In 1810, the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla issued the "Grito de Dolores" (in effect a call for independence) in Dolores near Guanajuato. An army of insurgents began an eleven-year war of independence that culminated in a Mexican victory over the viceroy's armies. In 1821 the Mexicans offered the crown of the new Mexican Empire to Ferdinand VII or to a member of the Spanish royal family that he would designate. After the refusal of the Spanish monarchy to recognize the independence of Mexico, the "" (Army of the Three Guarantees), led by Agustín de Iturbide and Vicente Guerrero, cut all political and economic dependence on Spain. The Plan of Iguala established Roman Catholicism as Mexico's religion and equality for all social and ethnic groups in the new empire. These goals were summarized as "Religion, Independence and Unity" ("Religión, Independencia y Unión").