Mexico's Independence Trail

History was always one of my favorite subjects in school. Living in Virginia, history is something that's constantly around you - the state was a vital player in both the American Revolution and the Civil War, and growing up here meant field trips to Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown, and lots of other historic sights. In college, I minored in art history, which really solidified my understanding of the flow of European history in a way regular history classes never did. But aside from a visit to the Alamo as a child, I was totally ignorant of the history of Mexico. Then, in 2016, I decided to do some research for my trip to Mexico City. I was fascinated by what I learned. Mexico went through so much drama and change in the span of 100 years - 1810 to 1910 - that I wish Netflix or such would order an epic series chronicling the years from Mexico's War of Independence to their Revolution.

This post is going to cover a lot of familiar territory, if you've been reading my recent entries, but I wanted to present the places we visited in a historical context in addition to listing them in a daily record of our travels. So here goes...

Mexico's independence movement was officially sparked in 1810. The American and French Revolutions had rocked the world in recent decades, Spain's royals had run into issues with their populace (the people didn't like the influence the king's close advisor, Manuel Godoy, held), and they turned to Napoleon for help. Napoleon agreed to keep the Spanish king safe in France; meanwhile, he put his brother on the Spanish throne as a place-holder. Mexican-born Spaniards were restless. It was one thing to be a colony. It was another thing to be a colony ruled by a foreign king. Unrest was brewing.

Enter Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. The second son of a relatively well-to-do family, Hidalgo studied to become a priest. At the time, higher education was intrinsically tied to the church, and while Hidalgo would preach, he was also a professor, highly influenced by the ideals of the Enlightenment. He'd been booted from one university and tried by the inquisition (they found him 'not guilty') for questioning the divine right of monarchy, flouting church doctrine, and having multiple children by different women despite his vow of chastity. Hidalgo eventually became the parish priest at Dolores, in the state of Guanajuato. He was known for being egalitarian for his day, welcoming native Mexicans and Mestizos (people with blended Spanish-Mexican heritage) into his household as well as Criollos (Mexican-born Spaniards).

On September 16th, 1810, Hidalgo had had enough. He rang the bell of the church to gather parishioners, before giving a rousing speech imploring them to raise arms against the oppressive monarchy in the name of Mexico and Catholicism. The church bell would eventually be installed in the facade of the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City, where each year, on September 16th, Mexico's president reenacts Hidalgo's Grito de Dolores.

Dolores Hidalgo - as the town is named today - is known for its pottery, its ice cream, and Hidalgo himself. You can visit the priest's former house and several museums dedicated to different facets of the Independence movement. We visited the Bicentennial Museum, which had some fun exhibits, including a station where you could pose between Hidalgo and Allende with hats and weapons. You can also step into Hidalgo's church, one of the prettier churches we visited on this trip, in my opinion.

From Dolores, we continued on the the steps of Don Hidalgo and headed for the Sanctuario Atotonilco. Here, the passionate group took an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe to use as the banner for their cause. The church itself is a World Heritage site, known as Mexico's Sistine Chapel for its elaborate frescoes. It was founded in the 17th century by Father Felipe Neri, who was compelled to build on that particular spot by a vision of Christ carrying a cross and wearing a crown of thorns.

In nearby San Miguel el Grande, another major force enters the initial rebellion. Before calling for revolution, Hidalgo had been welcomed into a "literary circle" in Queretaro, which was really just a front for an insurgency movement amongst upper-class Criollos. Another important member of the group was Ignacio José de Allende y Unzaga. Allende was a military officer for New Spain. He had been loyal to the Viceroy, José de Iturrigaray, who had been ousted for being too considerate of the wants and needs of the Criollos in the eyes of the Spaniards.

In San Miguel - now named for Allende - you can tour the General's house, directly across from the Parroquia. Hidalgo's rebellion marched to San Miguel, where Allende raised his cavalry regiment to join them. The group - now combining the passion of the common people with the precision of trained troops - headed for Guanajuato, where the Spaniards had locked themselves inside the Alhondiga, a grain storehouse and troop barracks.

At first, the Alhondiga held strong. To get through, the rebels would need to break down the heavy wooden doors, but were unable to reach them due to the hail of rocks and bullets. Enter Juan José de los Reyes Martínez Amaro, a local miner who went by the nickname Pipila. As the story goes, Pipila, strong from his work at the mines, strapped a stone onto his back for protection. Carrying tar and a torch, Pipila managed to make it to the door and set it on fire. The Mexican insurgents broke down the door, and killed all the Spaniards inside, soldier and civilian alike.

The group continued to march through towns and cities, amassing support. They headed toward Mexico City, where they greatly outnumbered the Royalist troops that could be assembled on such short notice. Here, Hidalgo decided to turn back. Historians still debate why; many think he wanted to avoid a repeat of the Guanajuato massacre in the capital. Allende was not on board with this decision. The insurgency headed for Guadalajara instead, where a massacre on Spanish citizens during the feast of Guadalupe saw many Mexican troops abandon the cause.

Following a loss at the Battle of Calderón Bridge, Independence leaders took the reigns from Hidalgo and gave them to Allende. Allende decided to head north toward the United States, looking for foreign intervention. The insurgents were intercepted along the way, defeated and captured. Allende, along with Aldama and Jiménez (two of the other military leaders) were executed. Hidalgo, as a priest, was tried by the Inquisition, stripped of his priesthood, then executed. The four men's heads were hung from the four corners of Guanajuato's Alhondiga for the next ten years. While the first phase of the Mexican War of Independence was through, Hidalgo's grito had sparked a movement. In the south, other leaders picked up the cause. The war would eventually be won a decade later when right-wing monarchists joined left-wing populists in defense of traditional Catholicism.

While I'd originally planned this trip based on purely aesthetic reasons, it was really cool to get to experience a bit more of Mexico's incredible history. Learning about how a place came to be really helps you to better understand why certain things are the way they are, and what struggles might still need to be fought today. As the inscription on Pipila's statue reads, "There will be other Alhondigas to burn."