270 UNIT 2 COLONIAL MESOAMERICA
later would become the center of the Mexican revolution, the Nahuatl-speaking In-
dians there remained ensconced within their communities and generally did not
support the independence rebellion. Morelos was captured and executed by the
Spaniards in 1815.
Following the death of Morelos, Mexico’s independence movement fell into the
hands of more conservative creole leaders, who feared not only “revolutionary” rebels
like Hidalgo and Morelos but also liberal reformers in Spain. These creoles con-
vinced the remaining rebel leaders that their own more moderate plan for inde-
pendence would include social justice for Indians and mestizos. Under the leadership
of a creole military official, Agustín de Iturbide, the creoles finally took possession
of Mexico City in September 1821 against only token opposition from the Spaniards.
Mexico was now in the hands of “Spanish Americans,” some of whom (the conserv-
atives) would try to revive the very colonial system that leaders like Hidalgo and More-
los and their Indian and mestizo followers had struggled so hard to eliminate.The Independence Movements in Central America
The independence movements in Central America were more responses to exter-
nal factors than in Mexico, and they produced no large-scale civil war. As in Mexico,
however, conservative creoles led these movements, in part out of opposition to the
liberal policies emanating from Spain but also because they were inspired by Itur-
bide’s imperialization of Central America. They declared independence in Guatemala
on September 15, 1821, and five months later under pressure from Iturbide accepted
annexation by the Mexican “empire.” Opposition to these decisions came largely
from liberal creoles and mestizos concentrated in the southern provinces of Central
America, where resentment of political dominance by Guatemala was strong. Re-
bellious Salvadorans eventually had to be brought into line by Iturbide’s troops.
At this point, events in Mexico once again determined the fate of Central Amer-
ica, as the Mexican empire crumbled and Central Americans declared independence
for a second time in July 1823 (this time Chiapas decided to remain with Mexico).
Subsequently, the Federation of Central American States was founded under the
leadership of creole and mestizo liberals. Although no large Hidalgo-type national
movement broke out in Central America, many smaller Indian rebellions erupted
prior to independence, and they indirectly contributed to the eventual successessful
independence rupture. These uprisings not only demonstrated the weakness of the
Spanish regime but also convinced the creoles in the region that if they did not take
matters into their own hands, a popular “revolution” might ensue. As one scholar has
observed (Jonas 1974:119): “It is frequently said that Central American indepen-
dence was an achievement of the criollosalone. Insofar as ladinosand Indians partic-
ipated in various phases of the movement, and insofar as their participation forced
the criollosto take up the cry for independence, this was not the case.”
Indian uprisings in the decade prior to independence were focused on the issue
of tribute payments, which had been abolished by the liberal Spanish assembly in
1811, but were reimposed in 1814, only to be again removed in 1820. Many Indian
communities refused to pay tributes after 1811, and their inhabitants violently re-