Declaration Project

Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire (Acta de Independencia),1821

Editor’s note: In this very brief document, drafted by Juan José Espinosa de los Monteros, secretary of the Provisional Governmental Board, the Mexican Empire declared its independence from the Spanish Empire. Where the declaration of Mexico bears no resemblance to our July 4, 1776 document, our successful struggle for liberty certainly resonated there. Though only […]

Act of Abjuration – a.k.a. Dutch Declaration of Independence (1581)

Editor’s note:  Popularly known as ‘the Dutch Declaration of Independence,’ this document — formally entitled the Act of Abjuration — Plakkaat van Verlatinghe in Dutch (literally “placard of desertion”) — was the collective product in July 26, 1581 of leaders of a group of northern Dutch provinces who asserted their independence from Spanish rule. Though it is […]

Act of Abjuration – Dutch Declaration of Independence, July 26, 1581

Editor’s Note: This is often referred to as the first modern declaration of independence, in which the people disown their king. There are many telling similarities between this document, and its compelling case for dispensing with what it perceives as monarchical tyranny, and our July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence — and to this day […]

Declaration of Independence, Argentina – July 9, 1816

Editor’s note:  Argentina’s struggle for independence from Spain had begun a decade before the adoption of this Declaration of Independence, approved on July 9, 1816, six years after the Argentine War for Independence was launched and led by the likes of Juan Jose Castelli, Manuel Belgrano, and Jose de San Martin. The declaration represented a complete break […]

Declaration of Independence of Venezuela – July 5, 1811

Editor’s Note:  July 5, 1811 heralded Venezuela’s formal break with the Spanish crown when its members of congress approved the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence, which was clearly influenced by our July 4, 1776 declaration. In establishing an independent nation, the Venezuelan “Firma Acta de la Independencia,” or “Signing of the Act of Independence,” aimed to create a society based on […]