Goals of the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821)

The Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821) pursued interconnected objectives:

1. Political Independence

End Spanish colonial rule; establish a sovereign Mexican nation with self-governance, own laws, institutions, and political systems. Triggered by Napoleon's 1808 invasion of Spain (power vacuum).

2. Economic Autonomy

Dismantle Spanish monopolies (tobacco, mercury, trade restrictions via Cádiz monopoly); open free trade; allow Mexican merchants/entrepreneurs full economic participation; end tribute and forced labor (repartimiento).

3. Social Equality

Abolish the casta system privileging peninsulares (Spanish-born) over criollos (American-born Spaniards), mestizos, Indigenous, and Afro-descendants. Hidalgo's "Grito" (1810) explicitly called for ending caste distinctions.

4. Cultural Self-Determination

Preserve and elevate Mexican identity—Indigenous heritage, Spanish legacy, mestizo synthesis. Language, religion, customs, and history as foundations of nationhood.

5. Land Justice

Redress hacienda and encomienda dispossession of Indigenous communal lands (ejidos, tierras comunales). Morelos' Sentimientos de la Nación (1813) demanded land restitution.

Outcome

Independence achieved 1821 (Plan of Iguala, Treaty of Córdoba), but full realization of social, economic, and land goals took a century—Reform War (1857–61), Revolution (1910–20), and beyond.