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The French Revolution that occurred between 1789 and 1799 and the disruptions it caused throughout Europe helped to facilitate the Mexican War of Independence which began in 1810 and continued through the early nineteenth century. These two revolutions had similar leadership and similar events due to the interaction with the five stages of revolution, but the two countries experienced wildly different outcomes from this conflict.

France and Mexico both had similar leadership on both sides of their revolutions. The catholic church, still a powerful European institution of the time, backed both their monarchs King Louis #? and King Ferdinand #?, respectively, and these two rulers were each most interested in ending the revolts, so their absolutist policies would not be disturbed. One of Mexico’s earliest and most influential revolutionary leaders was Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. Similarly, Maximilien Robespierre was one of the original revolutionists and a key player in France. While both of these men were motivated by their belief in popular sovereignty, Costilla was a priest with many religious motivations as well. On the other hand, Robespierre was strongly influenced by the beliefs and practices associated with enlightenment, a rising intellectual current in Europe during that era. The Five Stages of Revolution can be applied to the conflict in both of these countries. Stage Five, the Thermidorian Reaction, consists of the new regime taking on the “robes” of the old. In France, many historians consider Napoleon to be the Thermidorian Reaction while Whatshisname Iturbide can be seen as the Thermidorian Reaction in the Mexican War of Independence. These two leaders were each viewed as epitomes of change and progress by their peo...

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...hy with a National Assembly, to a corrupt government controlled by a National Convention, to an even more corrupt oligarchy style government controlled by the Directory, to a military based authoritarian government under Napoleon. After the fall of Napoleon, France was once again a monarchy for around a 100 years, but the power of the French Crown was significantly weakened by the ethics and the ideas of popular sovereignty and enlightenment that the revolution had spread. Mexico reached its desired outcome while France returned back to where they began after innumerable damage.

The French Revolution and the Mexican War of Independence both occurred around the same time, an era marked by revolutionary and novel thinking. They saw similar leadership and event due to model such as the Five Stages of Revolution, but the outcomes of the two revolutions differed greatly.