Initiation period (1810-1811)
This period consisted in a violent insurrection and was leaded by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. Such movement was originally planned for December 1810 but in September 1810 the authorities were alerted of the movement and the existence of a plot in Queretaro. On the morning of September 16th, 1810 the priest of the town of Dolores Miguel Hidalgo together with Mariano Abasolo and Ignacio Allende, rang the bells of the church and urge his parishioners to take up the arms and cried for independence when took a banner of Our lady of Guadalupe from Atotonilco, crying “Viva el Rey Fernando VII, Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe, Muera el mal Gobierno”. Meanwhile the other members of the movement Ignacio Allende, Mariano Abasolo and Juan Aldama organized the troops.
This movement had the approval of the criollos, which saw in this the opportunity to access to political power. Apparently it was attractive also for the poor majorities which saw in this movement the opportunity to get even with the peninsulares who had mistreated them for centuries.
By the end of September 1810 the insurrection troops took the city of Guanajuato, where thousands of Spanish people were killed in the Alondiga de Granaditas where they had taken shelter from the rebels. After a bloody siege, the armed rebels managed to defeat the resistance and kill the survivors. Not content with this fact the rebels took the streets of Guanajuato and loot houses and stores. This created fear between the people that trusted the movement at the beginning.
Later the killings in Valladolid and Guadalajara showed the lack of organization and control that Hildalgo had over his troops. This lack of control and order took the movement to be divided. Hidalgo was in favor of mass movements while Allende pretend a well organized process and had all the support of the wealthy criollos which were looking for the opportunity of gaining political control. This did not matter to Hidalgo since as his army marched to Mexico City it grew until it contained 80,000 men. On October 30th, the Spanish and the rebel troops clashed at “Cerro de las Cruces” in what was Hidalgo’s last obstacle before the city of Mexico. After a battle lasting six hours the Spanish troops were defeated and everything was ready for the occupation of the city on October 31st, 1810. At this moment, history gave an unexpected twist, Hidalgo took a decision and ordered retreat, this surprised everybody, but Hidalgo never gave an explanation.
In November 1810, as a result of this decision Hidalgo and Allende separate and Hidaldo marched to the city of Guadalajara. This separation was not good. Allende was defeated time after time by the royalist army and Hidalgo devoted himself to legal matters, forgetting the military issues.
In January 1811 the two leaders met again and presented a united force against Felix Maria Calleja the Royalist army General who was very close to Guadalajara. In the battle of “Puente de Calderón”, the insurrection movement was not only defeated but literally finished most of their officers were captured and lost most of their armament. Hidalgo and Allende manage to escape and met again in Aguascalientes where they decide to go north to the United States and ask for support (military and economical assistance). Meanwhile Hidalgo sent emissaries all over the territory trying to promote the movement. Though they found very different answers, in Oaxaca and Veracruz they failed, but in Michoacan Ignacio Rayón was lucky. Rayaón maintained an armed group and created a Junta Provisional in the city of Zitacuaro to govern in the name of Ferdinand VII. It was called “La Suprema Junta Nacional Americana” established in 1811. The objective of “la junta de Zitacuaro” was to join all the insurrection leaders and form a provisional government. They thought that the Spanish people should not govern New Spain and had several reasons, first Spain was occupied by France, and remember that in 1808 the viceroy Iturrigaray was violently kicked out and demanded to have American representation in the new government which was being organized in Spain. This meeting did not succed, Texas declared itself independent in 1813 and, Puebla and Tlaxcala under the command of Francisco Osorno established the “departamento del Norte” the one administrated this wealthy region.
By the end of 1810 Morelos meets with Hidalgo from whom he receives direct orders to insurrect the southern part of the territory taking the coasts of what we know now as the state of Guerrero and the city of Acapulco.
Meanwhile Hidalgo and Allende received an invitation from Ignacio Elizindo to travel to Texas and get weapons from the USA. Elizondo betrayed them and in Acatita de Bajan, Coahuila were captured by Calleja. The insurectors were judge and pass through arms in Chihuhua where they were decapitated. Their heads were sent to Guanajuato to be exhibit outside the Alondiga de Granaditas.
