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Spain was the "mother country" of Mexico. There were four classes that the society was divided into. The highest was the penisularis, next the creos. After the creos came the theos, and finally the Native Americans. The issues of Spain began to affect Mexico as well. People in Mexico weren't happy about this, so they turned to revolution. Mexico became independent from Spain on August 24th, 1821.

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File:Political divisions of Mexico 1821 (location map scheme).svg - Wikipedia

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Miguel Hidalgo was a Mexican Roman Catholic priest and revolutionary leader. He was best known for starting the Mexican War of Independence. He advocated for social reforms, including the end of slavery and better treatment of indigenous people. Miguel was captured and executed 1811. Although he died, he was still influential in the road to Mexican independence.

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Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, (born May 8, 1753, Corralejo, near Guanajuato, Mexico-died July 30, 1811, Chihuahua), Roman Catholic priest and revolutionary leader who is called the father of Mexican independence.

Hidalgo was the second child born to Cristóbal Hidalgo and his wife. He studied at a Jesuit secondary school, received a bachelor's degree in theology and philosophy in 1773 from San Nicolás College (now Michoacán University of San Nicolás de Hidalgo) in Valladolid (now Morelia), and was ordained a priest in 1778. He had an uneventful early career, but in 1803 Hidalgo assumed his recently deceased elder brother's duties as parish priest in Dolores (now Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato state). His interest in the economic advancement of his parishioners-for example, through the introduction of newer methods of agriculture-and his political convictions regarding the oppression of the people by the Spanish authorities caused the latter to regard him with suspicion.

In 1808 Spain was invaded by French troops, and Napoleon I forced the abdication of King Ferdinand VII in favour of the French emperor's brother Joseph Bonaparte. Though Spanish officials in Mexico were loath to oppose the new king, many Mexicans formed secret societies-some supporting Ferdinand, others advocating independence from Spain. Hidalgo belonged to a pro-independence group in San Miguel (now San Miguel de Allende), near Dolores. When the plot was betrayed to the Spanish, several members were arrested. Warned to flee, Hidalgo decided instead to act promptly. On September 16, 1810, he rang the church bell in Dolores to call his parishioners to an announcement of revolution against the Spanish. His speech was not only an encouragement to revolt but a cry for racial equality and the redistribution of land. It became known as the Grito de Dolores ("Cry of Dolores").

What he began in San Miguel as a movement for independence became a social and economic war of the masses against the upper classes. Joined by thousands of Indians and mestizos, Hidalgo marched forth from Dolores under the banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe. With his followers he captured the city of Guanajuato and other major cities west of Mexico City. Soon Hidalgo was at the gates of the capital, but he hesitated, and the opportunity was lost. His followers melted away. Royalists as well as other elements in Mexico were frightened by the prospect of social upheaval and supported the suppression of the rebellion. After his defeat at Calderón Bridge, outside Guadalajara, on January 17, 1811, Hidalgo fled north, hoping to escape into the United States. He was caught, expelled from the priesthood, and executed by firing squad as a rebel.

Though his accomplishments were not lasting ones, Hidalgo's name became the symbol of the independence movement for most Mexicans. September 16, the anniversary of the Grito de Dolores, is now celebrated as Mexico's Independence Day.

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Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla | Facts, Accomplishments, & Biography

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Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Roman Catholic priest and revolutionary leader who is called the father of Mexican independence.

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Italy was seperated into many different countries prior to their independence. Many of these countries were very small and irrelevant to the larger countries. Because of this, Napoleon easily invaded all of what we know as Italy. After invading, he decided to make it all one country. Today, this country is now known as Italy.

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Giuseppe Garibaldi was a key figure in the unification of Italy. He known for his military leadership and nationalist ideals. He was one of the great masters of guerilla warfare. He was responsible for most of the military victories of the Risorgimento. He was more well known then the other 2 important leaders, Cavour and Mazzini.

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John Swift John Swift is a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Cumbria.

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Giuseppe Garibaldi - Italian Unification, Risorgimento, Hero

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Giuseppe Garibaldi - Italian Unification, Risorgimento, Hero: In 1861 a new kingdom of Italy came into existence, but from the start it found Garibaldi virtually in opposition. Many people regarded him as an embarrassment. He opposed Cavour in parliament and accused the government of shabby treatment of the volunteer soldiers who had conquered half the country and given it to the king.

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Small German states felt like they were not safe from larger states. Otto Von Bismarck had Prussian dominance of Germany. The 7 weeks war was to unify Germany. Bismarck was able to provoke the French to declare war first in 1871. The Prussian war helped Germany realize Prussia had control over them.

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Otto von Bismarck was an important figure in German history. He was known for his role in unifying Germany in the 19th century. He served as Prime Minister of Prussia. Later, he served as the first Chancellor of the German Empire. He laid the base for Germany's independence.

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Bismarck was responsible for transforming a collection of small German states into the German empire, and was its first chancellor.

Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was born into an aristocratic family at Schönhausen, northwest of Berlin, on 1 April 1815. He attended a prestigious school in Berlin followed by the University of Göttingen. He then entered the Prussian civil service but was bored by his job and in 1838 resigned. For nearly a decade, he helped his father manage the family estates.

In 1847, Bismarck married Johanna von Puttkamer, who provided him with stability. It was a year of significant change in his life, when he also embraced the Christian tradition of Lutheranism, and began his political career in the Prussian legislature, where he gained a reputation as an ultra-conservative royalist. In 1851, King Frederick Wilhelm IV appointed Bismarck as Prussian representative to the German Confederation. He then served as ambassador to Russia and France. In 1862, he returned to Prussia and was appointed prime minister by the new king, Wilhelm I.

Bismarck was now determined to unite the German states into a single empire, with Prussia at its core. With Austrian support, he used the expanded Prussian army to capture the provinces of Schleswig and Holstein from Denmark. He then escalated a quarrel with Austria and its German allies over the administration of these provinces into a war, in which Prussia was the victor. Prussia then annexed further territory in Germany.

Unable to persuade the southern German states to join with his North German Confederation, he provoked hostilities with France as a way of uniting the German states together. The German victory in the Franco-Prussian War won over the southern German states, and in 1871 they agreed to join a German empire. Wilhelm I of Prussia became emperor.

As 'chancellor' of the new Germany, Bismarck concentrated on building a powerful state with a unified national identity. One of his targets was the Catholic Church, which he believed had too much influence, particularly in southern Germany. He also worked to prevent the spread of socialism, partly by introducing health insurance and pensions.

Abroad, Bismarck aimed to make the German empire the most powerful in Europe. In 1879, he negotiated an alliance with Austria-Hungary to counteract France and Russia. Italy later joined the alliance. To avoid alienating Britain, Bismarck arranged the two Mediterranean Agreements of 1887, designed to preserve the status quo against a Russian threat.

In 1890, Bismarck resigned after disagreeing with the new emperor, Wilhelm II. He retired to his estate near Hamburg and died there on 30 July 1898.

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Read a biography of Otto von Bismarck - the first chancellor of united Germany.