Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was a Mexican priest and revolutionary leader. For the greater part of his life he was known only for the diligence with which he exercised his office and for his efforts to promote agriculture and industry in his parish at Dolores. He also acted among the revolutionary societies in the provinces that made preparations for a revolt.
Background
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was born on May 8, 1753 in Guanajuato, Mexico. He was the second-born child of Don Cristóbal Hidalgo y Costilla and Doña Ana María Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor. Both of Hidalgo's parents were descended from well-respected families within the criollo community. Hidalgo's father was an hacienda manager, which presented Hidalgo with the opportunity to learn at a young age to speak the indigenous languages of the laborers. Eight days after his birth, Hidalgo was baptized into the Roman Catholic faith in the parish church of Cuitzeo de los Naranjos. Hidalgo's parents would have three other sons: José Joaquín, Manuel Mariano, and José María.
Education
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. When the Jesuits were expelled from Mexico in 1767, he entered the Colegio de San Nicolás, where he studied for the priesthood. 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.
Career
Hidalgo was ordained as a priest in 1778 when he was 25 years old. From 1779 to 1792, he dedicated himself to teaching at the Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo in Valladolid (now Morelia). 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, becoming dean of the school in 1790 when he was 39. 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." 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, succeeding his brother Felipe (also a priest).
In 1803, aged 50, he arrived in Dolores accompanied by his family. After Hidalgo settled in Dolores, he turned over most of the clerical duties to one of his vicars, Fr. Francisco Iglesias, and devoted himself almost exclusively to commerce, intellectual pursuits and humanitarian activity.
In 1808 Spain was invaded by French troops, and Napoleon I forced the abdication of King Ferdinand VII in favour of the French emperor’s brother Joseph Bonaparte. Though Spanish officials in Mexico were loath to oppose the new king, many Mexicans formed secret societies -some supporting Ferdinand, others advocating independence from Spain. Hidalgo belonged to a pro-independence group in San Miguel (now San Miguel de Allende), near Dolores. When the plot was betrayed to the Spanish, several members were arrested. Warned to flee, Hidalgo decided instead to act promptly. On September 16, 1810, he rang the church bell in Dolores to call his parishioners to an announcement of revolution against the Spanish. His speech was not only an encouragement to revolt but a cry for racial equality and the redistribution of land. It became known as the Grito de Dolores ("Cry of Dolores"). What he began in San Miguel as a movement for independence became a social and economic war of the masses against the upper classes. Joined by thousands of Indians and mestizos, Hidalgo marched forth from Dolores under the banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe. With his followers he captured the city of Guanajuato and other major cities west of Mexico City. Soon Hidalgo was at the gates of the capital, but he hesitated, and the opportunity was lost. His followers melted away. Royalists as well as other elements in Mexico were frightened by the prospect of social upheaval and supported the suppression of the rebellion. After his defeat at Calderón Bridge, outside Guadalajara, on January 17, 1811, Hidalgo fled north, hoping to escape into the United States. He was caught, expelled from the priesthood, and executed by firing squad as a rebel.
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.
Hidalgo was egalitarian. As parish priest in both San Felipe and Dolores, he opened his house to Indians and mestizos as well as creoles.
Personality
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.
He enjoyed dancing and gambling. These actions resulted in his appearance before the Court of the Inquisition, although the court did not find him guilty.
Connections
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. He later lived with a woman named María Manuela Herrera, fathering two daughters out of wedlock with her, and later fathered three other children with a woman named Josefa Quintana.
