Agustín de Iturbide was a Mexican revolutionary leader and a self-
proclaimed emperor over a kingdom of which Nicaragua was briefly a part.
He began his career as an officer in the Spanish royalist army in what is
now known as Mexico, during the time of the Mexican war of
independence. Iturbide was given command of the royalist troops who
were assigned to crush an uprising by the Mexican revolutionist Vicente
Guerrero. However, instead of following his orders, he joined forces with
Guerrero against the Spanish. In February of 1821, they issued the Plan of
Iguala, which called for Mexico to have its own independent monarchical
government. Iturbide and Guerrero became broadly popular, and they
managed to repeatedly defeat the royalists near Mexico City. The Spanish
viceroy resigned and signed the Treaty of Córdoba in August of
1821 which proclaimed Mexico's independence. A month later, Iturbide
was the provisional head of the government.
Iturbide decided to make himself the emperor Agustín I in 1822.
Nicaragua became part of his empire, but he soon proved to be a wasteful
and incompetent leader, and was forced into exile by Antonio López ten
months after the begin of his reign. He returned to Mexico in 1824,
was arrested by the Mexican congress, who executed him as a traitor.
