Born in 1783 in Valladolid, now Morelia, began his career as a soldier in the Spanish Royalist army. Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (27 September 1783 – 19 July 1824), also known as Augustine of Mexico, was a Mexican army general and politician. Central America, which had been loosely joined to Mexico in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, was briefly annexed by the newly independent Mexican nation. With this army he fought against the first independence movements in the country, fighting figures like Miguel Hidalgo. Veracruz - Wikipedia Hidalgo is hailed as the Father of the Nation even though it was Agustin de Iturbide and not Hidalgo who achieved Mexican Independence in 1821. During the Mexican War of Independence, he built a successful political and military coalition that took control in Mexico City on 27 September 1821, decisively gaining independence for Mexico. The Mexican independence movement is distinguished sharply from its counterparts in South America by its two separate phases. Iturbide After the outbreak of the War of Independence in 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla offered Agustín de Iturbide the rank of general in the insurgent forces. Agustín de Iturbide He was the first leader of independent Mexico. While the last of the Spanish held on in San Juan de Ulúa, Agustín de Iturbide had been declared the emperor of Mexico in 1822. Agustín rejected the offer, as he repudiated the atrocities that the mostly-untrained insurgent army committed against Spanish civilians, choosing instead to fight for the royalist forces. Agustín de Iturbide. A country rich in history, tradition and culture, Mexico is made up of 31 states and one federal district. The Mexican independence movement is distinguished sharply from its counterparts in South America by its two separate phases. But it succumbed to the coalition forged by Agustín de Iturbide in 1821. Agustín de Iturbide (1783-1824) was a conservative military leader who won Mexican independence from Spain and then ruled as Emperor Agustín I in 1822-1823. In 1823, however, the people of Central America went their own way upon the overthrow of Iturbide’s empire. Agustín de Iturbide was the first leader of independent Mexico. Agustín de Iturbide (1783-1824) was a conservative military leader who won Mexican independence from Spain and then ruled as Emperor Agustín I in 1822-1823. During the Mexican War of Independence, he built a successful political and military coalition that took control in Mexico City on 27 September 1821, decisively gaining independence for Mexico. It is the third largest country in Latin America and During the Mexican War of Independence, he built a successful political and military coalition that took control in Mexico City on 27 September 1821, decisively gaining independence for Mexico. The Mexican War of Independence (Spanish: Guerra de Independencia de México) was an armed conflict and political process, lasting from 1808 to 1821, resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain.It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional struggles that occurred within the same time period, and can be considered a revolutionary civil war. Born in 1783 in Valladolid, now Morelia, he began his career as a soldier in the Spanish royalist army. Agustín I (born Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu, 27 September 1783 – 19 July 1824), also known as Augustine I, was the first Emperor of an independent Mexico.He was a Mexican army general. Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (27 September 1783 – 19 July 1824), also known as Augustine of Mexico, was a Mexican army general and politician. With this army he fought against the first independence movements in the country, fighting figures such as Miguel Hidalgo. Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (Spanish pronunciation: [aɣusˈtin ðe ituɾˈβiðe] (listen); 27 September 1783 – 19 July 1824), also known as Augustine of Mexico, was a Mexican army general and politician.