In the early morning, priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla called people in the town of Dolores to rise against Spanish rule. This public call—later known as the Grito de Dolores—is widely treated as the start of the Mexican War of Independence. It quickly turned a local conspiracy into an open rebellion.
Rebel forces led by Hidalgo and other leaders took the fortified granary in Guanajuato. The event signaled how fast the uprising was spreading and intensified fears among colonial officials and many property-owning elites. Those fears later shaped royalist strategy and insurgent political support.
Royalist troops defeated the large insurgent army near Guadalajara. The loss broke the momentum of Hidalgo’s early campaign and forced surviving insurgent leaders to retreat north. It marked the end of the war’s first major phase and pushed the movement toward new leadership and tactics.
After capture and trial, Hidalgo was executed by firing squad. His death removed the movement’s best-known public figure, but it also created a powerful martyr symbol for later insurgents. Leadership and strategy shifted as the rebellion reorganized under other commanders.
José María Morelos presented Sentimientos de la Nación to the insurgent congress, laying out core political goals for an independent Mexico. It argued that sovereignty came from the people and promoted a representative government, while also naming Catholicism as the sole religion. This helped move the struggle from a revolt led by commanders toward a clearer political program.
Delegates of the insurgent Congress of Anáhuac signed a formal declaration separating “Northern America” (Mexico) from Spanish rule. The act tied the independence claim to the political crisis in Spain and argued that the old colonial bond had been dissolved. Even when insurgents lost territory later, the declaration remained an important legal and symbolic milestone.
The insurgent congress issued the Constitution of Apatzingán, a framework for a republican government in areas the rebels controlled. Although it could not be fully enforced during wartime, it showed the movement’s growing focus on institutions and law, not only battlefield victories. It also provided a reference point for later debates about Mexico’s political future.
Royalist forces captured Morelos and executed him in San Cristóbal Ecatepec. His death weakened organized insurgent government efforts and pushed the conflict toward smaller, regional fighting. Vicente Guerrero and other leaders continued the war, keeping independence alive even in a more fragmented phase.
Royalist commander Agustín de Iturbide and insurgent leader Vicente Guerrero publicly reconciled in what became known as the Embrace of Acatempan. This alliance was a turning point: it joined forces that had been enemies and made a nationwide settlement more likely. The agreement set the stage for an independence plan backed by powerful military units.
The Plan of Iguala laid out a path to independence under three “guarantees”: Catholic religion, independence, and unity between groups born in Spain and in the Americas. It called for a constitutional monarchy and helped bring many former royalists into the independence camp. The plan also led to the creation of the Army of the Three Guarantees to enforce the settlement.
Forces of the Army of the Three Guarantees fought royalist troops near Mexico City at Azcapotzalco. It was among the last major military actions of the war and helped push remaining royalists back from the capital’s approaches. With royalist control collapsing, political negotiations and final entry into the capital soon followed.
Agustín de Iturbide and Spanish official Juan O’Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba, accepting independence on terms based on the Plan of Iguala. The agreement aimed to end the fighting by converting the break with Spain into a formal political settlement. Spain later rejected the treaty, but in Mexico it marked a decisive step toward independence being implemented on the ground.
The Army of the Three Guarantees marched into Mexico City, effectively ending royalist control of the capital. This moment is often described as the military “consummation” of independence because it showed that Spanish authority in New Spain had collapsed in practice. It also opened the way for a new national government to act from the capital.
A provisional governing board in Mexico City ratified and issued the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire. This document formally announced separation from Spain and explained the basis for a new political order. Together with the capture of the capital, it closed the 1810–1821 war with a clear institutional outcome: an independent Mexican state.
Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821)