Don Miguel Hidalgo
*Don Miguel Hidalgo was born on this date in 1753. He was a Criollo Catholic priest, educator, and revolutionary military leader.
Commonly known as Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo, he was the second-born child of Don Cristóbal Hidalgo y Costilla Espinoza de los Monteros and Doña Ana María Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor, both criollos. On his maternal side, he was of Basque ancestry. On his paternal side, he descended from well-respected families within the criollo community and natives of Tejupilco.
Hidalgo's father was a hacienda manager in Valladolid, Michoacán, where Hidalgo spent most of his life. Hidalgo was baptized into the Roman Catholic faith in the parish church of Cuitzeo de los Naranjos. Hidalgo's parents had three other sons, José Joaquín, Manuel Mariano, and José María before their mother died when Hildalgo was nine years old. A stepbrother named Mariano was born later. In 1759, Charles III of Spain ascended to the throne of Spain; he was soon sent out to investigate and reform all parts of the colonial government. This part of America included Mexico.
During this period, his father, Don Cristóbal, was determined that Miguel and his younger brother Joaquín should both enter the priesthood and hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. Being of significant means, he paid for all of his sons to receive the region's best education. After receiving private instruction, likely from the priest of the neighboring parish, Hidalgo was ready for further education. He was a professor at the Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo in Valladolid Yucatán, Mexico, and was ousted 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 the authorities to avoid competition with imports from Spain.
In 1810 he gave the famous speech, "Cry of Dolores," calling upon the people to protect the interest of their King Fernando VII (held captive by Napoleon) by revolting against the European-born Spaniards who had overthrown the Spanish Viceroy. He marched across Mexico and gathered an army of nearly 90,000 poor farmers and Mexican civilians who attacked and killed both Spanish Peninsulares and Criollo elites, even though Hidalgo's troops lacked training and were poorly armed. These troops ran into an army of 6,000 well-trained and armed Spanish troops; most of Hidalgo's troops fled or were killed at the Battle of Calderón Bridge. After the battle, He and his remaining troops fled north, but he was betrayed. Don Miguel Hidalgo, known as the leader of the Spanish Wars of Independence and recognized as the Father of the Nation, was executed on July 30, 1811.
