Kingdom of Mexico Tenuxtitlan Reyno de México Tenvxtitlán (Spanish) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1527–1821 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Status | Region of theViceroyalty of New Spain | ||||||||
| Capital | Mexico | ||||||||
| Official languages | Spanish Nahuatl | ||||||||
| Recognised regional languages | Otomi,Purépecha,Téenek,Mixtec,Zapotec,Mixe,Mazahua,Totonac,Pame,Tepehua,Matlatzinca,Tlahuica,Mazateco,etc. | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| King of Spain | |||||||||
• 1527-1556 | Charles I | ||||||||
• 1813-1821 | Ferdinand VII | ||||||||
| President of the Real Audiencia | |||||||||
• 1528-1531 | Nuño de Guzmán | ||||||||
• 1810 | Pedro Catani | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Establishment | 13 December 1527 | ||||||||
• Royal Ordinance of Intendancies | 4 December 1786 | ||||||||
| 28 September 1821 | |||||||||
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TheKingdom of Mexico (Spanish:Reino de México), officially theKingdom of Mexico Tenuxtitlan[1], was an administrative territorial entity within theSpanish Monarchy, governed politically by theViceroyalty of New Spain from 1535.
Initially, the Kingdom of Mexico was subdivided into the provinces ofMéxico,Puebla Los de Ángeles,Antequera,Valladolid,Pánuco andMérida. During the enforcement of theConstitution of 1812, Mexico, like other kingdoms in the Indies, was incorporated into the Kingdom of Spain as a province, establishing the province of New Spain, which was composed of intendancies.
In 1518, an expedition was organized, this time under the command ofJuan de Grijalva. This expedition explored the coast of theGulf of Mexico. Entering inTabasco, Grijalva reached a river that today bears his name, theGrijalva River,[2] and continued to advance to the area of theJamapa River, near the current port ofVeracruz. At this point, the expedition was received by emissaries ofMoctezuma II, the aztec ruler ofTenochtitlan. Moctezuma, impressed by the arrival of the Spaniards,[3] believed that they could be sent by the godQuetzalcoatl, whose return was expected according to certain prophecies. Grijalva returned to Cuba with news of the region's riches and samples of gold and other valuable objects, further fueling expectations of riches and new conquests.
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The definitive incursion into the interior of the territory began on 10 February 1519,Hernán Cortés and his soldiers arrived inCozumel and reached the coasts of Tabasco, where they fought theChontales inCentla.[4][5] In that region, Cortés founded theVilla de Santa María de la Victoria.[6] On 16 August 1519, the Spaniards headed for the coast of Veracruz, where they penetrated the interior ofMesoamerica. They established alliances with some indigenous peoples and advanced to Tenochtitlan. Along the way they defeated the allies of theMexica, as happened with theCholula massacre. Moctezuma received the Spanish peacefully in November but theTóxcatl Massacre in May 1820[7] put the Mexica on a war footing.Cuitláhuacdefeated the invaders in on 30 June 1520.[8] On 22 May 1521, Cortés began the attack of Tenochtitlan, finally taken the 13 August 1521 after a long siege.[9]
The first Spanish kingdom in the territory was established in the year 1521 under the name Kingdom of New Spain, as a kingdom dependent on theCrown of Castile,[10] since the initial funds for exploration came from QueenIsabella I of Castile.[11] Mexico City, on 15 May 1522, was designated by Hernán Cortés as the capital of New Spain and in the same letter it was referred that the decision was made together with the cityCabildo. So the cabildo began its government in the city with the town ofCoyoacán as its headquarters. It was not until 8 March 1524 that the first session of the cabildo was recorded in Mexico City. The city council had jurisdiction of 15 leagues around the main square of Mexico.[12]
The Kingdom of Mexico and theAudiencia of Mexico were established on 13 December 1527, after the judicial review of Hernán Cortés, having a viceregal character.[13] From then on, the Kingdom of New Spain no longer comprised the territory of the new kingdom. By the year 1535, the Viceroyalty of New Spain was established, dissolving the homonymous kingdom and making the Kingdom of Mexico an integral territory of the new viceroyalty. The Kingdom of Mexico came to comprise more or less the present-day states of Mexico,Guerrero,Puebla,Michoacán,Hidalgo,Oaxaca,Tlaxcala,Querétaro, part ofJalisco, and Mexico City.
Likewise, as the kingdom of the Indies, Mexico had its own special law, theIndiano right, and its respective administrative body, the Council of the Indies. Although the Kingdom of Mexico, being an integral territory of New Spain, was a dependency of Castile, it was also a kingdom in itself, so it was only subject to the monarch of Castile.[14]
The royal representative received one of three titles, Governor, Mayor or Corregidor. It was initially as governor that Hernán Cortés, who in his character of conqueror and noble with the degree of marquis represented the king, to then in 1573 was replaced by a Corregidor, who had powers to intervene, preside over the cabildo, have a casting vote and overcome the decisions of the body of the city council. The first Corregidor of the city was the Spaniard Rodrigo Sánchez de Obregón, who took office on 21 October 1574. At the end of his term and after learning of the death at sea of his successor in 1580, the City Council of Mexico, requested through the procurator, that the appointment of a new corregidor be suspended, which was granted regularly, apparently the intervention of this representative was very annoying because he lacked the appropriate knowledge.[12][15] In 1592, is formed the Consulate of Merchants of Mexico, the commercial entity that monopolized the control of the internal and foreign trade of the viceroyalty of New Spain.[16]
On 4 December 1786,[17] the Royal Ordinance of Intendancies was signed, creating 11 other intendancies in the viceroyalty, replacing the kingdoms (including the Kingdom of Mexico), commandancies, corregimientos, andalcalde mayors. The intendancies of the army and provinces created by the Royal Ordinance of Intendancies were: theIntendancy of Mexico [es], which was linked to the office of superintendent, and the rest of the provinces: theIntendancy of Arizpe [es], theIntendancy of Arizpe [es], theIntendancy of San Luis Potosí [es], theIntendancy of Zacatecas [es],Intendancy of Guadalajara [es], theIntendancy of Michoacán [es], theIntendancy de Veracruz [es], theIntendancy of Puebla [es], theIntendancy of Oaxaca [es], the Intendancy of Mérida, and theIntendancy of Guanajuato [es].
On 24 February 1821,Agustín de Iturbide proclaimed the Plan for the Independence of Northern America, which contained a set of seventeen articles known as theTreaty of Córdoba to secure the independence of the continental part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.[18] The new country's government would be a monarchy, under the nameMexican Empire, whose crown would be offered toFerdinand VII or another Spanish Infante, thus allowing the monarch to continue governing Mexican territory and restoring the power that theSpanish Constitution of 1812 had taken away from him in Spain. Ethnic distinctions among the inhabitants of the former New Spain were also abolished; equality among all individuals was declared, and from then on, all would have the same rights.[19]
On August 24 of the same year, Iturbide signed the treaty withJuan O'Donojú, Lieutenant General of the Armies of Spain, who had succeededApodaca with the title of Supreme Chief of New Spain. This treaty recognized Mexico's independence. On September 27, theArmy of the Three Guarantees entered Mexico City. The following day, a council of 38 members, presided over by Iturbide, proclaimed the Act of Independence of the Mexican Empire and formed a Provisional Government Council led by Iturbide, who was given the title ofGeneralissimo andSerene Highness. Since Ferdinand VII did not recognize Mexico's independence, the parliament of the new Mexican Empire decided that a new monarch would be chosen through elections. The night before the elections, many people took to the streets to express their support for Iturbide as emperor. Iturbide was ultimately elected emperor by a unanimous vote of parliament and was crowned under the name Agustín I of Mexico.[20]
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