The Crown Prince of the Mexican Empire - The Crown Prince of the Mexican Empire Chapter 1
became the crown prince of the Mexican Empire
Became the crown prince
“If I had known this would happen, I would have gone to England or America.”
under-
I took a deep breath.
I was just an ordinary young man who loved history games.
There are many countries that appear in historical games, but usually the player chooses to play as their home country or a European country.
The former allowed players to feel a sense of patriotism as they grew their country into a huge empire, while the latter was because the countries that were the main characters in the game were more meticulous in their research and had more content such as missions and events.
“His rebellious nature is ruining his life.”
Unlike most players, I had a strange temperament.
Even when playing games, I liked playing as a country that was beaten by a powerful country and fell into ruin rather than as a powerful country itself.
My friends teased me, saying I have an M personality… Anyway, the country I’ve played the most recently is Mexico.
The United States has become the world’s most powerful country in modern times.
Mexico, which lost 55% of its territory and was reduced to a third-rate country under the absurd excuse of Manifest Destiny, stimulated my strange temperament.
There have been many instances where Mexico, a non-mainstream country with few events, was raised in various ways to defeat the United States and become the strongest country.
As I continued, I developed a sense of intimacy, and before I knew it, I was learning about Mexico on YouTube.
‘Should I really go there once?’
Although it is known for its poor public safety, wouldn’t it be worth visiting a relatively safe place like Mexico City?
Once the idea was in my head, it wouldn’t go away, and I eventually decided to go to Mexico.
As the saying goes, “You see as much as you know,” doesn’t traveling become more fun the more you know? That’s why I bought and read a Mexican history book, which is rare in Korea.
The trip was enjoyable.
The prices were cheap, I liked the hotel, there was a lot to see, and the food was delicious.
‘If you had fun, you should have just gone home and rested.’
The night before I was to return to Korea, I went to a nearby bar because I felt something was missing. I knew it would be a bad idea.
I went to a bar to try local Mexican tequila, and an old man started talking to me.
I was nervous for a moment, but the kind-faced old man waited patiently for my awkward Spanish. The conversation, which started with how my trip to Mexico was, continued more naturally than I expected. This kind Mexican old man drank a lot. As the conversation went on, I got really drunk and started talking nonsense to him.
“It makes me sick to my stomach to see that California and Texas, which were taken over by the Americans, are ranked 1st and 2nd in GDP and population among the 50 states.”
“Haha… Why are you so upset when it’s not even your country?”
“It’s because it’s unfair. We have resources like gold and oil, the weather is good, and the farming is good. If only we had these lands···.”
“···Heh heh heh.”
Since then, I have been speaking passionately about the bad choices made by Mexico’s leaders immediately after independence.
Of course, I am not an expert, let alone a specialist, and all I can do is talk about the shallow knowledge I have learned from a book and YouTube.
“So what should Mexico have done?”
Oh no! What a kind grandfather!
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Not only did you listen to my nonsense, you even asked me questions.
I have never really thought about what Mexico should have done after independence, but I graduated with a degree in civil engineering and worked for a construction company for several years.
Naturally, he talked about national development by combining his superficial historical knowledge and his knowledge of civil engineering.
Although he spoke passionately, in short, he was talking about using the natural resources that were abundant in Mexico at the time as seed money to push forward national development and industrialization.
Now that I think about it, it was just a pathetic thing to say.
Do you think the people of that era hated gold? How could they mine it if they didn’t know about it?
‘Ha… They say the scariest person is someone who’s only read one book, and I guess that’s me.’
Still, my nonsense must have impressed that Mexican grandpa, because when I woke up, I was here.
“······So, who am I?”
“His Majesty Agustín Jerónimo de Iturbide.”
“Uh… Really?”
When the conversation stopped there, the maid looked at him with a look that said, ‘What is this guy doing?’
You’re not going around saying that the Crown Prince has lost his mind, are you? I added urgently.
“···How can my room be this dirty! Eight! Clean it again!”
The room was clean, but I said whatever came to mind and quickly left.
‘Ha… The Mexican Empire, and the First Mexican Empire at that.’
Thinking back now, that old man was strange from the start.
It may be true that I sat next to an Asian tourist and started talking to him, but haven’t I felt several times during my trip over the past few days that my poor Spanish skills are not yet at a level where I can converse with locals?
‘When I was talking to that old man, the words flowed smoothly. I thought it was because of the alcohol, but when I think about it, I’m not only bad at speaking, but also bad at listening.’
When I was talking to that old man, Spanish sounded just like Korean. Now that I look back, there were a few things that were strange, but I didn’t know it at the time.
“Come to think of it, you’re still fluent in Spanish?”
I guess that grandfather still has the ability to communicate with me.
‘By the way, why this person at this time, Grandfather? Are you saying that I was a bit of a troublemaker? Oh, really. You have a more lingering grudge than I thought.’
It has been 300 years since Cortés of Spain destroyed the Aztec Empire.
Although it had the significance of being the first independent nation established after a long period of rule, the First Mexican Empire did not last long, and it was not even founded by Agustin I himself, but by his eldest son!
‘Well… if I think about it positively, it’ll probably be a mess for the next 100 years.’
If we think about Mexico’s history, which has been a never-ending feast of revolutions, civil wars, and rebellions since independence, and which has been eaten up by powerful countries whenever it was bored, it might be better to start now.
‘Absolutely not after the Mexican-American war.’
After losing a whopping 55% of the entire country, including good agricultural lands such as California and Texas, which had abundant natural resources, they had no confidence in creating a country comparable to the United States, no matter what they did.
The person had to be someone who could calm the extreme social and political chaos in Mexico immediately after independence and push for national development and industrialization.
There were many figures who seized power after Augustin I, but none had a stronger justification than Augustin I, the hero who achieved independence and who ascended to the throne as the first emperor of a country with the support of the citizens.
In that respect, the father of this body, Agustin I, would be the best, but the problem was that he was soon entering middle age, and there was a low probability that he would be alive during the Memek War.
‘Are you telling me to work hard to develop Mexico and stop the United States from this age? … It’s illegal to make teenagers do this much work.’
It’s illegal, but what can we do?
Isn’t it the will of a divine being that transformed me into a person from 200 years ago?
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If I had been given a choice before being sent here, it would have been different, but since I’m already here, if I refuse and do nothing, it would be meaningless death. My parents are dead and I have no children, so I don’t really have any regrets.
One thing that bothered me was where the soul of Jeronimo, the original owner of this body, had gone. Since it was possessed by a divine being, I had no choice but to believe that it would have taken care of it.
‘There’s nothing we can do since it happened through supernatural powers… First, we need to know the current situation. Judging from what the maid called me earlier, it doesn’t seem to have collapsed yet. What’s important is what month it is now.’
Normally, in this situation, it would be natural to start from the year, but luckily I didn’t have to do that.
This body’s father, Agustín de Iturbide, commonly known as Agustín I, ascended the throne as Emperor of the Mexican Empire on May 19, 1822, and abdicated on March 19, 1823, as a result of a republican revolution. Therefore, if he is still called His Majesty, it must have been between May 1822 and March 1823.
“It’s still absurd when I think about it again.”
What had to happen for a hero of national independence and the first emperor of an empire with popular support to perish in just 10 months?
When it happened to someone else, it would have been laughable, but from my perspective, having been expelled like Augustin I, it was a shocking thing.
‘Whether you have power or not, you have to be in Mexico to develop it or not.’
This body’s father, Augustin I, was in many ways a figure similar to George Washington, the first President of the United States.
The fact that he was born in a colony and became an officer.
The fact that he married a rich woman and became a large landowner.
The fact that he was excellent in military affairs and made great contributions in the war.
This included becoming the first leader of an independent nation.
The two men, who had taken similar paths, differed in the most important thing: Augustin I was a royalist, while George Washington was a republican.
George Washington turned down several offers to become king and became the first person in history to be elected president.
This is surprising considering that at this time even the most republican countries in Europe had adopted constitutional monarchies, and the word ‘President’ was simply used to mean ‘head of a group.’
As a hero of independence and the first president, he set a beautiful precedent by stepping down from power at the end of his second term and retiring to his farm, even though he could have remained in power if he had wanted to.
‘What a great person.’
Agustin I was an officer in New Spain. At this time, Spain itself was embroiled in the Napoleonic Wars and even a civil war broke out, so it was unable to pay attention to its colony, New Spain.
Naturally, support for the colonial army was also lacking, but Agustin I displayed surprising military prowess despite the difficult circumstances and thoroughly defeated the Mexican independence fighters. Spain itself also recognized his ability and he was appointed commander in chief of the Spanish army in northern Mexico.
The reason he changed his stance after having been enthusiastically fighting against Mexican independence fighters was because liberals in Spain were pushing for liberal reforms that limited the king’s power.
‘Augustine I must have considered it a humiliation and an excuse to covet greater power.’
He compromised with the independence leader Vicente Guerrero, announced the Plan de Iguala, and after Mexico became independent, he ascended to the throne of the emperor with the support of the citizens as an independence hero.
After ascending to the throne, Augustin I continued to clash with the parliament, arresting opposition members on the pretext of a plot to overthrow the state, which in turn led to more violent opposition from the parliament.
‘Here, the worst choice of dissolving the National Assembly has poured oil on the burning public sentiment.’
As a former military commander, Augustin I probably thought that he had a firm grip on power and could dissolve the parliament, but the problem was that his control over the military was not as strong as he thought.
After the dissolution of the National Assembly, as the popular sentiment against Agustín I began to rapidly deteriorate, local officers with republican ideologies drew up the Plan de Casa Mata, a plan to oust Agustín I.
‘Among these officers was General Santa Anna, who later became President of Mexico nine times.’
When even the commander of the army sent to suppress the rebellion was persuaded by Santa Anna, Augustin I fled to Italy, but was captured and executed while trying to return home under pressure from conservatives.
‘It was the worst possible start for a young nation like Mexico.’
Precedents soon become a reference point. In all areas where precedents exist, including law, precedents are referenced. Even on a simple Internet posting, the first comment has tremendous power.
In that sense, George Washington gave a great gift to the United States, and Agustin I committed a sin against Mexico.
When I think about Agustin I, the first thing that naturally comes to mind is:
‘First, I’ll stop the father of this body from doing useless things.’
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From there, the fate of this country changes.
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