Everything about Miguel Hidalgo Y Costilla totally explained
Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mondarte Villaseñor (
May 8 1753 –
July 31 1811), also known as
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, or simply as
Miguel Hidalgo,was a
Mexican Roman Catholic priest and revolutionary rebel leader. He is regarded by most Mexican people as the "Father of the Country"; and was the founder of the
Mexican War of Independence movement which fought for independence from
Spain in the early 19th century.
Early life
Hidalgo y Costilla was born in the Corralejo Hacienda in Pénjamo,
Guanajuato, to a
criollo family (historically, a Mexican of unmixed Spanish ancestry). Growing up in an
hacienda, where his father Cristóbal Hidalgo y Costilla was employed as a superintendent, Hidalgo y Costilla developed an early sympathy for the unskilled Amerindian workers. He trained as a priest, retained an interest in political and social questions, which he carried with him to his first parish in the town of Dolores, now called Dolores Hidalgo, in the modern-day central Mexican state of
Guanajuato. He learned several indigenous Amerindian languages, wrote texts in the Aztec language and organized the local communities in
Michoacán.
In 1808, Spain was invaded by French troops, and
Napoleon forced the abdication of King
Ferdinand VII of Spain in favour of the French emperor's brother
Joseph Bonaparte, prompting the Spanish colonial government in Mexico to oppose the new king. Many Mexicans became divided and formed secret organizations; some supporting King Ferdinand VII, and others desiring independence from Spain. It is impossible to say exactly when Hidalgo turned his thoughts towards rebellion against the colonial power, but the break is thought to have come sometime after Bonaparte replaced Ferdinand on the throne of Spain.
Organizations began to emerge, expressing a variety of radical views, discontented against the French political leadership; and issues of Spanish oppression in the
Spanish Empire. Hidalgo y Costilla, a priest of unconventional views, attended one such provincial group in Guanajunto. It was there that educated criollos started conspiring for a large-scale uprising of
mestizos and
indigenous Amerindian peasants.
Uprising
By 1809, Hidalgo's sense of discontent was turning openly into revolutionary politics, and the possibility of an uprising against the colonial government of what was then the
Viceroyalty of New Spain. He was joined by
Ignacio Allende, a career military officer from the nearby town of San Miguel, also a criollo, who was frustrated by the inherent
chauvinism in the colonial administration, which preferred the advancement of Spaniards and foreign immigrants, rather than criollos born in Mexico, no matter how "pure" their blood. The fall of King Ferdinand VII of Spain created a void which Allende and other ambitious criollos were determined to fill.
On the late night of September 15, 1810, Hidalgo y Costilla and Allende received a message of warning from
Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, that the Spanish colonial authorities had intelligence of the rebellion, and were on the move. Just before the dawn of September 16, Hidalgo y Costilla rang the bells of his church in the village of Dolores. Many parishioners, indigenous Amerindians and mestizos had been coming in from the surrounding countryside, expecting to hear mass; instead they heard a call to arms. He made a speech known as
Grito de Dolores ("Cry of Dolores"), in which he demanded independence. Hidalgo called on his people to expel all foreign invaders and rulers out of Mexico, so that Mexicans could govern their own country.
War of Independence
On the dawn of September 16, the rebel army moved on to the town of San Miguel (later
San Miguel de Allende), gathering support. The army then march on to Guanajuato, a major colonial mining center, where
Antonio Riano, the Spanish governor, attempted to organize a defensive strategy. But he was only able to assemble some 500 Creole and Spanish soldiers, against an Amerindian and mestizo army estimated at 20,000 soldiers. The town fell to the onslaught on September 28, during which many of the Spaniards and criollos were massacred.
In the ensuing victory at the
Battle of Monte de las Cruces, the rebel army then moved southeast towards
Mexico City, to the region where General
Felix Calleja had placed 3000 cavalry and 600 infantry at the pass of
Las Cruces. The Spaniards managed to hold off the advance during two days of fighting, assisted by the fact that many of Hidalgo's men were poorly equipped, without firearms. Hidalgo y Costilla's soldiers were defeated by the heavily armed Spanish army, forcing the rebel survivors of the battle to seek refuge in nearby areas.
Defeat and execution
Calleja, with an enhanced army, followed in close pursuit, finally forcing Hidalgo y Costilla and Allende to make a stand on the banks of the
Calderón River, where the
Battle of the Bridge of Calderón was fought on the morning of January 16, 1811. Although small in numbers, Calleja's soldiers were still heavily armed. Hidalgo, moreover, had poorly organized his army, ignoring the advice of the more experienced Allende. Under sustained attack by the Spanish cavalry, infantry and artillery, the rebel army collapsed in panic, prompting a Spanish victory.
Allende had grown increasingly frustrated with Hidalgo y Costilla during the campaign, a mood that was compounded by the murderous indiscipline of the criollo, Amerindian and mestizo army. He promptly relieved his leader of command, and carried him northwards with his remaining force, towards the
United States-Mexican border, where he hoped to buy arms. However, on March 21, they were betrayed and handed to the Spanish army, and taken prisoner.
Four leaders of the revolution, including Hidalgo y Costilla, Allende,
José Mariano Jiménez and
Juan Aldama, were held in the
Federal Palace of Chihuahua. They were tried for
treason, found guilty and executed by
firing squad; Allende, Jiménez and Aldama on June 26, 1811 and Hidalgo on July 31, 1811 at
Chihuahua's Government Palace. Prior to his death, Hidalgo thanked his jailers for their humane treatment of him and expressed regret for the bloodshed unleashed by the revolt, though he remained firm in his conviction that Mexico must be freed. The corpses of the four leaders were decapitated and their heads were placed on the four corners of the
Alhóndiga de Granaditas in
Guanajuato, with the intention of intimidating the insurgents. Following the death of Hidalgo, one of his surviving soldiers,
José María Morelos y Pavón assumed leadership of the army and continued the war of independence.
Hidalgo and the other three leaders heads remained on display in Guanajuato until 1821, when Mexico finally won its independence. Hidalgo y Costilla's decapitated body was disinterred from his burial place in the
San Francisco Temple in Chihuahua and re-buried in
Mexico City after independence had been achieved.
Legacy
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla is a national
hero of Mexico. In his honour, the state of
Hidalgo and city of
Dolores Hidalgo are named for him, as is the international airport in
Guadalajara,
Jalisco. In addition, Hidalgo's image is portrayed on the 1000
peso note.
Every year on the late night of September 15, just before the dawn of September 16, Mexico's president re-enacts the event by ringing the bells of the
National Palace in Mexico City and repeats a cry of patriotism to all Mexicans, based upon the
Grito de Dolores. September 16 is celebrated as Mexico's Independence Day.
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