WI: Mexico gained independence in 1818

I think we need more to answer this. The issue was not when Mexico became independent, but rather how Mexico became independent. Did Hidalgo sack Mexico City in 1810 and finally drive the last Spaniard loyalist out in 1818? or did Jose Morales avoid capture and execution to defeat Agustin Iturbide in 1818? or did Iturbide decide to support independence on his end three years earlier? To be honest, New Spain was in such turmoil in 1818 that it was very possible that it ended up independent that year, the real question is how.
 
If a Bourbon Prince had accepted the Mexican throne, I believe the country would have walked a far easier path.

The Hispanic-American nations weren't "republicans". The Hispanic-American attraction to strong leaders, with regimes where parades, celebrations, and all that are common is nothing more but an holdover from those nations' monarchic pasts. The problem is that the dictators wanted to behave like kings, but lacked legitimacy, and ended up becoming more authoritarian trying to hold to power.

Make Mexico get a Bourbon prince and you'll have a second "Empire of Brazil" in North America. It's not the date of independence, but how it became independent.
 
Were there actually any suitable Bourbon princes, who wouldn't have been just as disastrous, available at the time?
 
Were there actually any suitable Bourbon princes, who wouldn't have been just as disastrous, available at the time?

Excelent question. I can't remember a single Bourbon, from the Spanish, French or Italian branches who could be described as a decent person, even less a capable ruler.
 
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