Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla | |
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![]() Posthumous portrait of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811), by Joaquín Ramírez, 1865[1] | |
Birth name | Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mandarte y Villaseñor |
Born | Pénjamo, Nueva Galicia, Viceroyalty of New Spain[2][3] | 8 May 1753
Died | 30 July 1811 Chihuahua, Nueva Vizcaya, Viceroyalty of New Spain | (aged 58)
Cause of death | Execution by firing squad |
Buried | Ángel de la Independencia, Mexico City |
Allegiance | Mexico |
Service/ | Mexican Insurgency |
Years of service | 1810–1811 |
Rank | Generalissimo |
Battles/wars | Mexican War of Independence |
Signature | ![]() |
Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mandarte y Villaseñor[4] (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), more 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.
Many interpreters of the Lady of Guadalupe have pointed to the importance of the image as a symbol of revolution, most clearly expressed in the legendary story of Miguel Hidalgo rallying the masses for revolt against Spain with the cry of Dolores: "Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe and death to the gachupines!"