Mexican War of Independence (Guanajuato), who were called to action by the secular Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo, former rector of the Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo. After 1810 the independence movement went through several stages, as leaders were imprisoned or executed by forces loyal to Spain. At first the rebels disputed the legitimacy of the French-installed Joseph Bonaparte while recognizing the sovereignty of Ferdinand VII over Spain and its colonies, but later the leaders took more radical positions, rejecting the Spanish claim and espousing a new social order including the abolition of slavery. Secular priest José María Morelos called the separatist provinces to form
Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire () is the document by which the Mexican Empire declared independence from the Spanish Empire. This founding document of the Mexican nation was drafted in the National Palace in Mexico City on September 28, 1821, by Juan José Espinosa de los Monteros, secretary of the Provisional Governmental Board. Three copies of the act were executed. One was destroyed in a fire in 1909. The other two copies are in the Museo Historico de Acapulco Fuerte de San Diego in Acapulco and in the General Archive