The world changed once again for the Comanches. Father Miguel Hidalgo and fellow conspirators launched a war for Mexican Independence from Spain in 1810. Although initial attempts failed, the embers of revolution smoldered. In Texas, Comanches watched the progress of Mexican revolutionaries and American filibusters in 1812-1813.
Amid the turmoil enveloping their Spanish partners, smallpox once ravaged the Numunu in 1816, and many of the old leaders who had kept the Spanish peace died. A new generation of Comanches grew impatient when Spain’s annual gifts failed to arrive, unimpressed by the disruptions and destruction of the war. Comanche patience with the Spanish frayed, and raids on the Texas frontera escalated. By 1821, the Spanish Empire in North America collapsed, leaving a weak but independent Mexico ravaged and impoverished by a decade of war.