CASTRO, José Agustín de El triunfo del silencio : cancion heroica, que al glorioso martirio del inclito sagrado protector del sigilo sacramental San Juan Nepomuceno. (Translation: The triumph of silence: heroic song, the glorious martyrdom of the illustrious sacred protector of the sacramental seal Saint John of Nepomuk.)
Saint John of Nepomuk (circa 1340–1393), a Czech saint and Catholic priest, is venerated for his martyrdom in defense of the sacramental seal of confession. He was drowned in the Vltava River by order of King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia after refusing to reveal the confessional secrets of the queen. His cult became prominent in Catholic Europe and the Americas, symbolizing unwavering faith and loyalty to religious principles.
Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (Spanish pronunciation: [aɣusˈtin de ituɾˈbiðe]; 27 September 1783 – 19 July 1824), commonly known as Agustín de Iturbide and later by his regnal name Agustín I, was the first Emperor of Mexico from 1822 until his abdication in 1823.
An officer in the royal Spanish army, during the Mexican War of Independence he initially fought insurgent forces rebelling against the Spanish crown before changing sides in 1820 and leading a coalition of former royalists and long-time insurgents under his Plan of Iguala. The combined forces under Iturbide brought about Mexican independence in September 1821.
After securing the secession of Mexico from Spain, Iturbide was proclaimed president of the Regency in 1821; a year later, he was proclaimed Emperor, reigning from 19 May 1822 to 19 March 1823, when he abdicated. In May 1823 he went into exile in Europe. When he returned to Mexico in July 1824, he was arrested and executed.
Iturbide’s reign as emperor lasted less than a year, but as leader of the coalition that brought about Mexican independence and then as its first ruler in the post-independence era, he remains an important figure not only in Mexico, but also in Europe.
Scholar Ricardo Ramirez comments that, “Interesting indeed, looks like the verso depicted the “Imperial Order of Guadalupe”, in that case it’s an early XIX c. binding as it was Emperor Agustin I who initiated it, maybe 1822-1823. Not sure about the coat of arms in the recto.”
