Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mandarte y Villaseñor[4] (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (Spanish pronunciation: [miˈɣel iˈðalɣo]), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican War of Independence and recognized as the Father of the Nation.
A professor at the Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo in Valladolid, Hidalgo was influenced by Enlightenment ideas, which contributed to his ouster in 1792. He served in a church in Colima and then in Dolores. After his arrival, he was shocked by the rich soil he had found. He tried to help the poor by showing them how to grow olives and grapes, but in New Spain (modern Mexico) growing these crops was discouraged or prohibited by colonial authorities to prevent competition with imports from Spain.[5] On 16 September 1810 he gave the Cry of Dolores, a speech calling upon the people to protect the interest of their King Ferdinand VII, held captive during the Peninsular War, by revolting against the European-born Spaniards who had overthrown the Spanish Viceroy José de Iturrigaray.[6]
Hidalgo marched across Mexico and gathered an army of nearly 90,000 poor farmers and Mexican civilians who attacked Spanish Peninsular and Criollo elites. Hidalgo's insurgent army accumulated initial victories on its way to Mexico City, but his troops ultimately lacked training and were poorly armed. These troops ran into an army of well-trained and armed Spanish troops in the Battle of Calderón Bridge and were defeated.[7] After the battle, Hidalgo and his remaining troops fled north, but Hidalgo was betrayed, captured and executed.
Hidalgo was the second-born child of Cristóbal Hidalgo y Costilla Espinoza de los Monteros and Ana María Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor, both criollos.[8] On his maternal side, he was of Basque ancestry. His most recent identifiable Spanish ancestor was his maternal great-grandfather, who was from Durango, Biscay.[9] On his paternal side, he descended from criollo families native to Tejupilco, which were well-respected within the criollo community.[10] Hidalgo's father was an hacienda manager in Valladolid, Michoacán, where Hidalgo spent the majority of his life.[11][12] Eight days after his birth, Hidalgo was baptized into the Catholic faith in the parish church of Cuitzeo de los Naranjos.[13] Hidalgo's parents had three other sons; José Joaquín, Manuel Mariano, and José María,[8] before their mother died when Hildalgo was nine years old.[14] A step brother named Mariano was born later.[15]
In 1759, Charles III ascended the Spanish throne; he soon sent out a visitor-general with the power to investigate and reform all parts of colonial government. During this period, Cristóbal was determined that Miguel and his younger brother Joaquín should both enter the priesthood and hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Being of significant means he paid for all of his sons to receive the best education the region had to offer. After receiving private instruction, likely from the priest of the neighboring parish, Hidalgo was ready for further education.[8]
At the age of fifteen Hidalgo was sent to Valladolid (now Morelia), Michoacán, to study at the Colegio de San Francisco Javier with the Jesuits, along with his brothers.[16][17] When the Jesuits were expelled from Mexico in 1767, he entered the Colegio de San Nicolás,[3][18][19] where he studied for the priesthood.[3]
He completed his preparatory education in 1770. After this, he went to the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico in Mexico City for further study, earning his degree in philosophy and theology in 1773.[16] His education for the priesthood was traditional, with subjects in Latin, rhetoric and logic. Like many priests in Mexico, he studied indigenous languages,[19] such as Nahuatl, Otomi, and Purépecha. He also studied Italian and French, which were not commonly studied in Mexico at this time.[18] He earned the nickname "El Zorro" ("The Fox") for his reputation for cleverness at school.[2][20] Hidalgo's study of French allowed him to read and study works of the Enlightenment current in Europe[3] but, at the same time, forbidden by the Catholic church in Mexico.[2]
Hidalgo was ordained as a priest in 1778 when he was 25 years old.[18][20] From 1779 to 1792, he dedicated himself to teaching at the Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo in Valladolid (now Morelia); it was "one of the most important educational centers of the viceroyalty."[21] He was a professor of Latin grammar and arts, as well as a theology professor. Beginning in 1787, he was named treasurer, vice-rector and secretary,[16] becoming dean of the school in 1790 when he was 39.[3][22] As rector, Hidalgo continued studying the liberal ideas that were coming from France and other parts of Europe. Authorities ousted him in 1792 for revising traditional teaching methods there, but also for "irregular handling of some funds."[23] The Church sent him to work at the parishes of Colima and San Felipe Torres Mochas until he became the parish priest in Dolores, Guanajuato,[18] succeeding his brother José Joaquín a few weeks after his death on 19 September 1802.[14]
Although Hidalgo had a traditional education for the priesthood, as an educator at the Colegio de San Nicolás he had innovated in teaching methods and curriculum. In his personal life, he did not advocate or live the way expected of 18th-century Mexican priests. Instead, his studies of Enlightenment-era ideas caused him to challenge traditional political and religious views. He questioned the absolute authority of the Spanish king and challenged numerous ideas presented by the Church, including the power of the popes, the virgin birth, and clerical celibacy. As a secular cleric, he was not bound by a vow of poverty, so he, like many other secular priests, pursued business activities, including owning three haciendas;[24] but contrary to his vow of chastity, he formed liaisons with women. One was with Manuela Ramos Pichardo, with whom he had two children, as well as a child with Bibiana Lucero.[23] He later lived with a woman named María Manuela Herrera,[19] fathering two daughters out of wedlock with her, and later fathered three other children with a woman named Josefa Quintana.[25]
These actions resulted in his appearance before the Court of the Inquisition, although the court did not find him guilty.[19] Hidalgo was an egalitarian. As parish priest in both San Felipe and Dolores, he opened his house to natives and mestizos as well as criollos.[20]
Meanwhile, in the city of Querétaro, a conspiracy was brewing, organized by the mayor Miguel Domínguez and his wife Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez; members of the military, such as Ignacio Allende, Juan Aldama and Mariano Abasolo, also participated. Allende was in charge of convincing Hidalgo to join his movement, since the priest of Dolores had very influential friends from all over the Bajío and even New Spain, such as Juan Antonio Riaño, mayor of Guanajuato, and Manuel Abad y Queipo, Bishop of Michoacán.
In 1807, France and Spain signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau to invade Portugal, an ally of the United Kingdom. The French troops that were supposed to go through Spain to Portugal remained in Spain and the Spanish people were upset by the presence of the French troops as a result of the numerous excesses that the French committed against the Spanish people, such as occupation of the territory, numerous looting, pillaging, murder of civilians, and the kidnappings of King Charles IV and Prince Ferdinand VII. Also, Napoleon forced both to abdicate and installed his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, as King of Spain. This triggered a revolt by Spanish troops first and, subsequently, an uprising in Madrid, This was followed by further revolts across Spain. In August 1808, a British army landed in Portugal. Britain and France then went to war against each other in Portugal and Spain. The war and instability in Spain affected Mexico and other parts of New Spain.
In 1803, aged 50, Hidalgo arrived in Dolores accompanied by his family that included a younger brother, a cousin, two half sisters, as well as María and their two children.[20] He obtained this parish in spite of his hearing before the Inquisition, which did not stop his secular practices.[19]
After Hidalgo settled in Dolores, he turned over most of the clerical duties to one of his vicars, Francisco Iglesias, and devoted himself almost exclusively to commerce, intellectual pursuits and humanitarian activities.[20] He spent much of his time studying literature, scientific works, grape cultivation, and the raising of silkworms.[2][26] He used the knowledge that he gained to promote economic activities for the poor and rural people in his area. He established factories to make bricks and pottery and trained indigenous people in the making of leather.[2][26] He promoted beekeeping.[26] He was interested in promoting activities of commercial value to use the natural resources of the area to help the poor.[3] His goal was to make the indigenous and mestizos more self-reliant. However, these activities violated mercantilist policies designed to protect agriculture and industry in Spain, and Hidalgo was ordered to stop them. These policies as well as exploitation of mixed race castas fostered animosity in Hidalgo towards the Peninsular-born Spaniards in Mexico.[19]
In addition to restricting economic activities in New Spain, Spanish mercantile practices caused misery for native peoples. A drought in 1807–1808 caused a famine in the Dolores area, and rather than releasing stored grain to market, Spanish merchants blocked its release, speculating on price increases. Hidalgo lobbied against these practices but was not successful.[27]
Fearing arrest,[19] Hidalgo ordered his brother Mauricio, as well as Ignacio Allende and Mariano Abasolo, to go with a number of other armed men to make the sheriff release prison inmates in Dolores on the night of 15 September 1810, setting eighty free. On the morning of 16 September 1810, Hidalgo celebrated Mass, which was attended by about 300 people, including hacienda owners, local politicians, and Spaniards. There he gave what is now known as the Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores),[26] calling the people of his parish to leave their homes and join with him in a rebellion against the current government, in the name of their King, Ferdinand VII.[2]
Hidalgo's Grito did not condemn the notion of monarchy or criticize the current social order in detail, but his opposition to the events in Spain and the current viceregal government was clearly expressed in his reference to bad government. The Grito also emphasized loyalty to the Catholic religion, a sentiment with which both Creoles and Peninsulares could sympathize.[19]
Hidalgo was met with an outpouring of support. Intellectuals, liberal priests and many poor people followed Hidalgo with enthusiasm.[19] His movement was joined by mestizos and the indigenous in such numbers that the original motives of the Querétaro group were obscured.[2][28] Ignacio Allende, Hidalgo's main co-conspirator in Querétaro, remained more loyal to the Querétaro group's original, criollo centered objectives. However, Hidalgo's actions and the people's response meant he would lead and not Allende. Allende had acquired military training when New Spain established a colonial militia whereas Hidalgo had none. The insurgents who followed Hidalgo also had no military training, experience or equipment. Many of these people were poor who were angry after many years of hunger and oppression. Consequently, Hidalgo was the leader of undisciplined rebels.[2][19]
Hidalgo's leadership gave the insurgent movement a supernatural aspect. Many villagers that joined the insurgent army came to believe that Fernando VII himself commanded their loyalty to Hidalgo and the monarch was in New Spain personally directing the rebellion against the Viceroyalty. Historian Eric Van Young believes that such ideas gave the movement supernatural and religious legitimacy that went as far as messianic expectation.[29]
Hidalgo and Allende left Dolores with about 800 men, half of whom were on horseback.[16] They marched through the Bajío area, through Atotonilco, San Miguel el Grande (present-day San Miguel de Allende), Chamucuero, Celaya, Salamanca, Irapuato and Silao, to Guanajuato. From Guanajuato, Hidalgo directed his troops to Valladolid, Michoacán. They remained here for a while and eventually marched towards Mexico City.[30] From Valladolid, they marched through the State of Mexico, through the cities of Maravatio, Ixtlahuaca, Toluca coming as close to Mexico City as the Monte de las Cruces, between the Valley of Toluca and the Valley of Mexico.[26]
Through numbers, Hidalgo's army had some early victories.[2] Hidalgo first went through the economically important and densely populated province of Guanajuato.[31] One of the first stops was at the Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in Atotonilco, where Hidalgo affixed an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe to a lance to adopt it as his banner.[26] He inscribed the following slogans to his troops' flags: "Long live religion! Long live our most Holy Mother of Guadalupe! Long live America and death to bad government!"[32] For the insurgents as a whole, the Virgin represented an intense and highly localized religious sensibility, invoked more to identify allies rather than create ideological alliances or a sense of nationalism.[29]
The extent and the intensity of the movement took colonial authorities by surprise.[31] San Miguel and Celaya were captured with little resistance. On 21 September 1810, Hidalgo was proclaimed general and supreme commander after arriving to Celaya. At this point, Hidalgo's army numbered about 5,000.[2][26] However, because of the lack of discipline, the insurgents soon fell into robbing, looting, ransacking towns and executing prisoners.[2] This caused friction between Allende and Hidalgo as early as the capture of San Miguel in late September 1810. When rioting ran through the city, Allende tried to break up violence by striking insurgents with the flat of his sword, which brought him a rebuke from Hidalgo.[20]
On 28 September 1810, Hidalgo arrived at the city of Guanajuato with rebels who were mostly armed with sticks, stones, and machetes. The town's peninsular and criollo populations took refuge in the fortified Alhóndiga de Granaditas commanded by Juan Antonio de Riaño.[26] The insurgents overwhelmed the defenses after two days and killed an estimated 400 – 600 people. Allende strongly protested these events and while Hidalgo agreed that they were heinous, he also stated that he understood the historical patterns that shaped such responses. The attacks prompted criollos and peninsulares to ally against the insurgents and caused Hidalgo to lose support from liberal criollos.[19]
