Morelos Convenes the Congress of Chilpancingo and Abolishes Slavery
A former student of Hidalgo takes over the insurgency, wins the south, and drafts Mexico's first constitution before his execution
Quick facts
- Congress of Chilpancingo
- Convened September 1813
- Constitution of Apatzingan
- Promulgated 22 October 1814
- Articles
- 242
- Morelos executed
- 22 December 1815
What happened
Jose Maria Morelos, a priest Hidalgo had dispatched to organize the insurgency in southern Mexico, abolished slavery and the racial caste hierarchy in the territory he controlled, took Chilpancingo and much of the south by 1811, and captured the port of Acapulco in April 1813. He convened the Congress of Chilpancingo in September 1813, which produced the Constitution of Apatzingan, promulgated on 22 October 1814, Mexico's first constitution. It accepted Catholicism, popular sovereignty, and civil rights across its 242 articles, and established a tripartite government, though it was never implemented because Morelos's forces collapsed under royalist pressure. Captured on 5 November 1815, Morelos was stripped of his priestly status and executed by firing squad on 22 December 1815.
Why it matters
The Constitution of Apatzingan never took effect, but it set out for the first time in writing what an independent Mexican state should look like, and Morelos's abolition of slavery and caste distinctions pushed the independence movement's social program further than Hidalgo had, a program later insurgents like Vicente Guerrero carried forward.
How we know
The published 1821 edition of the Constitution of Apatzingan survives in the Library of Congress Law Library's rare books collection, and Morelos's military campaign and capture are documented in Spanish colonial military records.
Sources
- GW Today, The George Washington University. The Mexican Constitution That Never Was · Reputable sourcegwtoday.gwu.edu · The domain "gwtoday.gwu.edu" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- The Mexican Revolution and the United States exhibit, Library of Congress. Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon (1765-1815) and Constitution of Apatzingan · Primary sourceloc.gov · The domain "loc.gov" is on our Primary source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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