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177-651: 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 The second French intervention in Mexico ( Spanish : segunda intervención francesa en México ), also known as the Second Franco-Mexican War (1861–1867), was a military invasion of the Republic of Mexico by the French Empire of Napoleon III , purportedly to force the collection of Mexican debts in conjunction with Great Britain and Spain. Mexican conservatives supported

354-557: A French squadron bombarded the Mexican Pacific port of Acapulco and on 3 February, Forey finally set out for Puebla. González Ortega had meanwhile been building up the town's fortifications, and on 10 March he declared martial law. The French arrived on the 16 March and began the siege . On 8 May 1863 at Battle of San Lorenzo , Bazaine and Márquez defeated Ignacio Comonfort who intended to provide reinforcements to Puebla. Having run out of ammunition and food, González Ortega held

531-837: A Spanish-based creole language called Chavacano developed in the southern Philippines. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish. The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996. The local languages of the Philippines also retain significant Spanish influence, with many words derived from Mexican Spanish , owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through New Spain until 1821, until direct governance from Madrid afterwards to 1898. Agust%C3%ADn de Iturbide Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu ( Spanish pronunciation: [aɣusˈtin de ituɾˈbiðe] ; 27 September 1783 – 19 July 1824), commonly known as Agustín de Iturbide and later by his regnal name Agustín I ,

708-500: A bullet-riddled carriage. The triumphant Vidaurri then headed towards the capital where he was made a councilor of Emperor Maximilian. By the end of the year the imperialists controlled Nuevo León and the greater part of Coahuila to the banks of the Rio Grande. On 28 October 1864, imperialist Generals Leonardo Márquez and Douay attacked the army of Republican General Arteaga in the ravine of Atenquique, routing them. A few days later,

885-453: A century, historians believed that Iturbide had first attempted to carry out his duty in destroying Guerrero but that he met with failure and so decided to strike an alliance with the rebel. However, in 2006, new evidence was discovered by Mexican historian Jaime del Arenal Fenochio: a letter between the two military leaders dated 20 November 1820, which also referenced a previous letter. Since communications had been proven to have existed between

1062-721: A civil war, the Reform War , had just concluded, and the intervention allowed the Conservative opposition against the liberal social and economic reforms of President Juárez to take up their cause once again. The Mexican Catholic Church, Mexican conservatives , much of the upper-class and Mexican nobility , and some Native Mexican communities invited, welcomed and collaborated with the French empire's help to install Maximilian of Habsburg as Emperor of Mexico . The emperor himself however proved to be of liberal inclination and continued some of

1239-431: A conference while requesting that the rest of the tripartite forces disembark from Veracruz. The proposal to disembark most of the troops was rejected, but negotiations then resulted in an agreement, ratified on 23 January, to move the forces inland and hold a conference at Orizaba. The agreement also officially recognized the government of Juárez along with Mexican sovereignty. On 9 April 1862, agreements at Orizaba between

1416-588: A considerable number of words from Arabic , as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin , the form of Latin in use at that time. According to

1593-401: A council of war, and it was agreed, with the republican situation hopeless, to surrender on 17 May, after destroying the remaining armaments. All of the officers were taken prisoner and were intended to be transported to France. González Ortega and Porfirio Díaz escaped before being sent out of the country as prisoners. Upon hearing of the fall of Puebla, President Juárez prepared to evacuate

1770-517: A dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants , known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes , which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter ⟨j⟩ and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter ⟨z⟩ (and for ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of

1947-634: A family of the Basque gentry who were confirmed in nobility by King Juan II of Aragon . One of his ancestors, Martín de Iturbide, was designated as Royal Merino in the High Valley of Baztan in the 1430s, and thereafter many in the family held political or administrative positions in the Basque Country from the 15th century. As a younger son, Joaquín was not in line to inherit the family lands, so he migrated to New Spain to make his fortune there. While

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2124-476: A first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos ( Ilustrados ). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing. Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration after

2301-525: A foreign view of Iturbide's regime. Poinsett also took advantage of the opportunity to proposition Iturbide's government on the issue of the US wish of acquiring Mexico's northern territories but was soundly refused. Famed Mexican author José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi , El Pensador ("the Mexican Thinker"), the author of El Periquillo Sarniento , wrote about the subject at the time: "If your excellency be not

2478-475: A formidable hold. The Imperialists now focused on capturing the rest of the north, with troops under General Mejía campaigning along the northern Gulf Coast, supported by Charles Dupin 's anti-guerrilla corps at Tampico , and Aymard's brigade at San Luis Potosí . Castagny supported the rear, and the entire operation was headquartered at Querétaro . On the Pacific Coast, a naval squadron under de Kergrist

2655-439: A letter to the viceroy in 1814, he wrote of how he had 300 rebels, to whom he referred as excommunicates, executed to celebrate Good Friday . Iturbide was also criticized for his arbitrariness and his treatment of civilians, in particular his jailing of the mothers, wives, and children of known insurgents. In 1814, he had captured 100 women and incarcerated them into different houses in order to be "re-educated. As for corruption,

2832-471: A long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century. In the wake of the 1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty , hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States. The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce. According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of

3009-565: A major victory against the French at the Battle of Puebla while the latter were trying to ascend the hill towards the fortified positions of the city. The French retreated to Orizaba to await reinforcements. Mexico's victory was a pause in the French push to capture the capital of Mexico City, delaying the French for a year. In Mexican history, Cinco de Mayo is a day to commemorate Mexican nationalism. Conservative Mexican Generals Florentino López , Leonardo Márquez , and Juan Vicario sought to join

3186-470: A manifesto disavowing rumors that the allies had come to conquer or to impose a new government. It was emphasized that the three powers merely wanted to open negotiations regarding their claims of damages. On 14 January 1862, a bill of claims was presented to the government in Mexico City. Foreign Minister Manuel Doblado invited the commissioners to travel to Orizaba with two thousand of their own troops for

3363-403: A multinational coalition of Spain, Great Britain, and France, sought to enforce debt collection on the republican government of Benito Juárez, following his suspension of payments on Mexican government bonds. On 14 December 1861, Spanish ships took possession of Mexico's main port, Veracruz . French and British forces arrived on 7 January 1862. On 10 January 1862 Spanish General Juan Prim issued

3540-460: A mutiny, headed by Gabriel J. de Yermo . He quickly grew in popularity amongst the royalists, whilst becoming a feared foe for the Insurgents. A peerless horseman and a valiant dragoon who acquired a reputation for achieving victory against numerical odds, his prowess in the field gained him the nom de guerre of "El Dragón de Hierro" or "The Iron Dragon", in reference to his skill and position in

3717-528: A new junta, the National Institutional Junta , to legislate in its place, answering only to himself. The National Institutional Junta was directed to create much-needed legislation in economic matters, create a provisional set of laws for the Empire, and then issue a call for a new Constituent Congress. The formulation of the new Congress was changed in how many representatives each Mexican province

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3894-517: A new monarchical Mexican Constitution with a role for the Emperor. Furthermore, people loyal to the Emperor became aware of a conspiracy that involved several members of the Congress who planned to kidnap the Emperor and his family and overthrow the Empire. As a response to this claimed threat to his life and to combat the resistance, Iturbide dismissed the Congress on 31 October 1822 and two days later created

4071-431: A number of accusations of cruelty and corruption surfaced. The accusations could not be proved, but Iturbide considered his honor to be tarnished by them and expressed so in his memoirs, written in exile. Iturbide's persistence against the rebels was widely known as well as his views against their liberal, anti-monarchical politics. In his diary, he refers to the insurgents as "perverse," "bandits," and "sacrilegious." In

4248-399: A number of colonial-era taxes. However, he still insisted on a large and very well-paid army and lived extravagantly himself. The elite turned against him when he imposed a 40% property tax. The situation did not last long. Soon, Iturbide was unable to pay his army, creating discontent in a significant portion of his power base. When criticism of the government grew strong, Iturbide censored

4425-475: A political vacuum developed that the Mexican nobility sought to fill, seeking limited representation and autonomy for themselves within the empire. An idea arose in the class that if Mexico became independent or autonomous, and Ferdinand were deposed, he could become king of Mexico. Iturbide was convinced that independence for Mexico was the only way to protect the country from a republican tide. He decided to become

4602-498: A primarily Hassaniya Arabic -speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its secondary official language, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf ( Algeria ), where the Spanish language is still taught as

4779-499: A prosperous family of businessmen and landowners. She was the daughter of wealthy and powerful noble Isidro de Huarte, governor of the district, and the granddaughter of the Marquis of Altamira . With her dowry of 100,000 pesos , the couple bought the Hacienda of San José de Apeo in the small town of Maravatío , not far from property owned by Father Miguel Hidalgo , who became leader of

4956-599: A second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system. While far from its heyday during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , the Spanish language has some presence in northern Morocco , stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media. According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of

5133-518: A second language, largely by Cuban educators. The number of Spanish speakers is unknown. Spanish is also an official language of the African Union . Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization , it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as

5310-540: A suitable monarch would be sought among the various European royal houses. In the meantime, a regency would replace the viceroy. All existing laws, including the 1812 Constitution, would remain in force until a new constitution for Mexico was written. A key element was added at O'Donojú's suggestion: if Spain refused its right to appoint a regent for the Mexican Empire, the Mexican congress would have freedom to elect whomever it deemed worthy as emperor. That crucial clause

5487-623: A town called Puruarán , Michoacán, on 5 January 1814. In the battle, rebel forces were soundly defeated by forces led by Iturbide, forcing Morelos to retreat to the Hacienda of Santa Lucía and to leave Mariano Matamoros and Ignacio López Rayón in command of the rebel army, with over 600 insurgents killed and 700 captured. That marked a turn in the war as Morelos would never again achieve the same level of competency as he had before this defeat. Iturbide and other Spanish commanders relentlessly pursued Morelos, capturing and executing him in late 1815. Iturbide's fortunes reversed after his victory when

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5664-416: Is cognate to the root word of satisfacer ("to satisfy"), and hecho ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of satisfecho ("satisfied"). Compare the examples in the following table: Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent

5841-640: Is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe . Today, it is a global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain , and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries , as well as one of the six official languages of

6018-449: Is estimated that about 486 million people speak Spanish as a native language , making it the second most spoken language by number of native speakers . An additional 75 million speak Spanish as a second or foreign language , making it the fourth most spoken language in the world overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 538 million speakers. Spanish is also

6195-740: Is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish. In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of Mercosur in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in Brazil . In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President , making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law

6372-448: Is now known as the Battle of Monte de las Cruces . Royalist forces, under the command of Colonel Torcuato Trujillo, withdrew from the area, allowing rebels to take Toluca . Despite the loss by his side, Iturbide distinguished himself in this battle for valor and tenacity. He would later maintain in his memoirs that it was the only battle he considered to have lost (in which he was directly involved). Iturbide's next major encounter with

6549-721: Is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn, is usually assumed to be derived from castillo ('castle'). In the Middle Ages , the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as Romance and later also as Lengua vulgar . Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as Romance castellano ( romanz castellano , romanz de Castiella ), lenguaje de Castiella , and ultimately simply as castellano (noun). Different etymologies have been suggested for

6726-806: Is spoken by very small communities in Angola due to Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence. Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands , located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off

6903-804: Is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico . The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles , Miami , San Antonio , New York , San Francisco , Dallas , Tucson and Phoenix of the Arizona Sun Corridor , as well as more recently, Chicago , Las Vegas , Boston , Denver , Houston , Indianapolis , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Salt Lake City , Atlanta , Nashville , Orlando , Tampa , Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration. Although Spanish has no official recognition in

7080-557: The Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao ( ABC Islands ) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speaking Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency. The local language Papiamentu (Papiamento on Aruba)

7257-508: The Spanish–American War but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s. Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and Filipino , a standardized version of Tagalog . Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under

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7434-534: The United Nations . Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese ; the world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English , Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani ( Hindi - Urdu ); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is Mexico . Spanish is part of the Ibero-Romance language group , in which

7611-518: The United Provinces of Central America . Santa Anna's army marched toward Mexico City, winning small victories along the way. Iturbide gathered and sent troops to combat Santa Anna who did not put up a strong resistance. Many military leaders who Iturbide appointed turned on him upon contacting Santa Anna's forces. Iturbide later admitted he had made a mistake by not leading his armies himself. Iturbide recognized that although his provisional junta

7788-696: The United States due to the Monroe Doctrine , a concern that would be rendered null with the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. Juárez's debt moratorium finally provided a pretext for intervention. Napoleon III would also claim that the military adventure was a foreign policy commitment to free trade and that the establishment of a European-derived monarchy in Mexico would ensure European access to Mexican resources, particularly French access to Mexican silver. However, Emperor Maximilian disagreed with

7965-475: The 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the early modern period spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to the Americas. As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek. Alongside English and French , it is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout

8142-404: The 2021–2022 school year alone. The local business process outsourcing industry has also helped boost the language's economic prospects. Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is around 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population, a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely. Aside from standard Spanish,

8319-574: The 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara , and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City . For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language . Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2023, it

8496-577: The British that France's aim was to seize Mexico, the United Kingdom separately negotiated an agreement with Mexico to settle the debt issues and withdrew from the country. Spain subsequently left as well. The resulting French invasion established the Second Mexican Empire (1864–1867). France, Britain, Belgium, Austria, and Spain recognized the political legitimacy of the newly created monarchy, but

8673-686: The Cadiz model, but the Plan of Iguala and the Treaty of Córdoba were clear that the order of things would be kept as it had been before the Cadiz Constitution. Thus, Iturbide and the junta declared that they would not be bound by the Cadiz Constitution but kept the Congress that was convened. That led to division, which came to a head in February 1822. In its inauguration, Congress swore that it would never abide for all of

8850-613: The Congress, in itself a statement by Congress: the state, not the church or any other power, would be sovereign. The Congress decreed the crown to be hereditary with the title of "Prince of the Union." As emperor, Iturbide had sovereignty over lands bordered by Panama in the south and the Oregon Country in the north, including the current countries of Central America and the US states of California , Texas , Arizona , Utah , Nevada , Colorado , and New Mexico . Central America only briefly

9027-531: The Count of Pérez Galvez extensively testified that profiteering by many royalist officers, of whom Iturbide was the most visible, was draining the effectiveness of the royal army. Iturbide acquired a large personal fortune before 1816 by questionable dealings. Some of those shady practices included creating commercial monopolies in areas that he controlled militarily. Other accusations against Iturbide included sacking private property and embezzling military funds. In 1816,

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9204-454: The Emperor, then our Independence be damned. We do not wish to be free if your excellency will not be at the lead of his countrymen." Timothy E. Anna points out that in the months between the achievement of Independence and his crowning as Emperor, Iturbide already practically ruled the nation, as he was president of the Regency, and the junta had granted him command over all land and sea forces. He

9381-639: The Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business. Whereas it is not the mother tongue of virtually any of its speakers, the vast majority of the population is proficient in Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish. The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages. Spanish

9558-401: The French emperor on Mexican resources going to anyone but Mexicans. More importantly, Napoleon III wanted to establish Mexico as a monarchist ally in the Americas in order to restrain the growing power of the United States. To realize his ambitions without interference from other European states, Napoleon III entered into a coalition with the United Kingdom and Spain. The Tripartite Expedition,

9735-781: The French invaders and republican Mexican defenders, the start of a protracted warfare. The French defeated a small Mexican force at Escamela, and then captured Orizaba. Mexican Generals Porfirio Díaz and Ignacio Zaragoza retreated to El Ingenio , and then headed towards Puebla. Almonte now attempted to consolidate the Mexican pro-French movement. The town of Orizaba joined him and so did the port of Veracruz and Isla del Carmen. Colonel Gonzáles, Manuel Castellanos, Desiderio Samaniego, Padre Miranda , Haro Tamariz , and General Taboada arrived in Orizaba to support Almonte. On 28 April 1862, French forces headed towards Puebla . On 5 May 1862, Mexican forces commanded by Ignacio Zaragoza and Porfirio Díaz won

9912-482: The French since the beginning of the intervention. On 16 April 1862, the French issued a proclamation inviting Mexicans to join them in establishing a new government. On 17 April 1862, Mexican general Juan Almonte , who had been a foreign minister of the conservative government defeated in the Reform War , and who was brought back to Mexico by the French, issued his own manifesto, assuring the Mexican people of benevolent French intentions. Armed conflict broke out between

10089-547: The French, and Mexican republican forces suffered defeats at Barranca Seca and Cerro del Borrego in the vicinity of Orizaba. With the defeat of the small French force at Puebla in May 1862, in July Napoleon III sent reinforcements of 30,000 troops under the command of General Forey . The French Emperor gave Forey instructions laying out France's occupation policy, directing the French commander to work with Mexican supporters in

10266-691: The Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Proto-Basque , Iberian , Lusitanian , Celtiberian and Gallaecian . The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era , the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages — Mozarabic ( Andalusi Romance ), Navarro-Aragonese , Leonese , Catalan/Valencian , Portuguese , Galician , Occitan , and later, French and Italian . Spanish also borrowed

10443-671: The Imperialist commander Jesús María Visoso defeated Republican guerrillas at Puebla. Franco-Mexican forces under Leonardo Márquez and de Berthier entered Morelia , Michoacan unopposed on 30 November, after Republican forces had evacuated the city. After reinforcements arrived, the Republican forces led by José López Uraga attempted to recapture Morelia but were defeated by Márquez. General Mejía captured Querétaro on 17 November, while Republican forces there retreated further north to Guanajuato . Imperialist forces pursued them and Guanajuato

10620-590: The Imperialists. Santiago Vidaurri , the governor of Nuevo León and Coahuila , had broken with Juárez as early as March 1864 over the administration and finances of his state, and had even held a referendum on joining the Empire. Republican troops drove him into Texas, but troops loyal to Viduarri remained active in the region. As Republican forces in the north were diverted by Imperial advances, Vidaurrist troops captured Monterrey on 15 August 1864, with President Juárez barely escaping, and pursued as far as Parras in

10797-534: The Juárez government's most notable liberal measures. Some liberal generals defected to the Empire, including the powerful, northern governor Santiago Vidaurri , who had fought on the side of Juárez during the Reform War. The French army landed in 1861, aiming to rapidly take the capital of Mexico City, but Mexican republican forces defeated them in the Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862, Cinco de Mayo , delaying their taking

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10974-555: The Mexican Empire. Although Republican guerrilla forces in the countryside around the capital counted no victories against the French, they maintained a presence. Cuernavaca was captured by imperial forces on 29 July 1863. Republican guerrilla commanders Catarino Fragoso , León Ugalde , and others continued to wage warfare against towns occupied by the French. Franco-Mexican forces captured Pachuca and Tulancingo in July to serve as bases for expanding operations. Imperialist Juan Chávez under

11151-563: The Mexican capital and the monarchy of Archduke Maximilian was established, the Second Mexican Empire collapsed within a few years. Material aid from the United States, whose four-year civil war ended in 1865, invigorated the Republican fight against the regime of Maximilian, and the 1866 decision of Napoleon III to withdraw military support for Maximilian's regime accelerated the monarchy's collapse. Maximilian and two Mexican generals were executed by firing squad on 19 June 1867, ending this period of Mexican history. The intervention came as

11328-529: The Old Spanish sibilants) for details. The Gramática de la lengua castellana , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija , was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I , she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to

11505-513: The Republican guerrilla chiefs Simón Gutiérrez and Antonio Rojas , routing the former, and destroying two factories for arms and powder near Cocula . In March, Douay entered Colima. Republican General Ortega and several guerrilla bands were driven back into the Sierra Hermosa after Manuel Doblado was repulsed by Mejía in Doblado's attempted assault on Monterrey . Doblado fled the country for

11682-407: The Republicans, Simón Gutiérrez and Antonio Rojas were defeated near the U.S. border by the Imperialist Carlos Rivas , with French reinforcements. Márquez occupied Colima and by 18 November 1864, Márquez had captured the port of Manzanillo . On 12 November 1864, a French squadron under de Kergrist arrived at Mazatlán and demanded a surrender under the threat of bombardment. At the same time,

11859-424: The Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español but also castellano (Castilian), the language from the Kingdom of Castile , contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician , Basque , Asturian , Catalan/Valencian , Aragonese , Occitan and other minor languages. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of

12036-502: The U.S. population were of Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin. In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population. Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico , where it is also an official language along with English. Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English

12213-453: The United States and died a year later. Mejía was subsequently granted the cross of the Legion of Honour by Napoleon III. The Emperor and Empress of Mexico arrived in Veracruz in the summer of 1864 and were later crowned in the Cathedral of Mexico City . Republican General Porfirio Díaz , with three thousand troops defeated the imperialists commander Marcos Toledo at the silver mining town of Taxco on 26 October 1864. Díaz then besieged

12390-503: The United States refused to do so, since it was a violation of the Monroe Doctrine , prohibiting European powers' interference in the Americas. The French intervention in Mexico, initially supported by the United Kingdom and Spain, was a consequence of Mexican President Benito Juárez 's imposition of a two-year moratorium of loan-interest payments from July 1861 to French, British, and Spanish creditors. Napoleon III's France sought not just debt collection, but rather regime change. Through

12567-399: The administration of Ferdinand Marcos two months later. It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that the Government shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of

12744-505: The administration of Mexican president Benito Juárez placed a moratorium on foreign debt payments in 1861, France, the United Kingdom, and Spain agreed to the Convention of London , a joint effort to ensure that debt repayments from Mexico would be forthcoming. On 8 December 1861, the three navies disembarked their troops at the port city of Veracruz , on the Gulf of Mexico. When it became clear to

12921-543: The advantage of having most of the former royalist army on his side. Iturbide marched into Mexico City on 27 September 1821, his own birthday, with the Army of the Three Guarantees . The army was received by a jubilant populace who had erected arches of triumph and decorated houses and themselves with the tricolor (red, white, and green) of the army. Cries of "¡Viva Iturbide I!" were heard first on that day. The next day, Mexico

13098-536: The aid of French emperor Napoleon III. With the United States embroiled in its Civil War (1861–65) against secessionist southern states, its focus was on domestic turmoil rather than exerting its power against the intervention of the French in violation of the Monroe Doctrine . A Mexican monarchy backed by France would, in Napoleon III's estimation, lead to the exertion of French power in Mexico and Latin America . After

13275-484: The allies broke down, as France made it increasingly clear that it intended to invade Mexico and interfere in its government in violation of previous treaties. The British informed the Mexican government that they now intended to exit the country, and an arrangement was made with the British government to settle its claims. Minister Doblado on 11 April made it known to the French government that its intentions would lead to war. Certain Mexican officers had been sympathetic to

13452-611: The area, managing to capture Albino Licéaga y Rayón , leading to another promotion. In 1813, Viceroy Félix María Calleja promoted Iturbide to colonel and put him in charge of the regiment in Celaya . Then, in 1814, he was named the commander of forces in the Bajío area of Guanajuato , where he continued to pursue the rebels with vigor in a strongly contested area, and was Morelos's principal military opponent from 1813 to 1815. The next major encounter between Morelos and Iturbide occurred in

13629-456: The aristocratic and Spanish lineage of Agustín's father was not in doubt, his mother's ancestry was less clear. His mother was of pure Spanish blood born in Mexico, and therefore, a criolla . Some sources state she came from a high-ranking family in Michoacán. In the Spanish colonial era, racial caste was important to advancement, including military rank, and having some indigenous ancestry

13806-423: The army. He was given an important charge in the army. However, he was accused by locals of using his authority for financial gain although he was recognized as valiant in combat. Those accusations could not be proved but cost him his post. He turned down the offer to reclaim his post since he felt that his honor had been damaged. He may have been involved in the initial conspiracy to declare independence in 1809 that

13983-449: The brigade of Juan Vicario in the town of Iguala until imperialist reinforcements forced him to abandon the siege. Díaz headed south to his home state of Oaxaca and increased his troops to eight thousand. The Imperialists now controlled the central Mexican states, containing its major cities, two thirds of the population, rich mines and agricultural lands, and the main centers of manufacturing and trade. The Republicans still controlled

14160-510: The capital and move the republican government to San Luis Potosí . Congress closed its session on 31 May after granting Juárez emergency powers. The French entered the capital on 10 June 1863. On 16 June the French government nominated 35 Mexican citizens to constitute a Junta Superior de Gobierno who were then tasked with electing a triumvirate that was to serve as the executive of the new government. The three elected were Juan Almonte , Archbishop Labastida , and José Mariano Salas . The Junta

14337-479: The capital for a year. The French and Mexican Imperial Army captured much of Mexican territory, including major cities, but guerrilla warfare by supporters of the republic remained a significant factor and Juárez himself never left the national territory. The intervention was increasingly using up troops and money at a time when the recent Prussian victory over Austria was inclining France to give greater military priority to European affairs. The liberals also never lost

14514-534: The clashes, and Iturbide further attempts to convince Guerrero of his intentions of liberating Mexico. From 1810 to 1820, Iturbide had fought against those who sought to overturn the Spanish monarchy and Bourbon dynasty 's right to rule New Spain and replace that regime with an independent government. He was solidly aligned with the Criollos. However, events in Spain caused problems, as the very monarchy for which that class

14691-672: The classic hispanus or hispanicus took the suffix -one from Vulgar Latin , as happened with other words such as bretón (Breton) or sajón (Saxon). Like the other Romance languages , the Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin , which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War , beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages )—some distantly related to Latin as Indo-European languages , and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in

14868-464: The command of Tómas Mejía defeated the Republican forces of Tomás O'Horán on the road to Guanajuato. O'Horan would then switch sides and join the imperialists. Imperialist colonel José Antonio Rodríguez then captured San Juan de los Llanos in Puebla . The Gulf Coast port of Tampico was captured by French vessels on 11 August 1863. French control of the country still centered on Veracruz and Mexico City but

15045-400: The common folk were present during the vote and loudly proclaimed Iturbide, and no member voted against his crowning as Emperor. However, three days after Iturbide had been elected Emperor, Congress held a private session in which only it was present. It ratified the decision, created titles for the royal family, and declared Iturbide's title to be lifelong and hereditary. Iturbide's coronation

15222-413: The condescension–or, call it weakness—of allowing myself to be seated in a throne I had created for others." Historians point out that Iturbide had quite possibly all the power, influence, and support he needed before redacting the Plan of Iguala, to crown himself Emperor, and he still wrote the Plan with the clear intention of creating a throne meant for a European noble. Most historical accounts mention

15399-495: The consonant written b (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v . Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring Gascon extending as far north as the Gironde estuary , and found in a small area of Calabria ), attributed by some scholars to a Basque substratum was the mutation of Latin initial f into h- whenever it

15576-404: The country's constitution. In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language, and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system, with over 7,000 students studying the language in

15753-440: The country. He even had credible plans for the reconquest of the old colony. For those reasons, no European noble would accept the offer of a Mexican crown. In Mexico itself, there was no Mexican noble family that the populace would accept as imperiality. In the meantime, the governing junta that Iturbide headed convened a constituent congress to set up the new government. The new government had indirect representation, based on

15930-453: The crowd that gathered outside what is now the Palace of Iturbide in Mexico City shouting "Viva Iturbide!" and insist for him to take the throne of Mexico in May 1822. The crowd included Iturbide's old regiment from Celaya. Some detractors of Iturbide insist that this demonstration was staged by Iturbide himself or his loyalists. From a balcony of the palace, Iturbide repeatedly denied his desire for

16107-418: The disparate parties involved in the scheme, the plan offered three guarantees: Mexico would be independent from Madrid, Roman Catholicism would be the official religion, and all inhabitants of the new nation, later México, would be considered equals, with no distinction being made between Spaniards, Creoles, Mestizos, etc., thus eliminating the complicated caste system that had been used until then and abolishing

16284-472: The empire; away from Mexico City, the loyalty of the imperial armies proved patchy. Santa Anna, joined by republicans Guerrero, and Bravo, and imperial generals Echávarri, Cortázar y Rábago, and Lobato, proclaimed the Plan of Casa Mata , which called for the installation of a new Congress and declared the election of the emperor null and void. Casa Mata also called for giving provinces the right to govern themselves in

16461-450: The event of it being impossible to install a European on the Mexican throne, a national sovereign could be chosen, some of the royalists who had supported Iturbide had hoped for a European ruler. Many of the landed classes supported Iturbide and those documents because they offered a sense of continuity with the past. Iturbide's election to the throne was against their wishes, and many of them withdrew their support for him and conspired against

16638-521: The final terms of capitulation at the landed estate of his longtime friend, Doña María Ignacia Rodríguez de Velasco (La Güera Rodríguez). The hastily negotiated Treaty of Córdoba was similar in terms of its outcomes to the Plan de Iguala—the document tried to guarantee an independent monarchy for New Spain under the Bourbon dynasty. The successor state would invite Ferdinand VII to rule as emperor or, if he defaulted, his brother Don Carlos . If both refused,

16815-661: The following table: Spanish is marked by palatalization of the Latin double consonants ( geminates ) nn and ll (thus Latin annum > Spanish año , and Latin anellum > Spanish anillo ). The consonant written u or v in Latin and pronounced [w] in Classical Latin had probably " fortified " to a bilabial fricative /β/ in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with

16992-466: The former British colony of Belize (known until 1973 as British Honduras ) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language. Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing native Spanish speaking minority, Trinidad and Tobago has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched

17169-584: The grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire." From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America . Miguel de Cervantes , author of Don Quixote , is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). In

17346-621: The imperialist Manuel Lozada besieged the town on land leading to a successful capture. The imperialist Juan Vicario was repulsed at Chilapa de Álvarez , while on the way to replace the French garrison in the southern Pacific port of Acapulco, and subsequently the port had to be evacuated and left to the Republicans in December. French vessels succeeded in recapturing Acapulco on 11 September 1864. The Imperialists however hoped to soon begin operations to dislodge Porfirio Díaz from his stronghold in

17523-402: The influence of the emperor's wife, Eugénie de Montijo , the emperor had come into contact with Mexican monarchist exiles, José María Gutiérrez de Estrada and José Manuel Hidalgo who exposed Napoleon to the decades long effort to import a European prince to ascend a Mexican throne. He was initially not interested in the project due to the inevitable opposition that the effort would invite from

17700-504: The insurgency for independence in 1810. Iturbide had a longstanding friendship and had business dealings with the wealthy Mexico City beauty María Ignacia Rodríguez , known as La Güera Rodríguez ("Rodríguez the Fair"), who supported the insurgency for independence. In the early 19th century, there was political unrest in New Spain. One of Iturbide's first military campaigns was to help put down

17877-466: The interim until the new Congress was formed, an attractive prospect for the provincial governments. They accepted the plan, with the exception of the province of Chiapas. Much of the area now known as Central America declared its opposition to Mexico City and Iturbide's rule. In 1823, authorities in what are now Guatemala , El Salvador , Nicaragua , Costa Rica , and Honduras convened a Congress to declare themselves independent from Mexico and Spain as

18054-490: The invasion, since they had been defeated by the liberal government of Benito Juárez in a three-year civil war . Defeated on the battlefield, conservatives sought the aid of France to effect regime change and establish a monarchy in Mexico , a plan that meshed with Napoleon III's plans to re-establish the presence of the French Empire in the Americas. Although the French invasion displaced Juárez's Republican government from

18231-576: The language is also known as Castilian ( castellano ). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo , a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile , in

18408-535: The language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward. Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include Gibraltar and Andorra . Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Germany . Spanish is an official language of the European Union . Today,

18585-562: The leader of the Criollo independence movement. However, to succeed, he would need to put together a very-unlikely coalition of Mexican liberal insurgents, landed nobility, and the Church . Therefore, he penned The Plan of Iguala, which held itself up on Three Guarantees: Freedom (from Spain), Religion (with Catholicism being the only accepted religion in the new country) and Union (with all inhabitants of México to be regarded as equals). In that manner, he

18762-686: The majority of the Spanish speakers live in Hispanic America . Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure —of Argentina , Bolivia (co-official with 36 indigenous languages), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní ), Peru (co-official with Quechua , Aymara , and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay , and Venezuela . Spanish language has

18939-463: The meantime, Ferdinand VII rejected the offer of the Mexican throne and forbade any of his family from accepting the position, and the Spanish Cortes rejected the Treaty of Córdoba, granting Mexico its independence. Shortly after signing the Treaty of Córdoba, the Spanish government reneged. Ferdinand VII had regained the upper hand against the liberals in Spain and increased his influence outside

19116-634: The mounting pressure both at home and abroad, the French army began to redeploy to Europe in 1866, and the Second Mexican Empire collapsed in 1867. Mexican monarchists long had hopes of restoring Mexico to a monarchical form of government, as it had been pre- independence and at its inception as an independent nation-state from the Spanish Empire in 1821, in the First Mexican Empire ruled by Emperor Agustín I . Mexican conservatives sought

19293-512: The new Congress's composition. Among those were prominent Insurgent leaders Vicente Guerrero, Nicolás Bravo and Guadalupe Victoria. Meanwhile, Mexico suffered as an independent country. Ferdinand's resurgence as a ruler in Spain and his clear intentions to reconquer Mexico meant that no European nation was willing to recognize Mexico's independence, and most broke off economic ties with the new state. Iturbide's economic policies were draining resources as well. To increase his popularity, he abolished

19470-419: The new Spanish government and what was left of the viceregal government. Military leaders, soldiers, families, villages, and towns that had been fighting against one another for almost ten years found themselves joining forces to gain Mexican independence. However, their reasons for joining together were very different, and those differences would later foment the turmoil that occurred after independence. Both

19647-531: The new empire. The strongest opposition to Iturbide's reign came from the Congress, where a significant number of its members supported republican ideas. Many of these members also belonged to Masonic lodges, which provided an easy forum for communication. Those ideas found a voice when Manuel Codorniu founded the newspaper El Sol , essentially becoming the in-house publication for the Scottish Rite lodge in its struggle against Iturbide. Iturbide's government

19824-586: The new state. That was important because the Peninsulares owned a significant part of the valuable real estate and many of the businesses in Mexico. If the Spaniards had left, that would have been disastrous for the Mexican economy. The plan gained wide support because it demanded independence without attacking the landed classes and did not threaten social dissolution. Therefore, Iturbide succeeded in bringing together old insurgents and royalist forces to fight against

20001-415: The newly independent Mexico. The junta had 36 members who would have legislative power until the convocation of a congress. Iturbide controlled both the membership of the junta and the matters that it considered. The junta would be responsible for negotiating the offer of the throne of Mexico to a suitable royal. Members of the former insurgent movement were left out of the government. This new government

20178-453: The night to think it over, and to respect the wishes of the government. The Congress convened the next day to discuss the matter of Iturbide's election as Emperor. Iturbide's supporters filled the balconies overlooking the chamber. The Congress confirmed him and his title of Agustín I, Constitutional Emperor of Mexico, by a vast majority. After Iturbide's abdication, members would state that it had elected Iturbide out of fear for their lives, as

20355-711: The northwest of the African mainland. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands traces its origins back to the Castilian conquest in the 15th century , and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas, which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish. The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as

20532-516: The official recognition of the United States of America in spite of their ongoing civil war, and following the defeat and surrender of the Confederate States of America in April 1865 the reunited country began providing materiel support to the republican forces. Invoking the Monroe Doctrine , the U.S. government asserted that it would not tolerate a lasting French presence on the continent. Facing

20709-403: The old Insurgent hero, Guadalupe Victoria. Santa Anna would later admit in his recollections that at the time, he did not know what a republic was. Iturbide had tried to stop Santa Anna by inviting him to Mexico City. Recognizing the danger of such an invitation, Santa Anna responded with his Plan de Veracruz, which called for the reinstatement of the old Constituent Congress, which would then have

20886-636: The other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language castellano . The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by the Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— español and castellano —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid. The term castellano

21063-467: The outbreak of the War of Independence in 1810, leader of the insurgency, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla , offered Iturbide the rank of lieutenant general in the insurgent forces, which Iturbide rejected, remaining firmly a royal army officer at the outbreak of the war . From the start, Iturbide was ambitious and compiled a brilliant record of victories against the insurgents, often against far larger numbers. He

21240-462: The pardon but agreed to meet with Iturbide to discuss the independence of Mexico. In the " Embrace of Acatempán ", named after the locale, they agreed to implement the plan, which was made public on 24 February 1821 by Iturbide, Guerrero, and another insurgent leader, Guadalupe Victoria . On 1 March 1821, Iturbide was proclaimed head of the Army of the Three Guarantees , with Guerrero fully supporting him and recognizing him as his leader. The plan

21417-529: The population. Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla. Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education). In Western Sahara , formerly Spanish Sahara ,

21594-482: The powers of the state to fall into the hands of a single person or entity. It, however, proceeded to assign sovereignty to itself, rather than to the people, and proclaimed that it held all three powers of the State. It also considered lowering military pay and decreasing the size of the army. Those moves threatened to reduce Iturbide's influence in current and future governments. That led to political destabilization, which

21771-407: The press, an act that backfired against him. Opposition groups began to band together against him. Leaders such as Valentín Gómez Farías and Antonio López de Santa Anna began to conspire against the imperial concept altogether and became convinced that a republican model was needed to combat despotism. Santa Anna publicly opposed Iturbide in December 1822 in the Plan of Veracruz , supported by

21948-491: The promises it had made would prove very difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish. This state of affairs started to lead to turmoil, even among those in power. Iturbide moved back to Mexico City and settled himself in a large palatial home that now bears the name Palace of Iturbide . The mansion was lent to him by the family that owned it but was not living in it. Iturbide began to live extravagantly. He demanded preference for his army and also personally chose ministers. In

22125-508: The provincial capital of Michoacán , on 27 September 1783. He was baptized with the names of Saints Augustine , Cosmas, and Damian at the cathedral. The fifth child born to his parents, he was the only male to survive and eventually became head of the family. Iturbide's parents were part of the privileged landed class of Valladolid, owning agricultural land including the haciendas of Apeo and Guaracha as well as lands in nearby Quirio. Iturbide's father, Joaquín de Iturbide, came from

22302-481: The pursuit of both military and political goals. The aim was to establish a new government friendly to French interests, and the geopolitical aim of preventing the United States from becoming too powerful in the Americas was also emphasized. Forey reached Orizaba on 24 October 1862, and began planning another siege of Puebla, the defense of which had now passed on to Jesús González Ortega after General Zaragoza had died of typhoid fever on 8 September. On 10 January 1863,

22479-408: The rebels would be against José María Morelos himself and in his native city of Valladolid. Iturbide led the defenders. He demonstrated his tactical skill and horsemanship by breaking Morelos's siege of the town with a well-executed cavalry charge that caused the insurgent forces to withdraw into the forest. For that action, Iturbide was promoted to captain. As a captain, he pursued rebel forces in

22656-485: The rebels. Santa Anna considered escaping to the United States but was stopped by Victoria. Santa Anna retreated and fortified himself in the city of Veracruz with his superior artillery. Victoria was separated from Veracruz, fighting behind Imperial lines. Bravo and Guerrero were defeated, with Guerrero suffering such a grievous injury in battle that the nation believed him dead until he resurfaced months later. However, Echávarri and several other imperial officers turned on

22833-442: The rebels. In a proclamation that explained their reasons, they also called for the reinstatement of the disintegrated Congress, which would then decide the fate of the nation. Bravo and Guerrero wrote that they swore to abide by the Congress's decision, even if it decided to stay as a Constitutional Empire and it elected Iturbide again to lead them. Iturbide sent his most trusted man, his protégé of sorts, General Echávarri, to combat

23010-450: The right to decide the form of government of the new nation. Curiously, it did not specifically call for a republic or for the abdication of Iturbide. Santa Anna wrote to Iturbide, explaining his reasons and swearing to sacrifice his own life if it was necessary to ensure the safety of the Emperor. Iturbide's enemy-turned-ally, Vicente Guerrero, turned back to enemy when he and General Nicolás Bravo escaped México City and allied themselves with

23187-470: The secession of Mexico from Spain, Iturbide was proclaimed president of the Regency in 1821; a year later, he was proclaimed Emperor, reigning from 19 May 1822 to 19 March 1823, when he abdicated. In May 1823 he went into exile in Europe. When he returned to Mexico in July 1824, he was arrested and executed. Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu was born in what was then called Valladolid, now Morelia ,

23364-480: The siege of Oaxaca City in person and by the end of January 1865, the besieging forces numbered seven thousand men. The use of artillery began on 4 February, and an assault was ordered for February 9th. The massing of forces produced a panic in Díaz' men. Díaz was not willing to engage in a hopeless last stand and surrendered. Díaz was sent to Puebla and imprisoned, however he escaped seven months later and raised an army in

23541-484: The sitting viceroy and Fernando VII rejected the Plan of Iguala. The Spanish parliament sent a new "viceroy," Juan O'Donojú , to Mexico. (Technically, the office of viceroy had been replaced by a "superior political chief" under the 1812 Spanish Constitution.) O'Donojú, however, arrived to witness a nation on the brink of achieving independence and knew that its consummation could not be stopped. Iturbide met with O’Donojú and Field Marshall Francisco Novella to negotiate

23718-586: The south, and began to survey the land and build roads. Towards the end of 1864, General Courtois d'Hurbal entered Oaxaca by way of Yanhuitlan and other columns followed from Orizaba and Mexico City . Díaz was based in Oaxaca City with three thousand regulars, three thousand troops in the mountains, and had converted the city into a fortified camp. Commander in Chief of the French Forces, Bazaine decided to lead

23895-481: The southern state of Chiapas . The nearby state capital of Tabasco , San Juan Bautista was recaptured by the Republicans on 27 February. The success inspired a republican incursion into Veracruz, succeeding in capturing Minatitlán on 28 March. On 19 March 1864, the western Mexican commander Manuel Lozada , at the head of indigenous troops of the Tepic district sided with the imperialists. Douay headed south, pursuing

24072-532: The southern state of Guerrero . This prompted Élie Frédéric Forey , the former Commander of French forces in Mexico, to criticize Bazaine for not executing Díaz. The former Republican General José López Uraga sent a letter to Díaz hoping to win him over to the imperialist cause, arguing that guerrilla warfare was devastating the country and assuring Díaz that Mexican independence was secure under Maximilian. Díaz rejected this offer. Spanish language Spanish ( español ) or Castilian ( castellano )

24249-559: The sparsely populated frontier states of the north, where President Juárez still led his government-in-exile in the city of Monterrey . These northern states granted them the considerable revenue coming into the Pacific ports of Manzanillo , Mazatlán , and Guaymas . Arms also flowed in from the U.S. states California and Texas along with mercenaries. The Republicans also still held the southern states of Guerrero , Oaxaca , Tabasco , and Chiapas , where troops led by Porfirio Díaz maintained

24426-528: The term español (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, español derives from the Occitan word espaignol and that, in turn, derives from the Vulgar Latin * hispaniolus ('of Hispania'). Hispania was the Roman name for the entire Iberian Peninsula . There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal suggested that

24603-444: The theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal , local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos , and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo , where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese , and, according to some authors,

24780-623: The third most used language on the Internet , after English and Chinese. Spanish is the official language of Spain . Upon the emergence of the Castilian Crown as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred. Hard policies imposing

24957-423: The throne. One interesting twist to the story is reported by Mexico City daily La Jornada , which states that Iturbide held the first popular referendum in Mexico. According to the article, Iturbide sent out a questionnaire to military and civilian leaders as to whether the people preferred a republic or a monarchy. The answer came back in favor of a monarchy. Iturbide asked the demonstrators that night to give him

25134-411: The two leaders before Iturbide ever set out to seek out Guerrero, it is now believed that both were then carrying out negotiations. Regardless, some encounters between the two military forces were unavoidable, as the troops of Guerrero and Pedro Ascencio (another insurgent leader) managed to force Iturbide's rear guard to withdraw from an ambush. In their further correspondence, Iturbide and Guerrero lament

25311-568: The use of slaves in the territory of the new nation as well. The promise of independence convinced the insurgents to accept the proposal. The promise of the supremacy of the Roman Catholic Church was offered to the clergy, who were frightened by anticlerical policies of Spanish Liberalism. The offer of equality between Criollos and the Spanish-born Peninsulares assured the latter that they and their property would be safe in

25488-424: The viceroy relieved Iturbide of his command for corruption and cruelty. However, one year later, with the support of an auditor named Bataller, and staunch monarchists in the viceregal government, the charges were withdrawn. Iturbide's supporters further convinced the viceroy that he was needed to vanquish the last remaining rebel leader. However, Iturbide never forgot the humiliation of his dismissal. Iturbide

25665-485: The vicinity but carried out no attacks. After French assaults led by General Abel Douay , González Ortega retreated towards Fresnillo , and Uraga westward. Mexican General Felipe Navarrete of Yucatán proclaimed his support of the Empire, and invaded the state capital of Mérida with the support of French forces, capturing it on 22 January 1864. Douay, with General Castagny headed north, succeeding in capturing Aguascalientes and Zacatecas by 7 February 1864. Castagny

25842-533: The whole of Spain, in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages "). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. ... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on

26019-633: The world. Spanish is well represented in the humanities and social sciences . Spanish is also the third most used language on the internet by number of users after English and Chinese and the second most used language by number of websites after English. Spanish is used as an official language by many international organizations , including the United Nations , European Union , Organization of American States , Union of South American Nations , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States , African Union , among others. In Spain and some other parts of

26196-520: Was declared an independent empire . What remained of the royalist army retreated to Veracruz and was cornered in the fortress of San Juan de Ulúa , and O'Donoju, who had been assured an important position in the government of the new empire, died shortly afterwards, dishonored by his Spaniard compatriots. Iturbide was named President of the Provisional Governing Junta, which selected the five-person regency that would temporarily govern

26373-426: Was a rather vague document that sought the transition of the center of power in New Spain from Madrid to Mexico City. Essentially, the idea was to bring Ferdinand VII to Mexico City to rule. If he did not come to Mexico, another member of the Bourbon royal family would be chosen to rule there. If no European ruler would come to rule México, the nation would have the right to elect a ruler by its own people. To attract

26550-574: Was a very good horseman. Iturbide entered the royal army in 1805, commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Valladolid regiment of the provincial infantry. In 1806, he was promoted to full lieutenant. In 1805, when he was twenty-two, Iturbide married Doña Ana María Josefa Ramona de Huarte y Muñiz , member of the House of Tagle of the family of the Marquises of Altamira . She came from Valladolid, from

26727-517: Was also to choose 215 Mexican citizens who together with the Junta Superio r were to constitute an Assembly of Notables that was to decide upon the form of government. On 11 July, the Assembly published its resolutions, that Mexico was to be a constitutional monarchy and that Ferdinand Maximilian was to be invited to accept the Mexican throne. The executive was then officially changed into the Regency of

26904-528: Was also well known by contemporaries of all factions for his cruelty against his opponents, the insurgents themselves as well as their families, including women and children. One of Agustín's first encounters with the rebel army was in the Toluca Valley in 1810 as it advanced toward Mexico City from Valladolid. Royalist and rebel forces engaged on the east bank of the Lerma River at the end of October in what

27081-448: Was appointed protector of commerce, navigation, local order and ports and was given the right to expedite passports and navigation licenses even after the Emperor had been instated (and according to the Emperor's wishes). Iturbide had what he could have possibly wanted before becoming Emperor, Anna notes, and so it is not probable that Iturbide conspired to appoint himself Emperor. Iturbide himself notes in his memoirs written in exile: "I had

27258-581: Was developed in the cities of Toledo , in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid , from the 1570s. The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages , including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin vīta > Spanish vida ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short e and o —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in

27435-604: Was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages ). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the Reconquista , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus , much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic -derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language

27612-457: Was fighting was in serious trouble. The 1812 Cadiz Constitution , which was reinstated in Spain in 1820 after the successful Riego Revolt , established a constitutional monarchy , which greatly limited Ferdinand VII 's powers. There was serious concern in Mexico that the Bourbons would be forced to abandon Spain altogether. That led to the disintegration of viceregal authority in Mexico City, and

27789-713: Was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The h- , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many f -/ h - doublets in modern Spanish: Fernando and Hernando (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), ferrero and herrero (both Spanish for "smith"), fierro and hierro (both Spanish for "iron"), and fondo and hondo (both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though fondo means "bottom", while hondo means "deep"); additionally, hacer ("to make")

27966-557: Was fully reinstated to military command in November 1820 by viceroy Juan Ruiz de Apodaca . He was reinstated as colonel of the royalist army and general of the south of New Spain. For a couple of years after the defeat of Morelos at Puruarán, the independence movement had diminished significantly. However, Iturbide was given the task of putting down the remaining insurrectionist movement southwest of Mexico City led by Guerrero. Iturbide installed his headquarters at Teloloapan . For more than

28143-524: Was gradually expanding. By October, advancing combined forces were spreading across the central regions of Mexico from Jalisco to San Luis Potosí to Oaxaca . In August 1863, Imperialist Mejía captured the town of Actopan, Hidalgo in the state of Mexico in September, and more Imperialist victories in that state followed. Imperialist commander Gavito, managed to disperse republican guerrillas in Cuayuca , and

28320-407: Was granted. The new Congress would also be in charge of issuing a new Mexican Constitution. Iturbide persecuted his enemies, arresting and jailing a score of former members of the Congress, but that did not bring peace. A number of prominent politicians and military leaders, many of whom had supported Agustín as emperor, turned against him for having "made a mockery of national representation" in

28497-498: Was headed by José Mariano Michelena in Valladolid. It is known by his and Hidalgo's documents that he was a distant relative of Miguel Hidalgo, the initial leader of the Insurgent Army. Hidalgo wrote to Iturbide, offering him a higher rank in his army. Iturbide writes in his memoirs that he considered the offer, but that ultimately turned it down because he considered Hidalgo's uprising ill-executed and his methods barbaric. After

28674-472: Was held at the Mexico City Cathedral on 21 July 1822, and his wife, Ana María, was crowned empress, in an elaborate ceremony. It was attended by the bishops of Puebla , Guadalajara , Durango , and Oaxaca . According to the author Pérez Memen, Archbishop of Mexico Pedro José de Fonte y Hernández Miravete objected and did not attend. Iturbide was crowned by Rafael Mangino y Mendivil, the head of

28851-452: Was left in charge of Zacatecas, while Douay went to the relief of Colonel Garnier at Guadalajara. On 16 February, Castagny won a victory at Colotlán in which he took eighty prisoners and Republican General Luis Ghilardi was executed. Republican General and governor of Aguascalientes José María Chávez Alonso was also executed after being captured in Jerez . Imperialists struggled to hold on to

29028-515: Was not in Iturbide's Plan de Iguala, a point against the argument that Iturbide entertained the notion of becoming the ruler when he started his campaign for Mexico's independence. To show the military might of the alliance, Iturbide co-ordinated with associated royalist and insurgent commanders in the provinces, opting for a replay of the strategy of closing in on Mexico City from the periphery, which Morelos had attempted in 1811–14. However, Iturbide had

29205-437: Was notoriously harsh in turning down territorial negotiations with agents of the US government, as attested by Poinsett. The United States was itself a republic as well, meaning Iturbide's relations with the US were on shaky ground. The Congress, believing itself to be sovereign over the Emperor and the people and the recipient of the executive, legislative, and judicial powers, antagonized Iturbide. The Congress refused to draw up

29382-469: Was often regarded as a disadvantage. Iturbide insisted throughout his life that he was criollo (native born of Spanish descent). Agustín studied at the Catholic seminary called Colegio de San Nicolás in Valladolid, enrolled in the program for secular officials, though he was not a distinguished student. After that, he worked as an overseer at one of his family's haciendas for a short time, discovering he

29559-484: Was overwhelmingly loyal to Iturbide. Opposition groups included the old insurgents as well as a number of progressives and those loyal to Ferdinand VII. Many liberals and progressives also belonged to Masonic lodges of the Scottish rite , leading these branches of the opposition to be called escoceses (Scots). The plan of Iguala was a compromise of the differing factions, but after independence, it became clear that some of

29736-467: Was part of the Mexican Empire of Iturbide (from 1821 to 1823), because by 1823 the local patriots, both liberal and conservative, made a move for total and absolute independence from Mexico and Spain. The republicans were not happy with Iturbide as emperor. While the Catholic clergy supported him, the coronation dashed republican hopes, and while the Plan of Iguala and the Treaty of Córdoba directed that in

29913-419: Was paving the road to gaining the support of the most powerful factions: the insurgents, the clergy and the Spaniards. The plan envisioned a monarchy, thus assuring the support of the royalists as well. Iturbide held a series of negotiations with Guerrero and made a number of demonstrations of his intentions to form an independent Mexico. Iturbide offered Guerrero a full pardon if he surrendered. Guerrero rejected

30090-481: Was publicly proclaimed Emperor by the people but again refused any such attempt. The US government appointed Joel Roberts Poinsett as a special envoy to independent Mexico when Iturbide was declared emperor since James Monroe was concerned about how popular and long-lasting the regime might be. Poinsett indicated the empire was not likely to be enduring, but the US still recognized Mexico as an independent country. Poinsett's Notes on Mexico are an important source as

30267-546: Was ready to cooperate with Douay's troops in Jalisco and sweep north towards Sinaloa . They were aided by quarrels within the Republican military leadership that resulted in José López Uraga being demoted and subsequently joining the Imperialists. On 26 September 1864, the Imperialists captured the port of Bagdad and now controlled every major port in the Gulf. The commander of troops at Bagdad, Juan Cortina , then defected to

30444-399: Was resolved temporarily when Iturbide was elected Emperor of the Mexican nation. However, it is not clear whether he took the crown at the insistence of the people or simply took advantage of the political situation. Some call Iturbide's decision a coup and state that the public support for him was orchestrated by him and his followers. Others insist that the people's offer of the throne

30621-462: Was revoked by Michel Temer after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff . In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the Spanish colonial period . Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in

30798-461: Was sincere, as there was no other candidate and the people were grateful to him for the liberation of Mexico. The latter accounts stress that Iturbide initially rejected the offer, in favor of persuading Ferdinand VII to change his mind about ruling Mexico, but then reluctantly accepted. When the liberating army entered Mexico on 27 September 1821, the army sought to proclaim Iturbide as Emperor, which he himself stopped. A month later, on 28 October, he

30975-464: Was taken on 9 December. On 22 December, the Republican government evacuated the city of San Luis Potosí and intended to relocate north to the state of Coahuila . Imperialist forces led by Mejía captured the city on 25 December, only to face an assault by Republican forces on the 27 December, which was ultimately defeated. French general Bazaine occupied the city of Guadalajara on 5 January 1864. The liberal generals Uraga and Ortega remained in

31152-510: Was the first Emperor of Mexico from 1822 until his abdication in 1823. An officer in the royal Spanish army, during the Mexican War of Independence he initially fought insurgent forces rebelling against the Spanish crown before changing sides in 1820 and leading a coalition of former royalists and long-time insurgents under his Plan of Iguala . The combined forces under Iturbide brought about Mexican independence in September 1821. After securing

31329-433: Was working to call a new Congress, most of the nation had already accepted the Plan of Casa Mata. Recognizing the wishes of the country, Iturbide personally reopened the same Congress that he had closed in March 1823 and presented his abdication to them. He later wrote that he was choosing abdication over bloody civil war. However, Congress refused to accept his abdication, arguing that acceptance of abdication would imply that

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