SPAIN AND THE HOLY ALLIANCE IN THE PUBLIC DISCOURSE OF THE FIRST MEXICAN EMPIRE (1821-1823)

Abstract

In 1820, Rafael del Riego started an uprising in Spain to establish a liberal
government in the Spanish Empire. This concluded the Sexenio Absolutista,
giving way to the Trienio Liberal. In Europe, the revolutionary spread led Portugal,
Naples and Piedmont to follow the same path, seeking to replace their absolute
monarchies with constitutional governments. This would cause the great
European monarchies, allied under the banner of the Holy Alliance, to initiate
an interventionist policy to prevent the revolution from crossing their borders.
Shortly afterwards, Austria invaded Naples, abolishing its constitutional
government. This article discusses how this interventionist policy was reflected
in the public opinion of the first Mexican Empire (1821-1823). How the possibility
of an alliance between Fernando VII and the coalited monarchic powers
implanted the fear of an imminent Spanish invasion through the Fort of San
Juan de Ulúa, in Veracruz.