During the 17th and 18th centuries New Spain operated by formal, legal racial categories where only pure Spanish born could hold power, those descended from pure Spanish but born in New Spain (Criollos) did not labor and were largely idle, powerless Aristocrats, mixed race Mestizaje down to Amerindians etc. were laborers etc. Only 1 in 10 of Spanish blood were female so the Mestizaje class naturally grew. There was no entrepreneurial class which staunched the society’s growth.

Thoughts of Independence

Ignacio Allende, an army captain who sympathized with the growing independence movement, ended up working with and sometimes in opposition to Miguel Hidalgo, a priest, in trying to gain independence from Spain. While their actions began in 1809 and quickly ended with their executions in 1811 they became symbols and a rallying cry of the growing independence movement and their hometowns are now named after them: San Miguel de Allende and Dolores Hidalgo.

Mexico (Founded 1821)

Discontent and battles continued through these years until Agustín de Iturbide took the city and Mexico became independent of Spain. Given the racial categories that had been encoded into law under the Spanish for centuries, this was the first time that a wholistic Mexican identity took hold.

Mexican-American War (1846-1848)

The castle was also the site where the U.S. ended the Mexican-American war in the Battle of Chapultepec and claimed the territory that would become the Western United States.

While Thomas Jefferson had purchased the Louisiana Territory in 1803 from France through Napoleon, he had only acquired it himself from a war with Spain 3 years earlier. Napoleon turned around and sold it to the U.S. because he needed the money to fund his European adventures (loss 1). Then the U.S. annexed the state of Texas in 1845 which was Mexican territory though nominally independent (loss 2). The possibility of then losing vast, additional amounts of Spanish territory when President Polk offered to purchase the territories that would become California, Nevada, New Mexico etc. for a reasonable price (loss 3), was an affront to Mexican dignity and so they refused. An incident on the border was then manufactured allowing the U.S. to invade and acquire this territory in 1847.

The Mexican General Santa Anna said:

I believe if we were to plant our batteries in Hell the damned Yankees would take them from us.

Castle mural showing the legend of cadet Juan Escutia who wrapped himself in the Mexican flag and jumped off the castle point to prevent the flag from falling into enemy hands.