Country Mexico Founder Don Agustín I | Founded 19 May 1822 Final ruler Don Maximilian I | |
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Titles Emperor of Mexico
Prince Imperial of Mexico
Prince of Mexico Current head Don Maximilian von Götzen-Iturbide | ||
The House of Iturbide (Spanish: Casa de Iturbide), is the former Imperial House of Mexico. It was founded by Don Agustín de Iturbide in 1822 when the newly independent Mexican congress confirmed his title of Agustín I, Constitutional Emperor of Mexico. He was baptized with the names of Saints Cosmas and Damian at the cathedral there.
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Mexican Empire (1822–1823)
After Mexico was declared and recognized as an independent state, Iturbide was backed and influenced by Mexico's conservatives who favored an independent Mexico with a monarch from one of the European royal families as head of state. When no European royals accepted Mexico's offer (as Spain still had hopes of taking Mexico back), Iturbide was persuaded by his advisers to be named Emperor in the manner of Napoleon I.
On 11 May 1823, the ex-emperor boarded the English ship Rawlins, en route to Livorno, Italy (then part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, accompanied by his wife, children and some servants. There he rented a small country house and began to write his memoirs. However, Spain pressured Tuscany to expel Iturbide, which it did, and the Iturbide family moved to the United Kingdom. Here, he published his autobiography "Statement of Some of the Principal Events in the Public Life of Agustín de Iturbide" When he was exiled, Iturbide was given a government pension, but Congress also declared him a traitor and "outside of the law," to be killed if he ever returned to Mexico. Whether he was aware of this second part is in dispute.
After his departure, the situation in Mexico continued to worsen. Reports of a probable Spanish attempt to retake Mexico reached Iturbide in the U.K. He continued to receive reports from Mexico as well as advice from supporters that if he returned he would be hailed as a liberator and a potential leader against the Spanish invasion. Iturbide sent word to congress in Mexico City on 13 February 1824 offering his services in the event of Spanish attack. Congress never replied. More conservative political factions in Mexico finally convinced Iturbide to return."
Iturbide returned to Mexico on 14 July 1824, accompanied by his wife, two children, and a chaplain. He landed at the port of Soto la Marina on the coast of Nuevo Santander (the modern-day state of Tamaulipas). They were initially greeted enthusiastically, but soon they were arrested and escorted by General Felipe de la Garza, the local military commander, to the nearby village of Padilla. The local legislature held a trial and sentenced Iturbide to death. When a local priest administered last rites, Iturbide supposedly said, "Mexicans! I die with honor, not as a traitor; do not leave this stain on my children and my legacy. I am not a traitor, no." He was executed by firing squad on 19 July 1824.
Mexican Empire (1864–1867)
In 1863 the Mexican Congress, with the support of Napoleon III of France, attempted to establish a monarchy under Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian as Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. Maximilian adopted two grandsons of the first Mexican emperor, Agustín de Iturbide y Green and Salvador de Iturbide y Marzán, as his heirs. In 1867, Maximilian was deposed and executed on the orders of Benito Juárez.
Genealogy of Agustín I
Children: