Mexico's Independence and Republican Construction in Spanish Political Thought (1821–1848)

The article analyses the role that Mexico's independence played in Spanish political thought. The text focuses on the quarter of a century that followed the signing of the Treaty of Cordoba in 1821. We argue that the images of the former viceroyalty were of primary importance in the public debates of the period. Anti-liberal absolutists, progressive liberals, moderate liberals and republicans made subjective readings of the processes that shaped Mexican republican construction. All these tendencies instrumentalised Mexican history to reinforce their ideological agendas. The rhetorical disputes to which the interpretation of Mexican modernity gave rise were vital in shaping the Spanish political lexicon, specifically for some essential concepts: republic, democracy, federalism and race.