The United Mexican States is a federal republic composed of 32 federal entities: 31 states and Mexico City, an autonomous entity. According to the Constitution of 1917, the states of the federation are free and sovereign in all matters concerning their internal affairs. Each state has its own congress and constitution.
Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu, commonly known as Agustín de Iturbide and later by his regnal name Agustín I, was the first Emperor of Mexico from 1822 until his abdication in 1823. An officer in the royal Spanish army, during the Mexican War of Independence he 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. The combined forces under Iturbide brought about Mexican independence in September 1821. After securing the secession of Mexico from Spain, Iturbide was proclaimed president of the Regency in 1821; a year later, he was proclaimed Emperor, reigning from 19 May 1822 to 19 March 1823, when he abdicated. In May 1823 he went into exile in Europe. When he returned to Mexico in July 1824, he was arrested and executed.
Guadalupe Victoria, born José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, was a Mexican general and politician who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence and after the adoption of the Constitution of 1824, was elected as the first president of the United Mexican States. 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, which was followed by the 1824 Constitution and his presidency. He later served as Governor of Puebla.
The Plan of Iguala, also known as The Plan of the Three Guarantees or Act of Independence of North America, was a revolutionary proclamation promulgated on 24 February 1821, in the final stage of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain. The Plan stated that Mexico was to become a constitutional monarchy, whose sole official religion would be Roman Catholicism, in which both the Peninsulares and the Americanos would enjoy equal political and social rights. It took its name from the city of Iguala in the modern-day state of Guerrero.
The Mexican Empire was a constitutional monarchy and the first independent government of Mexico. It was also the only former viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after gaining independence. The empire existed from 1821 to 1823, making it one of the few modern-era independent monarchies in the Americas, alongside the Empire of Brazil (1822–1889) and the First Empire of Haiti (1804–1806).
Juan José Ruiz de Apodaca y Eliza, 1st Count of Venadito, OIC, OSH, KOC was a Spanish Navy officer, nobleman and colonial administrator who served as the viceroy of New Spain from 20 September 1816 to 5 July 1821 during the 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.
The Treaty of Córdoba established Mexican independence from Spain at the conclusion of the Mexican War of Independence. It was signed on August 24, 1821 in Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico. The signatories were the head of the Army of the Three Guarantees, Agustín de Iturbide, and, acting on behalf of the Spanish government, Jefe Político Superior Juan O'Donojú. The treaty has 17 articles, which developed the proposals of the Plan of Iguala. The Treaty is the first document in which Spanish and Mexican officials accept the liberty of what will become the First Mexican Empire, but it is not today recognized as the foundational moment, since these ideas are often attributed to the Grito de Dolores. The treaty was rejected by the Spanish government, publishing this determination in Madrid on February 13 and 14, 1822.
Andrés Eligio Quintana Roo was a Mexican liberal politician, lawyer, and author. He was the husband of fellow independence activist Leona Vicario.
Juan José Rafael Teodomiro de O'Donojú y O'Ryan was a Spanish-Irish military officer, diplomat and Viceroy of New Spain (Mexico) from 21 July 1821 to 28 September 1821 during the Mexican War of Independence. He was the last Viceroy of New Spain.
Pedro Thomas Ruiz de Velasco de la Madrid was a Mexican businessman and the family holder of several historical documents from Mexico including the original Acta de Independencia del Imperio Mexicano de 1821.
The Solemn Act of Northern America's Declaration of Independence is the first Mexican legal historical document which established the separation of Mexico from Spanish rule. It was signed on November 6, 1813, by the deputies of the Congress of Anáhuac, organized by General José María Morelos in the city of Oaxaca in June of that same year, and later installed in the city of Chilpancingo on September 13.
The Supreme Executive Power was the provisional government of Mexico that governed between the fall of the First Mexican Empire in April 1823 and the election of the first Mexican president, Guadalupe Victoria, in October 1824. After Emperor Iturbide abdicated, the sovereignty of the nation passed over to Congress, which appointed a triumvirate, made up of Guadalupe Victoria, Pedro Celestino Negrete, and Nicolas Bravo, to serve as the executive, while a new constitution was being written.
Manuel Codorniu y Ferreras was a Spanish military physician, educator and publisher who served in the Senate (1841–1843) and in the Constituent Cortes (1854–1856) of his native country.
The Act of Independence of Central America, also known as the Act of Independence of Guatemala, is the legal document by which the Provincial Council of the Province of Guatemala proclaimed the independence of Central America from the Spanish Empire and invited the other provinces of the Captaincy General of Guatemala to send envoys to a congress to decide the form of the region's independence. It was enacted on 15 September 1821.
The Declaration of Independence of Panama is the document through which Panama declared its independence from the Spanish Empire on November 28, 1821. It was proclaimed in the Cathedral Plaza of Panama City after a council of leaders had met and drafted twelve points calling for severing Panama's relationship with the Spanish Crown and joining with the newly formed Republic of Gran Colombia.
The Regency of the Mexican Empire was a period of transition in the history of the Mexican monarchy in the absence of the Emperor of Mexico and presided by a president of the same during the First Mexican Empire (1821–1823) and the Second Mexican Empire (1863–1867). The regency is the government of a State during the minor age, absence or incapacity of its legitimate prince.
The Provisional Governing Junta was the first governing body of independent Mexico that administered the country from 28 September 1821, until 24 February 1822, when the First Mexican Congress was installed.
The Santa María–Calatrava Treaty was a treaty between Mexico and Spain recognizing the independence of Mexico on December 28, 1836. It ended the tensions between both nations that emerged from the Mexican War of Independence, which began in 1810. It was signed by the Mexican representative Miguel Santa María and José María Calatrava, representing Spain.
From January 1822 to July 1823, the Captaincy General of Guatemala, a former Spanish colony, was controlled by the First Mexican Empire, and briefly, the Supreme Executive Power—the provisional government that succeeded Mexican imperial rule. The captaincy general consisted of the provinces of Chiapas, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua—the six southernmost provinces of the Mexican Empire. The incorporation of Central America brought Mexico to the height of its territorial extent.
