The Cradle of Independence

After spending Saturday night in San Miguel de Allende, on Sunday we drove north to the town of Dolores Hidalgo.  Dolores Hidalgo has been designated by the Mexican Ministry of Tourism as a "Pueblo Mágico" (Magic Town) because of its historic significance.  It was here that that Mexico's War for Independence from Spain began in 1810.

That struggle was led by the parish priest of the town, Father Miguel Hidalgo.

 

Father Hidalgo was not a typical parish priest.  He was an intellectual who spoke numerous languages and studied and admired the philosophers of the Enlightenment.  He questioned many of the doctrines of the Church including the celibacy of priests. (He fathered five children out of wedlock.) He believed in equality for all... even for the downtrodden mestizo and indigenous people.  When he became the priest of the little town of Dolores, he was dismayed by the poverty of most of its population.  He attempted to improve their economic lot by introducing the cultivation of grapes and olives and the raising of silkworms. This went against Spanish colonial policies which protected imports of Spanish products to the New World.

In the early nineteenth century there was growing resentment of Spanish colonial rule.  This resentment even extended to the creolles, the people of Spanish ancestry who were the most educated and prosperous segment of the population.  They resented the fact that they were excluded from all important government positions... those posts were reserved for native-born Spaniards.  The creolles coveted power for themselves.

When Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808, many creolles considered the possibility of breaking free from colonial rule.  Now they could do so without even appearing disloyal to the Spanish monarchy.  Father Hidalgo, even though he was much more liberal and egalitarian than most creolles, was a member of a group that was conspiring to break away from Spain.

On the night of September 15, 1810, a messenger came to Hidalgo's home and told him that the authorities had learned of the plot and were about to arrest the conspirators.  Hidalgo decided that now was the time to strike.  Early on the morning of September 16th, he rang the church bell.  The parishioners gathered at the church, and Hidalgo, in a speech known as "El Grito de Dolores" (The Cry of Dolores), exhorted the townspeople to bring an end to bad government.

The parish church of Dolores, one of Mexico's most revered historic sites.

 

       

Thus began Mexico's War for Independence.  Hidalgo's ragtag army marched across the countryside.  Their numbers grew to more than 100,000, and at first they were victorious.  However, the undisciplined rabble that made up most of Hidalgo's army, scared the creolles, and support for Hidalgo waned.  Within a year after Hidalgo's "Grito", he was captured by the Spanish army and executed.  The struggle for independence dragged on, and finally in 1821, three hundred years of Spanish rule came to an end.

A couple blocks away from the parish church is the house where Father Hidalgo lived.  The building is now a museum and contains the belongings of the hero of independence.

The town square in front of the church has a monument to Father Hidalgo.

After Mexico had won its independence, the name of the town was changed from Dolores to Dolores Hidalgo.