MIGUEL HIDALGO Y COSTILLA
(Miguel Gregorio Antonio Francisco Ignacio Hidalgo-Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor | Miguel Hidalgo)
He raised an army of 200,000 men to fight the Spanish. He was captured and executed for treason in 1811.
Many are surprised that the first Mexican revolutionary leaders were Catholic Priests, because the Catholic Church was always on the side of Spain and against Mexican revolutionary efforts. The church and the state were totally intertwined at the time, so the Church officials supported the government officials and vica verca. However, there were priests who saw the injustice and corruption of the colonial Spanish government, and not only sided with the revolutionists but became revolutionary leaders. These were opposed and usually excommunicated by the Church establishment authorities.
Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Francisco Ignacio Hidalgo-Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor, more commonly known as Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (Spanish pronunciation: [miˈɣel iˈðalɣo]), was a Spanish Catholic priest, a leader of the Mexican War of Independence, and recognized as the Father of the Nation.
