José Mariano de Abasolo (Guanajuato, Mexico, 1783 - Cádiz, Spain, 1816) was one of the insurgent Mexican soldiers who participated during the Independence of Mexico. Thanks to his strategic and military skills, he became an important piece during the pro-independence movement led by priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, as he rose rapidly through the insurgent military hierarchy to become a field marshal.
Before his collaboration in the Valladolid conspiracy and in the Hidalgo y Costilla movement, Abasolo served as captain in the Queen's regiment of Dragons, which was in charge of guarding the town of San Miguel.
Early years
José Mariano de Abasolo Outón was born in 1783, in the town of Dolores, belonging to the State of Guanajuato, being the son of José Abasolo and Mariela Outón.
He grew up in a family of wealthy landowners, so he enjoyed a wealthy lifestyle. He joined the Spanish army to later be part of the Queen's Dragoons regiment, where he was captain.
Intervention in the insurgent process
It is estimated that Abasolo sympathized with the independence ideals that arrived in the country in the 19th century. In view of this, in 1809 he made contact with high-ranking soldiers who were in Valladolid (now Morelia, Michoacán), among them Mariano de Michelena and Ignacio Allende.
That same year, the conspiracy continued but was discovered by the government of the viceroyalty, which was responsible for arresting the leaders of these meetings, leaving the rest of the group free. Among them were Abasolo and Allende.
Both would continue with the plan originally drawn up, so they moved the talks to Querétaro, specifically in the house of the marriage of Miguel Domínguez and Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, in order to establish an arms uprising scheduled for the following year.
It is worth mentioning that Ignacio Allende invited Abasolo, as well as Juan Aldama and Joaquín Arias. The latter, however, would be classified as a traitor when denouncing these meetings. Despite this, thanks to the intervention of Josefa de Domínguez, they were able to escape from the authorities.
In 1810, Abasolo joined the independence movement led by the priest, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, who also declared the War of Independence, calling it the Grito de Dolores.
Abasolo's main functions, during the process, were:
- As in previous events, he did not have much participation in the military, Abasolo took advantage of his good economic position to help with funds for the cause. Some historians indicate that the contribution made was about 40 thousand pesos in gold.
- He definitively abandoned his regiment and his position as captain.
- He controlled the weapons and ammunition in the arsenal.
- Distribution of the same to the insurgents.
Due to his subsequent performances, little by little he managed to rise in the military hierarchy to position himself as a field marshal.
Battles
After taking arms and other ammunition, Abasolo and the group of insurgents went to Celaya, a city where Hidalgo received the title of captain general and Allende of lieutenant general.
Therefore, Abasolo's performance in two important processes during Independence can be highlighted:
-On September 28, 1810, he participated in the battle of Alhóndiga de Granaditas, considered one of the bloodiest military confrontations in Mexican history, for leaving a significant death toll of Spanish civilians and soldiers who were killed by the insurgents. The army had more than 50 thousand men against 2,500 royalist soldiers.
-He participated in the battle of Monte de las Cruces on October 30, 1810, where he advanced with a division against the royalists, resisting the constant attacks they received. Despite breaking up the group, Hidalgo and Allende were able to reorganize the army by having all kinds of men who wanted to participate in the battle: mulattoes, charros, ranchers and cowboys who left their farms.
-In view of the victory, the insurgents wanted to take the capital. However, by November 1, Hidalgo decided to send Allende and Abasolo as emissaries to discuss the surrender peacefully. The agreement was not accepted and both were on the verge of being shot were it not for the intervention of the Archbishop of Mexico.
-Allende organized an insurrection towards Bajío, but was intercepted by Viceroy Félix María Calleja in what was called the Battle of the Calderón Bridge. There, the insurgents were defeated by the royalist army.
With this, Hidalgo fled out of the country to request support from the United States.
Jail and death
With the defeat, Abasolo resigned as head of resistant troops, a position that Allende had assigned him in Saltillo. In March 1811, Allende, Juan Aldama, and Abasolo were arrested and taken to Chihuahua. There, all would be condemned to be shot except Abasolo. who was sent to Spain as a prisoner.
The main reason why his life was spared was due to the actions of María Manuela Rojas Taboada, his wife, whose family was associated with important members in the politics of the viceroyalty.
In addition to the actions of his wife, it is believed that Abasolo retracted his actions by accusing Hidalgo and Allende as the leaders of the movement. He even gave information and names of other collaborators, including José María Chico.
Sentenced to life imprisonment, Abasolo remained in the dungeons of the Castillo de Santa Catalina, where he died on April 144, 1816 from tuberculosis.
Currently, the figure of Mariano Abasolo is respected for considering himself one of the active architects in the independence process. He was declared as "Benemérito de la Patria" and his name can be found in the room in the Chamber of Deputies.
References
- Biography of Mariano Abasolo. (sf). In IHistoria. Retrieved: March 1, 2018. In IHistoria de lhistoria.com.
- Battle of Monte de las Cruces. (sf). On Wikipedia. Retrieved: March 1, 2018. In Wikipedia at es.wikipedia.org.
- Mexico's independence. (sf). On Wikipedia. Retrieved: March 1, 2018. In Wikipedia at es.wikipedia.org.
- Mariano Abasolo. (sf). In BuscaBiographies. Retrieved: March 1, 2018. In BuscaBiographies of Buscabiografias.com.
- Mariano Abasolo. (sf). In Search Engine. Retrieved: March 1, 2018. In Search engine at finder.com.mx.
- Mariano Abasolo. (sf). On Wikipedia. Retrieved: March 1, 2018. In Wikipedia at es.wikipedia.org.