The trigarante army, or army of the three guarantees, was a military agreement made in 1821 in the viceroyalty of New Spain . In this, the royalist troops and the independence troops joined their forces, with the aim of fighting for the Independence of Mexico .

The army was composed of:

• Royalist army : under the command of Agustín de Iturbide, who broke ties with the Spanish Crown and allied himself with the Mexican insurgents.
• Independence troops : under the command of Vicente Guerrero, who fought for the Independence of Mexico from the Spanish Crown.

On January 1, 1820, Colonel Rafael del Riego carried out an armed coup in Spain, demanding that King Fernando VII swear in the Constitution of Cádiz , proclaimed in 1812, which established sovereignty in the nation, the division of powers in legislative, executive and judicial, and the constitutional monarchy, among other points.

This deprivation of power towards the king caused great discontent and concern among the royalist troops in Mexico, who feared for the removal of privileges from the clergy and the army. To this was added the imminent advance of the pro-independence troops, which were getting closer and closer to achieving their objective.

Enhance your reading: Zapotec social structure/characteristics/religion/clothing

Consequently, the viceroy of New Spain, Juan José Apodaca, and General Matías de Monteagudo, appointed General Agustín de Iturbide in charge of the royalist army in November of this year , in order to gain independence from the Spanish Crown.

On February 10, 1821, the embrace of Acatempan between Iturbide and Guerrero took place, with which the viceregal and patriotic forces were unified for the fight towards the Independence of Mexico.

Objectives of Army of the three guarantees

This army was created in order to travel the entire territory and publicize the Plan of Iguala under the same unit.

This plan established four principles:

• Establish the Independence of Mexico from the viceroyalty of New Spain.
• Although independence was sought, Ferdinand VII was invited to maintain monarchical control over Spain .
• Establish Catholicism as the only religion within Mexico.
• Unify all social classes under the same rights of equality among individuals.

Proclaimed the Plan of Iguala, the army toured the entire territory publicizing its objectives and adding new soldiers to the army, to achieve Mexican independence.

Trigarante Army Achievements

The Trigarante army managed to seal the independence of the viceroyalty of New Spain , which became the Mexican Empire. This lasted only two years, until the advent of the Republic of Mexico.

In addition, this military force forged the bases of the Mexican imperial army, which would later become the Mexican national army and would fight to defend the homeland against new possible colonizers within the continent.

Enhance your reading: What was the Argentine Confederation/formation/end

Important figures of the Trigarante army

Some of the protagonists of the army of the three guarantees were:

• Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña (1782-1831) : Mexican politician and military man, one of the main leaders of the insurgency, who joined forces with General Agustín Iturbide to achieve the independence of his country.
• Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (1783-1824) : Mexican politician and military, belonging to the royalist army of the Spanish viceroyalty, who agreed with Vicente Guerrero on the Plan of Iguala and fought for the Independence of Mexico, after the implementation of the Constitution from Cádiz. He was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico in 1822, but was later overthrown and exiled to Europe.
• Juan José Ruiz de Apodaca y Eliza (1754-1835) : military and governor of the Spanish viceroyalty in Mexico. It was he who, after the proclamation of the Constitution of Cádiz, appointed Iturbide as head of the army. He was the last viceroy of New Spain.