IGNACIO LÓPEZ RAYÓN: BIOGRAPHY - HISTORY - 2024

Ignacio López Rayón (1773 - 1832) was a prominent Mexican military and lawyer who led the insurgent forces of Mexico, fighting several battles against the Spanish, many of which were undefeated.

During the first years of the Mexican War of Independence, he was appointed private secretary of the renowned military man and priest Miguel Hidalgo, being the head of the army even after the priest's death.

By AnonymousUnknown author (http://www.inehrm.gob.mx), via Wikimedia Commons

Thanks to his enormous ideals and impeccable political plans, he managed to establish the first government, the Zitácuaro Council, the first constitution and the so-called “Constitutional Elements” of the independent nation.

Ignacio López Rayón is remembered as one of the most relevant Mexican political leaders of the 19th century and, more specifically, of the Mexican War of Independence.

Biography

Early years

Ignacio Antonio López-Rayón López-Aguado was born on September 13, 1773 in Tlalpujahua, an inheritance from Valladolid, which is currently Michoacán. He was the first-born of Andrés Mariano López-Rayón Piña and María Josefa Rafaela López-Aguado y López-Bolaños.

López completed his first studies at the Colegio de San Nicolás, in Valladolid (Morelia). Upon graduation, he moved to Mexico City to study law at the Colegio San Ildefonso, obtaining his law degree in 1796.

He lived for a time in Mexico City, where he managed to practice his legal career until his father fell ill, forcing him to return to Morelia. When his father died, he had to take over the family business of agriculture, mining and the post office in the city.

In addition to supporting family affairs in his hometown, he decided to dedicate himself to the exploitation of gold. In August 1810, he finally married María Ana Martínez de Rulfo de Querétaro and daughter of the Spanish José Martínez Moreno.

First months in the Mexican War of Independence

When the Mexican War of Independence broke out on September 16, 1810, López Rayón was interested in participating alongside the insurgent cause; in that sense, he got in touch with the Mexican soldier Antonio Fernández.

Fernández had passed through various Mexican towns causing several damage to Spanish farms. After these actions, López Rayón decided to send a letter to Fernández, suggesting a plan for him to be consulted by the leader of the insurgency, Miguel Hidalgo.

The plan consisted in the creation of a group to represent the power of the Spanish King Fernando VII, in order to stop the waste of resources and, rather, they were used for the benefit of the insurgency.

After Fernández explained the plan to Hidalgo, the Mexican leader approved them and ordered Fernández to follow López Rayón's instructions with the intention of executing his plan. In fact, Hidalgo expressed in a letter congratulations to López Rayón for the proposed plan.

After the actions raised by the one from Michoacán, the viceroyalty under the Spanish military Francisco Xavier Venegas sent his soldiers to capture López Rayón. Despite that, López Rayón was unharmed from capture and joined Miguel Hidalgo's forces.

Secretary of Hidalgo

After those events, Hidalgo thought of making López Rayón his private secretary. From there López Rayón guarded Hidalgo to dispute the battle of Monte de las Cruces. Later, he decided to leave for his hometown to convince his brothers to join the insurgent cause.

Finally, López Rayón moved to Valladolid along with Hidalgo, after the leader suffered a defeat against the royalists in Aculco. When the insurgent José Antonio Torres took Guadalajara, Hidalgo granted López Rayón the title of "Secretary of State and Office."

On December 6, 1810, López Rayón signed together with Hidalgo a decree against slavery where it was declared abolished in America. On the other hand, they managed to organize a provisional government by appointing the Mexican lawyer José María Chico as president, in addition to commissioning the creation of an insurgent newspaper.

On January 17, 1811, they went to the Battle of Puente de Calderón to fight against the Spanish army. With Miguel Hidalgo at the helm along with López Rayón, Ignacio Allende, "Master Torres," among others, they were defeated and suffered several losses in the army, as well as weapons and material goods.

However, López Rayón managed to save, approximately, an amount equivalent to three hundred thousand pesos after the confrontation.

Insurgent Army Chief

López Rayón met with the insurgent military officer José Rafael Iriarte in Aguascalientes in order to go to Zacatecas. Along with the amount he managed to save, he met with the rest of the insurgent leaders.

At that time, Hidalgo was no longer the head of the insurgent forces, with Mexican General Ignacio Allende having taken his place. From Zacatecas, the insurgents saw the need to move north, specifically to Saltillo, to try to ask the US government for support.

As many of the troops remained in Saltillo and the Mexican Juan Aldama plus a number of other insurgent leaders tried to move north, on March 16, 1811 López Rayón was appointed head of the insurgent army. Later he was appointed general.

Both Hidalgo and other insurgents were intercepted and captured in the state of Coahuila by the royalist captain Ignacio Elizondo. The only one who managed to escape was Iriarte, who quickly fled to Saltillo to meet with López Rayón.

However, Allende had instructed López Rayón to convict Iriarte for appearing to be suspected of treason. Finally, López Rayón found him guilty and shot him at the court martial.

Battle of Puerto de los Piñones

After the capture of some insurgent leaders, López Rayón made the decision to leave Saltillo considering it a vulnerable threat. On March 26, 1811, he went with his army of approximately 3,500 men and 22 guns, towards Zacatecas.

Along the way, Royalist forces under the command of Lieutenant Colonel José Manuel Ochoa intercepted López Rayón and his army, capturing 77 soldiers. In this sense, López Rayón decided to start the battle in Puerto de los Piñones in Coahuila, on April 1 of that same year.

With General Ignacio López Rayón at the head of the cavalry, they achieved victory at the head of the royalist forces of General José Manuel Ochoa. Although during the first six hours the battle seemed lost, López Rayón's insurgents rallied from the duel, taking much more advantage in the fight.

Thanks to the victory of the Battle of Puerto de los Piñones, López Rayón managed to obtain a large amount of sustenance for the soldiers and war supplies that the insurgent army lacked so much.

Although the battle was won by the insurgents, General Ochoa longed to capture López Rayón, so the battle of Puerto de los Piñones was only a prelude to the Taking of Zacatecas.

Beginning of the Taking of Zacatecas in 1811

After fighting the Battle of Puerto de Piñones and emerging victorious from it, López Rayón and his army rested on a farm. There they were finally able to supply themselves with water which was the main thing they needed.

López Rayón continued on his way to Zacatecas, burned corpses and buried some cannons in the area as he did not have pack animals that could carry them. He continued on his way until he stopped to rest for two days.

López Rayón sent the Mexicans Juan Pablo de Anaya and Víctor González to recognize the opposition forces in Zacatecas, while López Rayón was in charge of other matters.

On April 14, 1811, the largest quantity of the royalist forces, ammunition, provisions and special artillery was in Zacatecas, which was their final destination. On the night of April 14, José Antonio Torres, known as “el amo Torres” had taken the Cerro del Grillo in Zacatecas.

Finally, López Rayón's army entered the city in an orderly manner, offering a conference to the city's residents to explain both the army's intentions and what they would face later.

At the same time, he explained his proposal to create a congress made up of members appointed by the people to represent the rights of Fernando VII. He created a governing board among the inhabitants themselves, achieving an impeccable negotiation.

Taking of Zacatecas in 1811

After several combats in Zacatecas, finally on April 15, 1811 López Rayón took the city. From there, he managed to join the forces of his compatriot José Antonio Torres in La Piedad, Michoacán. Between the two of them they managed to melt down a large amount of artillery, manufacture gunpowder, and properly uniform their troops.

Finally, that same day López Rayón managed to neutralize the royalists of Colonel José Manuel de Ochoa, achieving the victory of the insurgents in the city of Zacatecas.

On April 22, 1811, both López Rayón and the insurgent military officer José María Liceaga sent a document exposing a negotiation on the justice of the independence cause. There they explained the idea of ​​a board representing the Spanish king.

The letter was sent to the Spanish soldier Félix Calleja by a commission headed by José María Rayón (Ignacio López Rayón's brother). Calleja denied such a statement and, on the contrary, captured his brother as a form of threat to lower his weapons in Zacatecas. José María Rayón, finally managed to escape the capture of Calleja.

López Rayón invested a few months in Zacatecas to prepare his army, unifying them, disciplining them, and creating a quantity of artillery and ammunition for the war. After completing his preparation, he left Zacatecas for Michoacán.

Battle of Maguey

Ignacio López Rayón considered heading to Michoacán with the intention of threatening Calleja, leaving Mexican Victor Rosales in charge of Zacatecas with 1,000 men.

On May 2, 1811, López Rayón made his first stop in Aguascalientes, where he was intercepted at the Maguey ranch by Spanish Colonel Miguel Emparan, taking place the Battle of Maguey.

Colonel Miguel Emparan set out for López Rayón's men with approximately 3,000 men. López Rayón had 14 artillery cannons and a cavalry picket to stop the opposition advance and allow time for the withdrawal of the infantry.

However, the realistic attack managed to be stronger than those of the Mexican, so he came out defeated and his resources seriously destroyed.

Despite his loss, López Rayón continued on his way to La Piedad, but noticed that the soldiers summoned by him had abandoned him, taking all the funds. However, he set out to gather resources and weapons again.

Then he left for Zamora, where he managed to organize a troop with few soldiers and placed José Antonio Torres in command to fight in Pátzcuaro. While there, he was attacked until López Rayón arrived to help him, achieving insurgent victory.

Creation of the Zitácuaro Board

Leaving Pátzcuaro, he went to Zitácuaro to prepare a defense against the royalists. However, on June 22, 1811, Emparan attacked the city where López was.

Although Emparan had more men, López's army had better artillery. The battle lasted all day, resulting in a victory for the insurgents due to the fact that the city was not taken by the Spanish. Even so, both armies suffered heavy losses.

After the military events, López Rayón conceived the idea of ​​creating a central government in order to unify the leaders of the Independence. For that reason, he wrote a letter to José María Morelos y Pavón, who quickly accepted.

Between August 19 and 21, 1811 López Rayón together with other leaders created the Supreme American National Encounter in which López Rayón was the president.

The Zitácuaro Board's main objective was to prepare a document entitled "Constitutional Elements", in order to organize emancipatory ideas in an impeccable instrument. They were linked to the abolition of slavery, class equality, freedom of expression, among others.

However, on January 1, 1812, the Junta of Zitácuaro was attacked by Calleja; the revolutionaries held out for a long time, causing Calleja to abandon his plan and leave.

Latest political events and death

The Junta had gradually begun to disintegrate due to the divisions that existed within it, especially with the leadership of López Rayón. In short, the Supreme American National Board and the army (under the command of López Rayón) began to have more prominence in other Mexican populations.

In 1813 he was part of the Constituent Congress headed by José María Morelos; Later, he was imprisoned from 1817 to 1820. Almost at the end of the war, he was elected to be treasurer in San Luis de Potosí.

Eight years later he wanted to return to political life by participating in a presidential contest, which he lost to Manuel Gómez Pedraza. On February 2, 1832, he died in Mexico City at the age of 58.

Reference

1. Ignacio López Rayón, Wikipedia in English, (nd). Taken from Wikipedia.org
2. Biography of Ignacio López Rayón, Portal Who.net, (nd). Taken from who.net
3. Ignacio López Rayón, Website Biographies and Lives, (nd). Taken from biografiasyvidas.com
4. Ignacio López-Rayón and López-Aguado, Portal Geneanet, (nd). Taken from gw.geneanet.org
5. Battle of Puerto de Piñones, Spanish Wikipedia, (nd). Taken from Wikipedia.org