Gangland by Jerry Langton Read Free Book Online

just went underground led by a series of guerrilla leaders. The first was one of Hidalgo's colonels, José María Teclo Morelos y Pavón (better known to history as José Morelos). Born a poor mestizo in Valladolid, Morelos was a 45-year-old parish priest in Cuarácuaro when he heard of Hidalgo's exploits and joined him.
    He was a much better general than Hidalgo, winning twenty-two battles and controlling much of the south Pacific coast and New Spain's most important Pacific port, Acapulco. On September 13, 1813, he organized the National Constituent Congress of Chilpancingo, at which of representatives of the various regions he controlled discussed how they would rule after replacing the Spanish colonists. There discussions were summed up in a document called Sentimientos de la Nación (Sentiments of the Nation), and declared Mexican independence, established a tricameral government based on that of the United States and named Roman Catholicism as the official state religion. The document called for the confiscation of all property owned by the colonists, the abolishment of all slavery and torture, the dismantling of the caste system and the name “American” be applied to any Mexican-born individual, regardless of their ethnic ancestry.
    The document called for Morelos to be head of the new nation with the title generalissimo , and to be addressed as “Your Highness.” Morelos asked if he could be called “Siervo de la Nación” (Servant of the Nation) instead, and referred to by his name.
    At a second meeting on October 22 in Apatzingán, the congress issued Decreto Constitucional para la Libertad de la América Mexicana (Constitutional Decree for the Liberty of Mexican America). Many of the changes—like having a legislative branch stronger than the executive branch—flew in the face of Morelos' stated aims, but after some military setbacks that left much of the territory he had previous conquered in enemy hands, he knew he was in no position to argue.
    He was captured in November at a disastrous battle at Tezmalaca and brought to Mexico City in chains for a quick trial. Put before a firing squad on December 22, the attending bishop lifted his excommunication order at the last minute because he saw Morelos praying on his way to being shot.

Chapter 3
    A Mexican-born Emperor
    Morelos was succeeded by an even more able military strategist in Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña (commonly known as Vicente Guerrero). Born into a wealthy Criollo family not far from Acapulco, Guerrero was a gunsmith by trade and an early proponent of independence, joining Morelos when he was 28.
    After taking over the reins from Morelos, Guerrero managed to forge strong alliances with separate anti-colonial armies led by Guadalupe Victoria (a nom de guerre for José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix) and Isidoro Montes de Oca, with himself as supreme commander.
    His Royalist counterpart was Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Aramburu (better known as Agustín de Iturbide), a conservative Criollo who had been brutally efficient in hunting down insurgents led by Hidalgo and Morelos. In fact, he was so zealous that he was briefly relieved of command in 1816 for cruelty after he boasted of summarily executing 300 insurgents as part of an 1814 Good Friday celebration and of imprisoning the mothers, wives and children of known insurgents in an effort to get them to lay down their arms. He was also accused of looting, embezzling and otherwise illegally profiting from his campaigns.
    He was reinstated in 1820, but never forgot the humiliation of his dismissal. And he was angry that the government had not given him sufficient funds for the task at hand, forcing him to dip into his own fortune and even steal to make up the difference.
    After several defeats, de Iturbide began to seriously doubt he would be able to get the better of Guerrero and his hit-and-run guerrilla attacks.