Youth

Youth[edit]

Hidalgo was born on May 8, 1753 as the second child of Don Cristóbal Hidalgo y Costilla and Doña Ana María Gallaga.[5] Hidalgo was born a creole.[note 1][5] Under the system of the day, Hidalgo's rights as a creole were far less than those of someone born in Spain but better than a mestizo, someone with a mixture of Spanish and Amerindian ancestry. Both of Hidalgo's parents were descended from well-respected families within the creole community. Hidalgo's father was a hacienda manager, which presented Hidalgo with the opportunity to learn at a young age to speak the indigenous languages of the laborers. Eight days after his birth Hidalgo was baptized into the Roman Catholic faith in the parish church of Cuitzeo de los Naranjos. Hidalgo's parents would have three other sons; José Joaquín, Manuel Mariano, and José María.

In 1759 when Hidalgo was 6, Charles III of Spain ascended the throne; he soon sent out a visitor-general with the power to investigate and reform all parts of colonial government. Privileges previously withheld from creoles were granted and "some opportunities were accorded them for self-government, at least in the ayuntamientos or municipal governing boards. …they were for the first time since the Conquest admitted to the colleges and universities, and rendered eligible to careers at the bar, in the Church, or in the Government."[5]

With the new opportunities available Don Cristobal was determined that Hidalgo and Joaquin should both enter the priesthood and hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. Being of significant means he paid for all of his sons to receive the best education the region had to offer. After receiving private instruction, likely from the priest of the neighboring parish, Hidalgo was ready for more formal education.[5]

Education and ordination[edit]

At the age of fourteen Hidalgo was sent to Valladolid (now Morelia), Michoacán to study at the Colegio de San Francisco Javier with the Jesuits, along with his brothers.[6] When the Jesuits were expelled from Mexico in 1767, he entered the Colegio de San Nicolas.[2][7][8] There he chose to study for the priesthood.[2] He completed his preparatory education in 1770. After this, he went to the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico in Mexico City for further study, earning his degree in philosophy and theology in 1773.[6] His education for the priesthood was traditional, with subjects in Latin, rhetoric and logic. Like many priests in Mexico, he learned some Indian languages,[8] such as Nahuatl, Otomi and Tarascan. Along with these he also studied Italian and French, which were not commonly studied in Mexico at this time.[7] He was considered cultured and clever, earning the nickname El Zorro (the fox) from those at his school.[1][9] Hidalgo's study of French allowed him to read and study the thought and works of the Enlightenment that were current in Europe[2] even though these ideas were forbidden at the time in Mexico.[1]

Hidalgo was ordained as a priest in 1778 when he was 25 years old.[7][9] From 1779 to 1792, he dedicated himself to teaching at San Nicolas as a professor of Latin grammar and arts, then as a theology professor. Beginning in 1787, he was named treasurer, vice-rector and secretary,[6] working his way up to becoming dean of the school in 1790 when he was thirty-nine.[2][10] While he was dean, Hidalgo continued studying the liberal ideas that were coming from France and other parts of Europe. This, as well as his mismanagement of school funds, put him in conflict with his superiors, leading to his ousting.[11] The Church sent him to work at the parishes of Colima and San Felipe Torres Mochas until he became the parish priest in Dolores, Guanajuato,[7] succeeding his brother Felipe (also a priest), who died in 1802.

Although Hidalgo was educated as a priest in the traditional way, he did not advocate

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