or Agustín I
born Sept. 27, 1783, Valladolid, Viceroyalty of New Spain
died July 19, 1824, Padilla, Mex.
Leader of the conservative factions in the Mexican independence movement and, briefly, emperor of Mexico (1822–23).
An army officer when the independence movement emerged in 1810, he fought for the royalists, but in 1820, in reaction to a liberal coup in Spain, the conservatives did an about-face and advocated immediate independence. Iturbide joined forces with the insurgents and won Mexico's independence in 1821. In 1822 he crowned himself emperor, but his arbitrary and extravagant ways cost him support. His abdication in 1823 did not save him from execution. To Mexico's conservatives he remains the principal hero of Mexican independence.