JOSé MARíA MORELOS

'José María Teclo Morelos y Pavón' (September 30, 1765, Valladolid, now Morelia, Michoacán December 22, 1815, San Cristóbal Ecatepec, State of México) was a Mexican priest and revolutionary rebel leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement; taking leadership after the death of Miguel Hidalgo in 1811. He was later captured by the Spanish colonial authorities and executed for treason in 1815.

Contents

Early years

Insurrection against Spain

His campaigns

The Congress of Chilpancingo

Capture and execution

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Early years

Morelos was born into a poor family in the city of Valladolid, since renamed "Morelia" in his honor, in a house that is today a museum dedicated to his memory. He was a mestizo of Amerindian, African^[1] and Spanish ancestry. His father was Manuel Morelos, a carpenter originally from Zindurio, a predominantly indigenous village a few kilometers west of Valladolid. His mother was Juana María Guadalupe Pérez Pavón, originally from San Juan Bautista de Apaseo, also near Valladolid.^[2] Valladolid was the seat of a bishop and of the government of the colonial Intendency of Michoacán. It was known as the "Garden of New Spain" because of its prosperity.
On October 4, 1765 Morelos was baptized in the cathedral of Valladolid, as ''José María Teclo Morelos Pávón y Pérez''. It is said that the family name was originally ''Sandoval'', but in the seventeenth century it was changed to ''Moreros'', which eventually became ''Morelos''.
He had an older brother, Nicolás, who was born in 1762 and died in 1828. He also had two younger sisters, who died in infancy.
Morelos studied in the school of his grandfather, José Antonio Pavón, a teacher, but he had to leave in 1779, when his father died.^[3] He went to Tahuejo in Apatzingán to work in the hacienda of his father's brother, Felipe Morelos. His brother Nicolás moved to San Luis Potosí, where he worked as a carpenter.
Morelos worked as a mule driver in Tahuejo more than ten years. He traveled widely in his job, perhaps as far as Mexico City and Puebla. In his free time, he studied grammar, Latin, and Spanish. Both his travels and his studies served him well in the time of the insurgency.
By 1790, he had saved enough money to enter the College of San Nicolás in Valladolid, where Miguel Hidalgo was rector, intending to become a priest. After further study at the Seminario Tridentino in Valladolid, in 1795 he traveled to the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico to take his examinations and receive a bachelor of arts degree. In 1797 he was ordained, at the late age of 33. In 1799, he became parish priest in Cuarácuaro, remaining there until 1810.^[4]
Morelos was the father of Juan Nepomuceno Almonte (1803-69), later an important player in the Mexican military, politics and government. Almonte lived in New Orleans, learned English, was a backer of Antonio López de Santa Anna, fought against the Texas Revolution and was later temporarily regent of Mexico. He is seen as a traitor to Mexico for signing the Mont-Almonte Treaty with Spain in 1859. (The treaty committed Mexico to pay debts which Spain claimed in exchange for economic aid against the Mexican Liberal Party.)

Insurrection against Spain

On September 15, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo, the ex-rector of the College of San Nicolás, then the parish priest of Dolores, Guanajuato (since renamed ''Dolores Hidalgo'' in his honor), called for armed revolt after the authorities discovered the Conspiracy of Querétaro. The other conspirators included Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, Ignacio Allende and Juan Aldama. Hidalgo and his followers rose in open revolt the following day.
After taking all the important cities of the Bajío region and being proclaimed captain general of Mexico in Celaya on September 21, Hidalgo advanced as far as Guanajuato. There on September 28, the rebels captured the Alhóndiga de Granaditas in a bloody battle, killing more than 600 Spaniards who had taken shelter there. Among the dead was the intendent of Guanajuato, Juan Antonio Riaño, an old friend of Hidalgo.
The insurgent army was excommunicated by the bishop of Michoacán, Manuel Abad y Queipo, another former friend of Hidalgo. Hidalgo continued to Valladolid, where fear that the slaughter of Guanajuato would be repeated caused many people to flee, particularly the rich and middle class. Valladolid was taken peacefully on October 17, 1810.
n Tacámbaro Hidalgo was proclaimed generalissimo and Allende captain general (October 19). Hidalgo ordered a rest for his troops in Charo, where a few minutes before their departure, Morelos, who had read about his excommunication and his triumphs, found him. Still serving as the parish priest of Cuarácuaro, Morelos now asked to join the insurgent army. The generalissimo gave him a military commission as colonel, ordering him to raise troops in the south and capture Acapulco, to disrupt the commerce of New Spain with the Philippines.

His campaigns

The campaigns of Morelos. Click to enlarge.

Morelos soon showed himself to be a talented strategist, and became the greatest of the insurgent military commanders. In his first nine months, he won 22 victories, annihilating the armies of three royalist chiefs and dominating almost all of what is now the state of Guerrero. In December, he captured Acapulco for the first time, except for the fortress of San Diego. Royalist reinforcements forced him to raise the siege in January. By quick marches, he was able to capture most of the Spanish positions on the Pacific coast of what are now Michoacán and Guerrero. On May 24, 1811 he occupied Chilpancingo and on May 26 he took Tixtla (both now in Guerrero).
In his second campaign, Morelos divided his troops into three parts. The most important engagement of this campaign was at Cuautla (modern-day state of Morelos), where his forces were besieged by royalists under Félix María Calleja del Rey. On May 2, 1812, after 58 days, Morelos broke through the siege, and started his third campaign.
Major victories on this third campaign were at Citlala (June 8, 1812), Tehuacán (August 10, 1812), Orizaba, Oaxaca and Acapulco. Morelos arrived at Orizaba with 10,000 troops on October 28, 1812. The city was defended by 600 Spanish troops. Negotiation led to a surrender without bloodshed. He entered Oaxaca in triumph on November 25, 1812. Acapulco fell on April 12, 1813, but the Spanish defenders again took refuge in Fort San Diego.

The Congress of Chilpancingo

In 1813, Morelos called the National Constituent Congress of Chilpancingo, composed of representatives of the provinces under his control, to consider a political and social program which he outlined in a document entitled "Sentimientos de la Nación" (Sentiments of the Nation).
On September 13, 1813, the Congress, with Morelos present, endorsed the "Sentiments of the Nation". This document declared Mexican independence, established the Catholic religion and created the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government. It declared respect for property but confiscated the goods of the Spaniards. It abolished slavery and all class and racial social distinctions in favor of the title "American" for all native-born individuals. Torture, monopolies and the system of tributes were also abolished. Morelos was offered the title ''Generalissimo'' with the style of address ''Your Highness'', but he refused these and asked to be called ''Siervo de la Nación'' (Servant of the Nation).
After some military defeats, the Congress met again in Apatzingán, and on October 22 promulgated the ''Decreto Constitucional para la Libertad de la América Mexicana'' (Constitutional Decree for the Liberty of Mexican America). This established a weak executive and a powerful legislature, the opposite of what Morelos had called for. He nevertheless conceded that it was the best he could hope for under the circumstances.

The degradation of Morelos, in a contemporary engraving.

Capture and execution

Shortly thereafter, Morelos began his fourth military campaign, a series of disasters beginning at Valladolid in late 1813. While escorting the new insurgent Congress in November 1815, he was defeated in Tezmalaca. He was taken prisoner and brought to Mexico City in chains. He was tried and condemned to be defrocked for heresy and executed for treason. José María Morelos y Pavón was executed by firing squad on December 22, 1815 in San Cristóbal Ecatepec, near Mexico City. His lieutenant, Vicente Guerrero, continued the fight after his death.

Legacy

Statue of Morelos at Janitzio, Michoacán.

Morelos is a national hero of Mexico. In addition to the city of Morelia, the state of Morelos is named after him. Morelos's likeness was used on 50-peso notes from 1947 until the 1970s, on one-peso coins in the 1970s and 1980s, and is now used again on current 50-peso notes.
It is said that before beginning his 1812 campaign, Napolean Bonaparte, being told of Morelos's military successes, said: "Someone give me three generals like him and I will conquer the world."

See also

★ History of Mexico

★ Mexican War of Independence

References

1. Article "An Afro-Mexican legend, José Morelos" from African American Registry
2. Spanish Wikipedia article
3. Article "Jose Maria Morelos" at Famous Americans
4. Article "Morelos y Pavón, José María" from Answers.com

Further reading

★ Wilbert H. Timmons, ''Morelos: Priest, Soldier, Statesman of Mexico'', revised edition, 1970

External links

★ A good, short biography from Answers.com

★ Short biography from Appletons Encyclopedia

★ Wallace L. McKeehan, "José María Morelos
Man of God, Warrior & Patriot"