HIDALGO Y COSTILLA, MIGUEL

The father of Mexican Independence; b. at the Hacienda of Corralejo, Guanajuato, May 8, 1753; d. Chihuahua, July 30, 1811. He was educated in Valladolid (now Morelia, Michoacán) in the Colegio de San Francisco Javier. When the Jesuits were expelled in 1767, he went to the Colegio do San Nicolás. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Mexico in 1773 and, although he had no vocation for the priesthood, was ordained in 1778. Between 1779 and 1782 he taught philosophy and theology at San Nicolás. In 1784 he presented the "Disertación sobre el verdadero método de estudiar teología," in which his revolutionary spirit was already apparent. In 1791 he was rector at San Nicolás. In 1792 he was banished from Valladolid to the distant parish of Colima because of numerous accusations of heretical opinions and scandal. In 1793 he was transferred to the parish of San Felipe, Guanajuato, where he translated and produced the works of Molière and Racine. As a reader of the Encyclopedists and an admirer of the ideas of the Enlightenment, he was tried by the Inquisition in July 1800 but was not sentenced at that time. In October 1808 he received the parish of Dolores, where he devoted his efforts to the economic and intellectual improvement of the people of his parish on the principles of the Enlightenment He gave parties, organized an orchestra, and established in his house, in the guise of a school of arts and crafts, several small industries. He cultivated silkworms, raised bees, and planted vineyards. He won the affection of his parishioners, and in his constant travels to nearby places he made friends with the most important persons. In July 1807, because of new accusations, the inquisitorial trial was resumed.

In 1810 Hidalgo was the principal figure on the Junta of Querétaro and, early Sunday morning, Sept. 16, 1810, he raised the famous "Cry of Dolores," which marked the beginning of the struggle for independence. That same day, on the way to San Miguel el Grande, in Atotonilco, he gave his troops as standard the image of Our Lady of guadalupe. At nightfall he entered San Miguel, where the undisciplined horde accompanying him looted the city, as they later did Celaya, Guanajuato, and Valladolid. On September 21 he arrived in Celaya and was named a general there. September 24 an edict of excommunication was published against Hidalgo and his companions. Yet on they went. Guanajuato was taken on September 28, Valladolid on October 17, and two days later Hidalgo and his forces set out for Mexico City. On October 30 he defeated the royalist forces at Monte de las Cruces, but instead of attacking the capital then, he retreated toward Querétaro. On November 7 he was defeated in Aculco by Gen. Félix María Calleja del Rey. Hidalgo withdrew to Valladolid and then to Guadalajara late in November. There he put on the uniform of a generalissimo and assumed the title of Excellency or Most Serene Highness. He conferred titles and decorations and decreed the abolition of slavery. He started the publication of the periodical El Despertador Americano and ordered the secret execution of 400 Spanish prisoners. He appointed Pascasio Ortiz de Letona as ambassador to the U.S. On Jan. 16, 1811, he again met General Calleja in the battle of Puente de Calderón. The insurgents were completely defeated and their troops dispersed. Hidalgo retreated to Aguascalientes, where he was joined by Iriarte's army, and they headed toward Zacatecas. On January 25 Allende caught up with Hidalgo, deprived him of command, and took him prisoner. They then headed north for the frontier, hoping to find refuge in the U.S. They were surprised and arrested by the royalist officer Ignacio Elizondo in Acatita de Baján and sent to Chihuahua.

Hidalgo had two trials, ecclesiastical and military. As a result of the first he was unfrocked July 29, 1811. The military trial sent him to death before a firing squad the next day. The corpse was decapitated and his head and those of Allende, Aldama, and Jiménez were placed in iron cages and taken to Guanajuato, where they were hung in the four corners of the public granary.

Bibliography: l. castillo ledÓn, Hidalgo: La vida del héroe. 2 v. (Mexico City 1948–49).

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