Important, but unrecorded, decree, establishing the Second Regency of the Mexican Empire on the 11th of April 1822. The decree, signed by the Mexican politician José Luis de Quintanar (1772-1837) and effective immediately, names the members of the Second Regency, and asks them to go to the Congress Hall to take their oath. This transition set the stage for the president of the Regency, Agustín the Iturbide (1783-1824) to rise to power and become the first emperor of Mexico a few weeks later. Despite its importance, however, we have not been able to find other copies of the present decree in either sales records or any of the prominent Mexican pamphlet collections.
Mexico gained independence from Spain after it won its War of Independence (1810-1821). One of the first goals was to establish a constitutional monarchy, with an emperor at the head, but since no European royal was willing to accept the Mexican crown, a regency was put in place as a temporary government. The five members of the First Regency were installed on 28 September 1821, with Iturbide unanimously elected as president. On April 11 1822, however, the Constituent Congress replaced three of its members, resulting in the Second Regency. This was likely done with the goal to reign in Iturbide's growing power. Nevertheless, this Regency remained in place for only a few weeks, as Iturbide was declared emperor on 18 May 1822. The Regency thus played a key role in facilitating the shift from republican ideals to the establishment of the empire.
With two signatures at the bottom, a short printed text on the back, as well as a contemporary inscription (a summary of the decree in Spanish), and six tax stamps (two different ones from King Ferdinand VII of Spain, and one from the first Mexican Empire, all included twice). The edges are slightly frayed, the corners are slightly creased and stained, a horizontal and vertical fold line, with a small hole in the middle where they meet, affecting one letter. Otherwise in good condition. Not in Catalogue of Mexican pamphlets in the Sutro Collection (1623-1888); Steele, C. and Costeloe, M. (eds.), Independent Mexico: a collection of Mexican pamphlets in the Bodleian library; WorldCat.