Profile of the Day: Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla

Do you have Mexican ancestry? On this day in 1753, Mexican Roman Catholic priest and leader of the Mexican War of Independence, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, was born.

Image: Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla / Library of Congress

Hidalgo was the second child born to Don Cristóbal Hidalgo y Costilla and Doña Ana María Mandarte Villaseñor. In 1779, he entered the priesthood and later became the parish priest in Dolores, Guanajuato. Hidalgo worked hard for the people of his community and promoted economic activities that would help the poor and rural people in the area. He established factories, introduced new methods of agriculture, and trained indigenous people in making leather with the goal of making the people more self-reliant.

He opposed what he saw as Spain’s oppression of the people, eventually becoming a leader of an underground independence movement. When word came that authorities would be sent to arrest him, Hidalgo rallied the people to stand their ground and revolt. On the morning of September 16, 1810, Hidalgo rang the bell of his church, signaling the call to arms in what would become known as the Cry of Dolores. He lead his small army of insurgents into battle through central Mexico, thus triggering the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence.

Although Hidalgo was captured and killed before a firing squad in 1811, the war continued to rage for years until Mexico finally gained its independence in 1821. Today, September 16 is celebrated as Mexico’s Independence Day.

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