In September I wrote about the events leading to the War of Independence, and named San Miguel the cradle of Independence. One of the readers of my blog called me out and said I was wrong, that the true cradle of independence was the town of Dolores whence came Miguel Hidalgo. Naturally I disagreed because my loyalty is to the town that is now my home, San Miguel de Allende, but I promised to investigate further and write about it in another article.
So which city is truly the cradle of Mexican independence? A cradle, after all, is the place where something began. Where did the ideas, and the movement to make New Spain an independent state begin? Was it in Dolores or was it San Miguel el Grande (today’s San Miguel de Allende)?
The ideas of sovereignty started in San Miguel, this is where the first conspiratorial meetings were held1, and it is the birthplace of Allende (in effect his cradle).
The main reason Dolores is given that connotation is that it was indeed there, on the dawn of September 16, 1810, that the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla called out for the people to rise up and cast out the ruling Spaniards.
But that moment came as an afterthought, because the messenger bringing news about the betrayal first went to San Miguel, intending the message for Ignacio Allende, not Hidalgo. It simply happened that Allende was in Dolores at the time, so the message was delivered to him there. Yes, it can be said that the rising up, the initial moment of the war was in Dolores, but San Miguel was the foundation. San Miguel is the cradle of independence by design; Dolores became the cradle by accident!2
I have always been bothered that Hidalgo seems to be held in higher regard historically than Ignacio Allende. In many Mexican towns and cities through which we have traveled we often find a statue or painting of Miguel Hidalgo—in his typical revolutionary pose, arm raised high in defiance, his lips parted in an eternal cry for independence. However, there is seldom a depiction of Ignacio Allende at his side, and frequently not even a mention of his name. So I have often wondered, how did the true military leader and instigator of the war of independence of Mexico lose his position? Why did Allende become, as Benito Abad Arteaga named him in his 1993 biography: “El Heroe Olvidado” (The Forgotten Hero)?
The many faces of Ignacio Allende: His biography, drawing taken from Jesus Ibarra’s book “SMA: su ADN,” and the most frequent depiction as warrior in the War of Independence.
We need to find out more about each man, the independence movement, and the juncture at which the two come together, to better evaluate and make a decision.
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was a fascinating man, a priest with a high intellect, a philosopher, a writer, and one who saw early the values of Enlightenment ideas. Hidalgo was 16 years senior to Ignacio Allende, so in 1779 when he became rector of the San Nicolas College in Valladolid, Ignacio was only ten years old.
Hidalgo was unafraid of speaking out, and he fought against the suppression of ideas and speech, which eventually caused him to be ousted from the college. He was a gadfly for the Catholic Church because he said Jews had freedom of conscience to reject Jesus as their messiah, claimed that sexuality was a normal part of human nature, opposed the celibacy of priests (not an unusual position for one who had many mistresses), and had denied the Immaculate Conception. These radical ideas led to his trial before the Inquisition. It should not surprise us that he was able to talk himself out of a sentence; since his student days he had been known as el zorro, clever as a fox.
However, after his altercations with the Church and the Inquisition, he was sent off to a small town to be parish priest to a mostly indigenous population. This is how he ended up in the town of Dolores in 1803. Here, he took up his beliefs in justice and social equality, and gained the great love and respect of his parishioners.
Meanwhile, his eventual co-leader of the war of independence was maturing, and taking up the same humanitarian ideals. Ignacio Allende had studied at Colegio de Sales in San Miguel where another priest, Juan Diaz de Gamorra promoted the philosophy of the Enlightenment onto his students, giving them ideas about human rights, and sovereignty. Allende became a military man, a captain of the royal Dragoons, but a man of principles, with respect for others and for order. He was not happy with the secondary-citizen status of criollos—those of Spanish ethnicity born in America—of which he was part, and dreamed of a free New Spain, ruled not by the Spanish, but by those born on its soil.
Revolutionary rumblings were in the air, and soon Ignacio Allende began to meet with others to discuss ways of carrying out the ouster of the Spanish regime, and gain liberty and sovereignty. In the home of his brother, Domingo, conspirators met surreptitiously in the mezzanine while balls and soirees went on in the rest of the house. The movement grew and conspirators began meeting in Queretaro City as well. At that point Allende invited Miguel Hidalgo to participate, because of the great respect he held for him.
This is how the two men became co-conspirators first, why Allende was in Dolores conferring with Hidalgo on September 15, 1810 when news of their betrayal arrived. Once the news was delivered, Allende proposed holding off, and waiting for a more propitious time. But Hidalgo, known for his impetuous nature, decided to awaken the parishioners at dawn and roused them to action by yelling out: “Vamos a cazar los gachupines!” (Let’s go hunting for the gachupines—a derogatory term for Spaniards). That was Hidalgo’s cry for independence, and the war was on!
The first military efforts of the insurgent army were victorious, and the troops named Hidalgo Captain General, and Allende his subordinate as Lieutenant General. This was perhaps the biggest error of the War of Independence—granting ultimate military power to a priest with no experience in battle. The first disagreement came when the insurgent forces captured the Alhondiga de Granditas where the Spanish had sought refuge inside the fortress-like granary. Once captured, Allende strongly objected to Hidalgo’s allowing the insurgents to unleash their hatred upon the Spanish captives—over 400 men, women, and children were massacred by the revolutionaries.
The men Hidalgo was leading saw him as a charismatic figure, incapable of error, nearly the messiah incarnate. They called him Generalissimo, and even adopted the title of Su alteza serenisima, Your Most Serene Highness. Power is intoxicating, and Hidalgo imbibed it with glee, ignoring the advice of the military expert—Ignacio Allende.
Then came what was probably the biggest strategic error of the war. On October 30, 1810 the insurgent forces won a decisive battle against the royalists at Monte de las Cruces, only 35 kilometers from Mexico City. Allende insisted that they should continue and take over the capital which would have given them incredible strategic power. But Hidalgo did not want to, and being the one in charge, won out. By March of 1811 the insurgent forces were cornered in Acatita de Bajan. Allende, Hidalgo, and others were captured, and by June of 1811 they had all been executed. Their heads, decapitated after their death, were hung on the four corners of the Alhondiga de Granaditas—a grim reminder by the royalists what the insurgents had done to the Spanish captives within. The heads hung in cages for the next ten years of the War of Independence, until Mexico became an independent nation.
So why is Miguel Hidalgo venerated above Ignacio Allende? Probably because he was a priest, and the Catholic Church was, and still is a very powerful force. Or perhaps once history began to be written in his favor, it was hard for Ignacio Allende to rise to the top. We may never know all the reasons, but I will continue to maintain that Ignacio Allende is, at the very least, just as important a hero as Hidalgo, if not more. And, San Miguel is definitely the cradle of Independence!
1 The meetings were held in the home of Domingo Allende, brother of Ignacio, still called “the house of conspirators,” a historical building on the corner of Relox and Canal
2 A paraphrase of what historian Jesus Ibarra told me on October 3, 2024. His book: “San Miguel de Allende, su ADN,” (San Miguel de Allende: Its DNA”) has been one of my most comprehensive guides about the history of our city. It will soon be coming out in English.