The Plan of Iguala and the Treaty of Cordoba Win Independence
A royalist officer and an insurgent leader who once fought each other unite behind three guarantees, and Spain signs away New Spain
Quick facts
- Plan of Iguala proclaimed
- 24 February 1821
- Treaty of Cordoba signed
- 24 August 1821
- Army enters Mexico City
- 27 September 1821
- Key figures
- Agustin de Iturbide, Vicente Guerrero, Juan O'Donoju
What happened
On 24 February 1821, royalist officer Agustin de Iturbide and insurgent leader Vicente Guerrero jointly proclaimed the Plan of Iguala, promising three guarantees: Roman Catholicism as the sole religion, full independence from Spain, and equal rights for Spanish- and American-born residents alike, backed by a new Army of the Three Guarantees. Article 11 of the plan explicitly abolished caste distinctions, declaring all inhabitants equal citizens. Spain's representative in Mexico, Juan O'Donoju, signed the Treaty of Cordoba on 24 August 1821, ratifying the plan and Mexican independence, and the Army of the Three Guarantees entered Mexico City on 27 September 1821, with independence formally declared the next day.
Why it matters
Independence came not from Hidalgo's or Morelos's popular insurgencies, both defeated years earlier, but from a compromise between conservative royalists and the surviving insurgent leadership, which is why the settlement kept a monarchy and the Church's privileged position rather than the more radical social program Morelos had fought for. That compromise's fragility showed within two years, when Iturbide's short-lived empire collapsed.
How we know
The Plan of Iguala and the Treaty of Cordoba both survive as documents in Spanish and Mexican archives, including the Library of Congress Law Library's copy of the Plan of Iguala.
Sources
- NC State University (faculty transcript of primary document). Mexico's Plan of Iguala, 1821 · Primary source (author-declared)faculty.chass.ncsu.edu · Cited as a "primary" source (no stronger domain match). · 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. Agustin de Iturbide (1783-1824) · 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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