominated the Chilean government. In the republicans renewed the struggle to take control of Venezuela and New Granada. The restoration of the Hispanic Constitution provided insurgents favoring independence the opportunity to press their campaign to liberate the continent.

They accepted the armistice offered by the Cortes in order to strengthen their forces, confident that the Monarchy would not send a new expeditionary army to restore royal order in the region. Robarts - University of Toronto Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: At the time of upload, the image license was automatically confirmed using the Flickr API.

For more information see Flickr API detail. Political instability in the Peninsula during the previous dozen years, however, convinced many novohispanos that it was prudent to establish an autonomous government within the Spanish Monarchy. They pursued two courses of action.

Peninsular War - Wikipedia

At the same time, fearing that their proposal might be rejected, they organized a movement throughout New Spain to establish an autonomous monarchy under the Constitution of When the Spanish majority in the Cortes, faced with political, social and economic crises in the Peninsula, rejected their proposal to create autonomous American kingdoms, the leaders of New Spain chose to secede and established the Mexican Empire. Mexico achieved independence not because royalist forces were defeated militarily but because novohispanos no longer supported the Monarchy politically.

They convinced royalist military officers who were weary of fighting the insurgency to change sides. Central America also declared independence and joined the newly formed Mexican Empire That fact is clearly demonstrated in the two documents central to the process of independence: By novohispanos generally agreed on the need to establish an autonomous commonwealth within the Spanish Monarchy.

Because autonomists in the southern cone gained control early and did not face major opposition from royalist forces, civilians were not forced to relinquish power to military leaders. Although Buenos Aires and Santiago experienced partisan conflicts and civil wars during the early years, the region escaped the brutal campaigns waged in northern South America.

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Similarly, Chile endured only limited combat in the struggle for emancipation and the military forces that liberated the Andean nation in quickly departed to secure the independence of Peru. As a result, civilians dominated the Chilean government. In the republicans renewed the struggle to take control of Venezuela and New Granada.

The restoration of the Hispanic Constitution provided insurgents favoring independence the opportunity to press their campaign to liberate the continent. They accepted the armistice offered by the Cortes in order to strengthen their forces, confident that the Monarchy would not send a new expeditionary army to restore royal order in the region.

However, those favoring independence faced strong resistance because large parts of Venezuela, New Granada, Quito, Peru, and Charcas eagerly implemented the restored constitutional system. They elected hundreds of constitutional ayuntamientos, but most were unable to complete elections for provincial deputations and deputies to the Cortes in Madrid because the insurgents violated the truce in and began a military campaign to bring those areas under their control Although civilian and clerical institutions — ayuntamientos, courts, parishes, cathedral chapters — continued to function, and although new constitutional governments were formed and congresses elected, military power was dominant.

Colombia provides the clearest example of that phenomenon. Although a few regions of Venezuela and New Granada possessed representation at Angostura, Quito and the most heavily populated parts of Venezuela and New Granada had none.

There and in large parts of Venezuela and New Granada the Republic was imposed by force. In contrast to the Hispanic Constitution of , written by a Cortes composed of elected representatives from all parts of the Monarchy — which granted considerable autonomy to the regions via the constitutional ayuntamientos and provincial deputations, restricted the power of the king, and bestowed sovereignty on the legislature — the Colombian constitution created a highly centralized government and granted vast authority to the president.

Guayaquil declared independence and formed a republican government on October 9, ; in the following months, it attempted without success to free the highland provinces of the Kingdom of Quito. But divisions within the royalist ranks prevented them from expelling the republican forces. Although the Colombians arrived in force in , they made little progress.

Divisions among Peruvians, shortage of supplies, and strong royalist armies kept them pinned down on the coast. However, the royalists also were divided. Ultimately, General Sucre defeated the royalist constitutional army in the decisive battle of Ayacucho on December 9, Political intrigue finally settled the struggle.

Peninsular War

The death of the absolutist commander marked the end of royal power in Charcas. Subsequently, General Sucre formed the new republic of Bolivia in the territory of the former Audiencia of Charcas. Although, most Americans considered the viceroyalties synonymous with the nation, the new nations were formed on the basis of audiencias. The two exceptions were Mexico, which remained united even though it had two audiencias, and the former Audiencia of Guatemala, which fragmented into five countries. Mexico initially established a monarchy but replaced it with a republic when its first emperor failed as a political leader.

In Spanish South America some countries considered establishing a monarchy but failed to convince a European prince to become their king. While the Americans in the north participated fully in the political transformation of the Hispanic world, many in the south did not. The majority of the population in those nations, including his native Venezuela, preferred the Hispanic political system to those offered by the republicans.

There independence was the product of military force, not debate or elections. Having achieved independence, the countries of the American continent would henceforth chart their own futures. Most, however, entered a prolonged period of economic decline and political instability. The break up of the Monarchy destroyed a vast and responsive social, political, and economic system that functioned relatively well, despite its many imperfections. For nearly three hundred years the world wide Spanish Monarchy had proven to be flexible and capable of accommodating social tensions and conflicting political and economic interests.

In that regard, nineteenth-century Spain, like the American kingdoms, was just one more newly independent nation struggling to survive in an uncertain and difficult world. During the first half of the nineteenth century, military strongmen — caudillos but not institutional militarists — dominated many nations. The stable, more developed, and stronger countries of the North Atlantic, such as Britain, France, and the United States, flooded Spanish America with their exports, dominated their credit, and sometimes imposed their will upon the new American nations by force of arms.

The people of the Spanish-speaking world ceased to be subjects of the Crown and became citizens of their nations. Despite power struggles, such as those between monarchists and republicans, centralists and federalists, and parliamentarians and caudillos, a liberal representative, constitutional government remained the political ideal of the Spanish-speaking nations. Indeed, even caudillos and dictators were forced to acknowledge, at least in principle, the supremacy of the rule of law and the ultimate desirability of civilian, representative, constitutional government.

That tradition, together with the achievement of nationhood, remains the most significant heritage of Spanish American independence. Merriman, thought in terms of the Spanish Empire in the Old World and the New, as the title of his great work indicates: Revista de historia y ciencias sociales , n. It is common to find letters and reports discussing not only events in Spain but also throughout the American continent.

An official, for example, wrote in January Official documents often included the following instruction: Ayuntamiento archives throughout Spanish America are filled with copies of a wide variety of imprints. Instrucciones para los diputados del Nuevo Reino de Granada y Venezuela. Another version of that article is found in chapter IV: His only reference to this significant event is: Antonio Annino makes the same error; he states: Revista de historia y ciencias socilales , 24, p.

Anna asserts, without evidence, that in America a deputy was to be elected for every , inhabitants in contrast to Spain, which elected a deputy for every 50, persons. Spain and the Loss of America , The italics are mine. The electoral decree is also published in: Incluso en Veracruz, con todo y su Consulado peninsular, el electo fue un criollo …. The substitute deputies for New Spain were: On the American deputies see: For a recent example of criticism of the work of the Cortes see: Revista ecuatoriana de historia , n. Marta Irurozqui Victoriano ed.

Revista ecuatoriana de historia , 3, II semester de , pp. Despite the fact that Nettie Lee Benson long ago demonstrated the earlier and widespread nature of those ideas, Timothy E.

While it is true that the Plan de Iguala bears a resemblance to the arguments advanced by Pradt in the publication, there is no evidence that the latter influenced the former. Those ideas had been widely debated in the Spanish world since the s. Moreover, there is evidence that novohispano autonomists had contributed both to the Plan of Iguala and the Michelena plan presented to the Cortes in Madrid in

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