Francisco Novella and the Last Stand of the Royal Army in New Spain

Abstract

O N SEPTEMBER 27, 1821, SPAIN'S IMPERIAL glory in the kingdom of New Spain ended as Agustin de Iturbide, leading the i6,ooo-man Army of the Three Guarantees, made his triumphal entry into Mexico City as the Liberator of the nation. Iturbide's triumph consummated a short and notably peaceful revolution, one in which, as the usual interpretation has it, little resistance had been offered by the royal army. Garrison after garrison had gone over to Iturbide, and it would appear that the army of Spain in Mexico had simply refused to fight. Indeed, Iturbide's success was largely the result of the wholesale transfer of the soldiers' loyalties to the rebel side, a process which he personally exemplified more than any other man, for he too had been a royal soldier. Some of the royal garrisons, however, did resist. Such was the case of the royal army in Mexico City under the command of Field Marshal Francisco Novella. From July 5 to September 13, 1821, the army controlled Mexico City and its environs in a desperate attempt to resist capitulation to the rebels. Though their effort failed because of the growing acceptance of Iturbide by all sectors of the population at large, these months constituted the last stand of the royal arnny in New Spain and formed a not inglorious final chapter to the history of Spanish arms in Mexico. The army assumed direct control over the viceregal government by a coup d'6tat in July. It hoped to rally loyal elements of the population by its action but, by overthrowing a popular and moderate viceroy, it only drove the subordinate civilian authorities, who previously had taken an active part in the resistance, into the rebel camp. Thus the army's last stand may actually have hastened the ultimate collapse of the royal government. In the spring and early summer of 1821, the Iturbide movement swept through the viceroyalty. A groundswell of popular support for the rebellion seemed to arise everywhere, as thousands of amnestied patriots, who had fought under Hidalgo or Morelos, rushed to join the