Agustín de Iturbide Collection

Agustin de Iturbide (1783-1824) was born in Valladolid (now Morelia), Mexico, the child of Spanish parents who had come to Mexico shortly before his birth. After the death of his father in 1798, Iturbide entered the military as a sub-lieutenant. He saw service in suppressing a minor revolutionary movement in 1809 and, in 1810, after declining an offer from Hidalgo to serve with the insurgents in their uprising, he again took the field for the Spanish cause. During this insurgency, Iturbide rose to the rank of colonel and in 1813 forces under his command defeated Hidalgo's successor Morelos at the battle of Valladolid.

In reward for his services, Iturbide was named commander-in-chief of Guanajuato and Michoacan in 1816. However, charges of violence against non-combatants and misuse of official funds, combined with Spanish officials' distrust of Mexican-born officers, led to his dismissal. However, in 1820 when Ferdinand VII was forced by political unrest in Spain to acknowledge the liberal Mexican constitution of 1812, conservative Mexicans once again feared the loss of their political priveleges. Their decision to act against Guerrero's latest insurgency led to the revival of Iturbide's military career. After Viceroy Ruiz de Apodaca gave him command of the army of the south, Iturbide left Mexico City commanding some 2,500 troops. Instead of engaging the rebels, Iturbide feigned encounters with their forces and began secret negotiations with Guerrero. Guerrero agreed to submit to Iturbide's command and on February 24, 1821, Iturbide announced his outline for the independence of Mexico--the Plan de Iguala. This conservative plan called for an independent Mexico to be ruled by a member of Spain's royal family. Iturbide entered Mexico City on September 27, 1821, and installed a provisional junta, with himself as president, pending the response of Spain's Ferdinand VII. Dissension arose and, among other difficulties, the congress convened by Iturbide refused to pay the troops.

In early 1822 word arrived that Spain did not recognize Mexico's independence. In the face of congressional opposition, Iturbide now allowed his supporters--backed by the army--to proclaim him Emperor. On July 21, 1822, he was crowned Agustin I. Iturbide reigned over a high-handed regime, characterized by his arbitrary imprisonment of political opponents, the dissolution of congress, and a refusal to acknowledge growing civil and social unrest in the provinces. Forces led by Santa-Ana, Guerrero, and Echavarri quickly brought about his downfall: Iturbide's election was declared null and void and he was exiled to Italy with an annual pension. Shortly after his exile, partisans in Mexico convinced Iturbide that the country desired his return. Wishing to regain the crown, he sailed for Mexico and landed there in July, 1824. Unaware that the government had declared him a traitor and an outlaw, he went ashore, was recognized, and captured. He was tried and executed in Padilla on July 19, 1824. Iturbide's family was offered a pension and arrangements were made for exile in Colombia. However, transportation was unavailable and his widow instead settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the family would reside for many years.

Iturbide's eldest son, Angel, died in Mexico City in 1872. He left a son, Agustin, who had been adopted by Maximilian as the heir to the Mexican throne, giving Iturbide's family a role in Mexico's two failed imperial regimes.