Miguel Hidalgo
"A todo el mundo...[I am] repentent for the incalculable ills which have originated out of the frenzy which possessed [me] to break so scandalously with the King, the nation, and Christian morality..."--Statement extracted by Inquisitors prior to execution 1811 |
Miguel Hidalgo is considered one of mexicans fore fathers. He was a father, priest, and a hero. He was the one that ignited the independence struggle against Spain. He was born on the Corajelo Hacienda in Guanajuato, on May 8, 1753. Though he was a proest, he did not take the priest-hood too seriously. To him the church was economic suport. He was an entrepreneur and a humanitarian.
When he went to Dolores he focused mostly on business and humanitarian activity. He wanted to help the people so he turns his home into a night school for local artisans. He started different sorts of workshops in order to help them. He was impulsively seeking freedom for his people from Spanish rule. They planned to rise up on December 8, 1810, but he was delayed because of conspirators that spilled the beans behind his back. That is when "The Grito" was given on September 15, at 11 pm.
He was joined by more peasants as he progressed. He started to consider himself a general more than a priest. His army settled scores with the elite brutuality. Though he did not order this violence, he also was not able to control it. He made some mistakes when he was in the army. Yet he was loyal. After what happened in Guadalajara he regrouped with Allende and decided to head north to San Antonio, Texas, because they heard of a new rebellion. On July 30, 1811 he was shot in Chihuahua. He went down like a true brave heart. He calmly put his hand over his heart and told the firing squad to shoot him there. Though he had some mishaps, his compassion and dedication in helping the needy, and the other great stuff he did cannot go unrecognized or forgotten.