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Mexico’s wars for independence were not fought to achieve political independence. Unlike their neighbors to the north, Mexico’s revolutionaries aimed to overhaul their society. Intending profound social reform, the rebellion’s leaders declared from the onset that their struggle would be incomplete, even meaningless, if it were merely a political event. Easily navigating through nineteenth-century Mexico’s complex and volatile political environment, Timothy J. Henderson offers a well-rounded treatment of the entire period, but pays particular attention to the early phases of the revolt under the priests Miguel Hidalgo and José María Morelos. Hidalgo promised an immediate end to slavery and tailored his appeals to the poor, but also sanctioned pillage and shocking acts of violence. This savagery would ultimately cost Hidalgo, Morelos, and the entire country dearly, leading to the revolution’s failure in pursuit of both meaningful social and political reform. While Mexico eventually gained independence from Spain, severe social injustices remained and would fester for another century. Henderson deftly traces the major leaders and conflicts, forcing us to reconsider what “independence” meant and means for Mexico today. Timothy J. Henderson is a professor of history at Auburn University, Montgomery, and the author of several books on Mexican history, including A Glorious Defeat: Mexico and Its War with the United States. Mexico’s wars for independence were not fought to achieve political independence. Unlike their neighbors to the north, Mexico’s revolutionaries aimed to overhaul their society. Intending profound social reform, the rebellion’s leaders declared from the onset that their struggle would be incomplete, even meaningless, if it were merely a political event.
Expertly navigating through nineteenth-century Mexico’s complex and volatile political environment, Timothy J. Henderson offers a well-rounded treatment of the entire period, but pays particular attention to the early phases of the revolt under the priests Miguel Hidalgo and José María Morelos. Hidalgo promised an immediate end to slavery and tailored his appeals to the poor, but also sanctioned pillage and shocking acts of violence. This savagery would ultimately cost Hidalgo, Morelos, and the entire country dearly, leading to the revolution’s failure in pursuit of both meaningful social and political reform. While Mexico eventually gained independence from Spain, severe social injustices remained and would fester for another century. Henderson deftly traces the major leaders and conflicts, forcing students to reconsider what “independence” meant and means for Mexico today. “Timothy Henderson has a gift for writing history. The individuals, the battles, and the results remain the same, but his narrative has a fresh, exciting quality. His engrossing history will hold the attention of undergraduate students and grizzled experts. He has written the best short history available.”—William H. Beezley, Professor of History, University of Arizona “Timothy Henderson has a gift for writing history. The individuals, the battles, and the results remain the same, but his narrative has a fresh, exciting quality. His engrossing history will hold the attention of undergraduate students and grizzled experts. He has written the best short history available.”— William H. Beezley, Professor of History, University of Arizona
“This is a comprehensive and thorough treatment, even-handed and crisply written. Highly recommended.”— Timothy E. Anna, Distinguished Professor of History, University of Manitoba
"In the second decade of the 19th century, while the United States attempted to solidify its fledgling republic, its neighbor to the southwest was engaged in a series of bitter internal conflicts that would ultimately result in its own independence. Unlike the American Revolution, though, the Mexican wars for independence lacked ideological foundation. Mexico also lacked a cohesive patriotic movement and sense of national identity that set it apart from the mother country. Timothy J. Henderson points out in this slender but cogent study of a period seldom studied by U.S. citizens that Mexico's deeper struggle has always been with itself. Its violent and painful break from Spain set into motion a tragic pattern of political and social confusion that continues 200 years later . . . Henderson does a splendid job of unraveling the factions and cabals as they rose, formed alliances with one another, or faded into obscurity . . . He presents a well-balanced and clearly argued case for his overriding thesis, which is that Mexico's problems, far from being solved by the Constitution of 1824 and complete independence from Spain, were, in a way, only beginning."—Clay Reynolds, The Dallas Morning News
"Henderson argues that Mexico's struggle for liberation from Spain that raged from 1810 to 1821 was not a single conflict but many. The author notes that the wars for independence created some of the bloodiest episodes in Mexico's history . . . [he] effectively untangles the independence struggle's complicated, intertwining strands by focusing on the major figures involved . . . Henderson fashions an accessible narrative with a canny blend of military and political storytelling. A solid overview of a decidedly difficult time and place, and a lucid introduction for those unfamiliar with Mexican history."—Kirkus Reviews
"[The author] offers a good synthesis for the general reader of what is known about Mexico's wars for independence between 1810 and 1821. He illustrates how the policies and practices of the Spanish colonial authorities led to a stratification of Mexican society, which ultimately brought about demands for political and social reform, and how attitudes and events in Spain influenced Mexican politics, society, and the course of the wars for independence. The royalists, Creoles (Spaniards born in Mexico), castes (those of mixed parentage), and Indians had different objectives, but Henderson keeps it all straight and provides in-depth portraits of the major revolutionary figures, allowing readers to easily follow the changes in fortune and shifting alliances and objectives. Henderson also explains how the wars deepened the divisions that plagued Mexico and set the stage for the turbulent decades to come . . . this accessible overview [will be] useful to undergraduates. Highly recommended."—Stephen H. Peters, Library Journal
"This perceptive history paints Mexico's 1810–1821 struggle for independence as a dark, dejected affair, tainted by massacres, famine and crippling contradictions. [Henderson] explores the difficulties facing successive Mexican insurrections against Spain's heavy-handed, parasitic rule, including ill-equipped and untrained armies and a fractious, brutal, often incompetent leadership. But the main problem, he contends, was the social chasm between the white Creole elite who led the rebellion and the harshly exploited Indian and mixed-race masses who manned their armies. Revolutionaries envisioned a new liberal order, Henderson argues, but feared to stir up the social resentments of their troops, whose attachment to king and church trumped nationalist sentiment. The result was an incoherent revolution torn between progressive and reactionary impulses that bequeathed ...
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