Agustín Jerónimo de Iturbide y Huarte
Encyclopedia
Don
Don (honorific)
Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...

Agustín Jerónimo de Iturbide y Huarte, Prince Imperial of Mexico
Prince Imperial of Mexico
Prince Imperial of Mexico was the title created after Mexico gained independence from the Spanish Empire as the First Mexican Empire and it was designated to be the official title of the heir apparent to the imperial throne in Mexico...

, OG OME (30 September 1807 - 11 November 1866) was the son of the first Mexican Emperor
Emperor of Mexico
The Emperor of Mexico was the head of state and ruler of Mexico on two non-consecutive occasions in the 19th century....

 Agustín I of Mexico, the heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....

 to the First Mexican Empire
First Mexican Empire
The Mexican Empire was the official name of independent Mexico under a monarchical regime from 1821 to 1823. The territory of the Mexican Empire included the continental intendencies and provinces of New Spain proper...

 and a member of the Imperial House of Iturbide
House of Iturbide
The House of Iturbide is the former Imperial House of Mexico. It was founded by Agustín de Iturbide in 1822 when the newly independent Mexican congress confirmed his title of Agustín I, Constitutional Emperor of Mexico...

; later in his life he served as a military officer in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 and also worked as a diplomat for the United Mexican States
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 at the Mexican embassy in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 after his military career had ended in South America.

Birth and early life

Agustín Jerónimo de Iturbide y Huarte was born in the city of Valladolid
Morelia
Morelia is a city and municipality in the north central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital of the state. The main pre-Hispanic cultures here were the P'urhépecha and the Matlatzinca, but no major cities were founded in the...

 in the state of Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...

 in New Spain. His parents, Agustín de Iturbide and Ana María de Huarte y Muñiz
Ana María de Huarte y Muñiz
Ana María Josefa Ramona de Huarte y Muñiz , was the consort of Emperor Agustín de Iturbide of Mexico. She was daughter of the nobleman Isidro Huarte, provincial intendant and descendant of the Marquis of Altamira....

, were Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

-Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...

 aristocrats and owed large tracts of farmland, the two hacienda
Hacienda
Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, or even business factories. Many haciendas combined these productive activities...

s of Apeo and Guaracha as well as more land in nearby Quirio. Agustín had several other siblings, including:
  • Sabina de Iturbide y Huarte
    Sabina de Iturbide y Huarte
    Doña Sabina de Iturbide y Huarte, Princess of Mexico was a Mexican princess during the short-lived First Mexican Empire and a member of the Imperial House of Iturbide. She was the eldest daughter of Agustín de Iturbide and Ana María de Huarte y Muñiz...

  • Juana María de Itrubide y Muñiz
    Sister Margarita of Jesus
    Juana María de Iturbide y Huarte , Princess of Mexico, known as Sister Margarita of Jesus, was the third child of Agustín I of Mexico and Empress Ana Maria Huarte...

  • Josefa de Iturbide y Huarte
  • Ángel de Iturbide y Huarte
  • Jesus de Iturbide y Huarte
  • María de Jesus de Iturbide y Huarte
  • María de los Dolores de Iturbide y Huarte
  • Salvador de Iturbide y Huarte
  • Felipe Andrés María Guadalupe de Iturbide y Huarte
  • Agustín Cosme de Iturbide y Huarte


He spent his early years with his mother and other siblings on their two haciendas as his father was fighting in the Mexican War of Independence
Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September 1810. The movement, which became known as the Mexican War of Independence, was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought...

 and was little at home with his children. Eventually he was able to build a successful military and political coalition and managed to capture Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

 on 27 September 1821, decisively ending the war. On 19 May 1822 his father was elected Emperor of Mexico by the Mexican Congress, young Agustín reportedly became so dizzy he could hardly stand when he heard the news of his father's election as emperor of the new nation.

Only three days later on 22 June 1822, the young Agustín was made heir apparent to the throne with the title of Prince Imperial of Mexico which came with the style of Imperial Highness
Imperial Highness
His/Her Imperial Highness is a style used by members of an imperial family to denote imperial - as opposed to royal - status to show that the holder in question is descended from an Emperor rather than a King .Today the style has mainly fallen from use with the exception of the Imperial Family of...

 and the honorific title of "Don". All his other siblings received the title of Prince or Princess of Mexico, with the style of Highness
Highness
Highness, often used with a possessive adjective , is an attribute referring to the rank of the dynasty in an address...

. The new imperial family moved into the Palace of Iturbide
Palace of Iturbide
The Palace of Iturbide is a large palatial home located in the historic center of Mexico City on Madero Street #17. It was built by the Count of San Mateo Valparaíso as a wedding gift for his daughter. It gained the name “Palace of Iturbide” because Agustín de Iturbide lived and accepted the crown...

 in Mexico City, where Agustín de Iturbide had lived before when he was the President of the Regency.

Agustín de Iturbide was deposed 19 March 1823 in the Plan of Casa Mata
Plan of Casa Mata
The Plan of Casa Mata was formulated to abolish the monarchy in Mexico and to establish a republic.In December 1822, Antonio López de Santa Anna and Guadalupe Victoria signed the Plan de Casa Mata on February 1, 1823, as a start of their efforts to overthrow Emperor Agustín de Iturbide.In May...

, initiated by the two generals Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, known as "the Napoleon of the West," was a Mexican political leader, general, and president who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government...

 and Guadalupe Victoria
Guadalupe Victoria
Guadalupe Victoria born José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, was a Mexican politician and military man who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence. He was a deputy for Durango and a member of the Supreme Executive Power...

; subsequently the entire imperial family was forced to flee the country and left for Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 in the English ship Rawlins shortly after the successful coup d'état.

Post monarchy

The imperial family first travelled to Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...

 in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence...

 but was eventually forced to leave by the authorities due to the pressure from the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....

. The former imperial family then relucantly moved to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

. It was here that Don Agustín gained admission to the prestigious Anglo-Roman Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, England, is the largest Roman Catholic co-educational boarding independent school in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1802, as a boys' school, and is run by the Benedictine monks and lay staff of Ampleforth Abbey...

, located in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

 where he studied politics, law and business. Agustín de Iturbide was eventually convinced by conservative political factions to return to Mexico and Don Agustín was left to his studies back in England with some of his siblings. Agustín de Iturbide returned to his homeland with his wife and two children on 14 July 1824, but was captured and executed shortly after. On his father's death he became the Titular Mexican Emperor and he would be a claimant to his father's empire for forty years until the Second Mexican Empire
Second Mexican Empire
The Second Mexican Empire was the name of Mexico under the regime established from 1864 to 1867. It was created by Napoleon III of France, who attempted to use the Mexican adventure to recapture some of the grandeur of earlier Napoleonic times...

 was established under Maximilian I of Mexico
Maximilian I of Mexico
Maximilian I was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire.After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864, with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy...

.

Bolívar's friend

Iturbide completed his education at Ampleforth College and received a letter of recommendation saying that he was "a good son, a good brother and a good patriot who will use his experiences and riches for God and for good".

After just a few years, Don Agustín left the UK and travelled to New Granada
Republic of New Granada
The Republic of New Granada was a centralist republic consisting primarily of present-day Colombia and Panama with smaller portions of today's Ecuador, and Venezuela. It was created after the dissolution in 1830 of Gran Colombia. It was later abolished in 1858 when the Granadine Confederation was...

 (present-day Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 and Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

) where he eventually met and befriended Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...

, the military and political leader of Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

. Don Agustín was made an Adjutant General under Bolívar. When the Mexican foreign minister complained about the presence of the Prince Imperial in South America, Bolívar who wanted only to protect the young and unfortunate prince, replied this: "You must calm your mind to his presence, because he would not compete for his father's throne for a thousand reasons". Don Agustín accompanied Bolívar until his final moments in life and it is described in the official report on the hero's death: "Bolívar leaned on his friend and assistant Iturbide, when he helped him up the stairs to his bedroom just before nightfall". In 1831 the Mexican Congress declared that the banishment decree on the former imperial family had been lifted and the Prince Imperial subsequently returned to his homeland.

Later life and death

On his return to the United Mexican States he started working as an Mexican diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

. He first served at the Mexican embassy in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, a post he would remain in until 19 March 1833, and would later be transferred to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 where he would be stationed until 1835. He was making only 3,500 pesos
Pesos
Pesos may refer to** Peso, the currency, in plural form* Fenfluramine, by the trade name Pesos...

 a year, but he still maintained the large fortune gathered by his deceased father. He also served as a volunteer in the Papal Zouaves
Papal Zouaves
The Papal Zouaves were an infantry force formed in defence of the Papal States.-Origin:The Zouaves evolved out of a unit formed by Christophe Léon Louis Juchault de Lamoricière...

, an infantry force created to protect the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...

. At the outbreak of the Mexican-American War he decided to participate in the defence of his homeland. During the Battle of Padierna on 19 and 20 August 1847, he took command over the Celaya Regiment and tried to rouse his men with his famous patriotic cry: "With me boys! My father is the father of our independence".
When the Mexican monarchy was revived as the Second Mexican Empire under Maximilian I of Mexico, Don Agustín gave up his right to the throne and did volunteeringly approve of the new emperor; he also approved Maximilian's request to adopt two of the Prince Imperial's nephews, Agustín de Iturbide y Green
Agustín de Iturbide y Green
Don Agustín de Iturbide y Green, Prince of Iturbide was the grandson of Agustín de Iturbide, the first emperor of independent Mexico, and his consort Empress Ana María...

 and Salvador de Iturbide y de Marzán
Salvador de Iturbide y de Marzán
Don Salvador, Prince of Iturbide, also named Salvador de Iturbide y Marzán . was the second adopted son of Maximilian I of Mexico.-Family:...

. Despite giving up his right to the throne he remained the head of the former Imperial House of Iturbide and even though Don Agustín de Iturbide y Green was proclaimed the new heir apparent he never received his uncle's title of Prince Imperial; this was due to Don Agustín still being alive.

After witnessing the fall of both the First Mexican Empire and the Second Mexican empire, the Prince Imperial, Don Agustín, died on 11 November 1866 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. His life had ironically witnessed the fall of two emperors and two monarchies in Mexico and he himself had been an important figure in both the imperial monarchies; he was largely overlooked when working for the United Mexican States, but did gain some notoriety while serving under Simón Bolívar. The Prince Imperial was buried in Philadelphia next to his mother, many of the members of the former Imperial House of Iturbide and House of Habsburg-Itúrbide
House of Habsburg-Iturbide
The House of Habsburg-Itúrbide is the second royal house after the House of Itúrbide In 1822 when the newly independent Mexican congress confirmed the title of Agustín I, Constitutional Emperor of Mexico on Agustín de Itúrbide, a Mexican general. After the demise of the First Mexican Empire less...

 would also be buried at the same location. Because he died without ever marrying or fathering any legitimate children, his title of Prince Imperial of Mexico was transferred to Maria Josepha Sophia de Itúrbide
Maria Josepha Sophia de Iturbide
Maria Josepha Sophia de Itúrbide, Princess Imperial of Mexico was the head of the Imperial House of Mexico from 1925 to 1949.-Biography:...

, the daughter of Don Salvador de Iturbide y de Marzán.

He fathered an illegitimate daughter by Nicolasa Fernández de Pierola a lady from Arequipa
Arequipa
Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...

 in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

. The daughter, called Doña Jesusa de Iturbide, would later marry the prominent Peruvian politician Nicolás de Piérola
Nicolás de Piérola
H.E. Don Jose Nicolás Baltasar Fernández de Piérola y Villena was a prominent Peruvian politician, the Finance Minister and twice President of the Republic of Peru .-Early years:Nicolás de Piérola was born and educated in the southern Peruvian city of Arequipa...

 (They were first cousins). The current head to both the former imperial houses and the title of Prince Imperial of Mexico is Maximilian von Götzen-Itúrbide
Maximilian von Götzen-Iturbide
Maximiliano Gustav Richard Albrecht Agustin von Götzen-Iturbide Maximiliano Gustav Richard Albrecht Agustin von Götzen-Iturbide Maximiliano Gustav Richard Albrecht Agustin von Götzen-Iturbide (born March 2, 1944 in Bistriţa, Romania (then Hungary), is the current head of the former Imperial House...

.

Honours

  • Knight of the Order of Our Lady of Guadalupe (1st class)
  • Knight of the Order of the Mexican Eagle (Ordinary class)

Ancestry



External links


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