The former rector of the Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo (where Morelos attended seminary),
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was planning with others for the independence of
New Spain from the Spanish empire. About 6:00 a.m. on 16 September 1810, Hidalgo, then the parish priest of
Dolores,
Guanajuato (since renamed Dolores Hidalgo in his honor), ordered the church bells to be rung, and gathered his congregation. Flanked by
Ignacio Allende and
Juan Aldama, Hidalgo addressed the people in front of his church, urging them to take up arms, with the
Cry of Dolores (
El Grito de Dolores, now celebrated every year on 15 September at 11:00 p.m.) that called for armed revolt after the Spanish colonial authorities had discovered the
Conspiracy of Querétaro, a clandestine movement seeking Mexican independence. Like Allende and Aldama,
Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, popularly known as
La Corregidora, was one of the famous initial supporters of the revolt. Miguel Hidalgo and his followers rose in open rebellion against the Spanish colonial authorities launching what became the
Mexican War of Independence. With the imperial government taken by surprise, operatives took important cities of the
Bajío region without an organized response. The insurgency proclaimed Hidalgo
captain general of Mexico in
Celaya on 21 September. Hidalgo y Costilla advanced to
Guanajuato; and on 28 September, the rebels captured the
Alhóndiga de Granaditas in battle, killing at least 400 Spaniards who had taken shelter. Among the dead was the crown's highest official in Guanajuato, Intendant
Juan Antonio Riaño, an old friend of Hidalgo y Costilla. in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico. It was originally built between 1615 and 1617, but an earthquake destroyed it in 1776. It was rebuilt in 1783. The
bishop of Michoacán,
Manuel Abad y Queipo, excommunicated the insurgents. Hidalgo y Costilla and his army marched on to Valladolid, where the locals feared that the slaughter of Guanajuato would be repeated, prompting many people to abandon the region, particularly elites. Valladolid was taken peacefully on 17 October 1810. In Tacámbaro, Hidalgo y Costilla was proclaimed general, and Allende captain general. Hidalgo ordered a rest for his troops in
Indaparapeo, where a few minutes before their departure, Morelos, who had read about his excommunication and his triumphs, found him. Morelos had heard of the revolt in October 1810 and determined to join it. Hidalgo asked his former student to recruit troops in the south of the colony and capture the port of
Acapulco, the west coast port for the Pacific trade to the
Philippines, also a Spanish colony. Unlike Hidalgo, who was a poor tactician leading a huge and undisciplined following, Morelos quickly demonstrated military skills, gathering and training a small core of fighters. He sought allies in the region, and obtained cannons and other war materiel.
Campaigns Morelos soon showed himself to be a talented strategist, and became one of the greatest revolutionary military commanders of the war. In his first nine months, he won 22 victories, defeating the armies of three Spanish royalist leaders and capturing almost all of what is now the state of
Guerrero. In December, he captured Acapulco for the first time, except for the
Fort of San Diego. Spanish reinforcements forced him to raise the siege in January. By quick marches, he was able to capture most of the Spanish possessions on the Pacific coast of what are now Michoacán and Guerrero. On 24 May 1811, he occupied
Chilpancingo and on 26 May he took
Tixtla. In his second campaign, Morelos divided his army into three groups. The most important engagement of this campaign was at
Cuautla. On Christmas Eve 1811 the townspeople welcomed Morelos to the town. The next year his forces were
besieged by the Spanish army under general
Félix María Calleja del Rey. On 2 May 1812, after 58 days, Morelos broke through the siege, and started his third campaign. Major victories on this third campaign were at
Citlalli on 8 June 1812,
Tehuacán on 10 August 1812,
Orizaba,
Oaxaca and Acapulco. Morelos arrived at Orizaba with 10,000 soldiers on 28 October 1812. The city was defended by 600 Spanish soldiers. Negotiation led to a surrender without bloodshed. He entered Oaxaca in triumph on 25 November 1812. Acapulco fell on 12 April 1813, forcing the Spanish army to take refuge in the
Fort of San Diego.
Congress of Chilpancingo In 1813, Morelos called the
National Constituent Congress of Chilpancingo, composed of representatives of the provinces under his control, to consider a political and social program which he outlined in a document entitled
Sentimientos de la Nación (Sentiments of the Nation). The Congress called itself the Congress of Anáhuac, in reference to the
Aztecs. On 31 September 1813, the Congress, with Morelos present, endorsed Sentiments of the Nation. This document declared Mexican independence from Spain, established Catholicism as official religion and created the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government. It declared respect for property and confiscated the productions of the Spanish colonial government. It abolished slavery and racial categories in favor of the title "American" for all native-born individuals. Torture, colonial monopolies and the system of tributes were also abolished. Morelos was offered the title "Generalissimo" with the style of address "Your Highness", but he refused these and asked to be called "Siervo de la Nación" (Servant of the Nation). On 6 November 1813, the Congress declared independence in the
Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America. After several military defeats, the Congress organized a meeting in
Apatzingán, and on 22 October promulgated the "Decreto Constitucional para la Libertad de la América Mexicana" (
Constitution of Apatzingán). This established a limited executive and a powerful legislature, the opposite of what Morelos had called for. He nevertheless conceded that it was the best he could hope for under the circumstances.
Capture and execution Shortly thereafter, Morelos began his fourth military campaign, a series of defeats beginning at Valladolid in late 1813. While escorting the new insurgent Congress in November 1815, he was
defeated in Temalaca by royalist forces. Morelos and his guard were surrounded; rather than have all taken prisoner, Morelos told his men to each save himself. This left Morelos to be captured alone. As a Catholic priest, the church had jurisdiction for his imprisonment and trial; he was jailed in the Inquisition building in Mexico City. Although Morelos was a huge prize for the royal government, the viceroy decided not to make a public spectacle of his journey of incarceration, but rather slipped him into the capital before dawn. He was charged with treason, disloyalty to the crown, and transgressions in his personal life, namely, sending his natural sons to the United States for education. He was tried and sentenced to death for treason. Morelos was executed by firing squad on 22 December 1815, in
San Cristóbal Ecatepec, north of Mexico City in order that his execution not provoke a dangerous public reaction. He was later judged to be reconciled to the church, lifting his excommunication, as he was seen praying on his way to his execution. After his death, his lieutenant,
Vicente Guerrero, continued the war for independence. ==Legacy==