PEDRO MORENO: BIOGRAPHY, REVOLUTION AND DEATH OF THE INSURGENT - BIOGRAPHIES - 2024

Pedro Moreno (1775-1817) was one of the figures of the independence movements that Mexico had. He served as a general during his fighting years, but did not live to witness the consolidation of independence.

He is one of the most illustrious characters in Jalisco. Even one of the cities of the state was named in his honor a few years after Mexico achieved freedom. His wife and children were also protagonists in the libertarian struggle, some of them being prisoners for years and others died.

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The importance of Pedro Moreno was evident when his name was inscribed on the monument to independence that is located in Mexico City, better known as El Ángel. The name of Pedro Moreno is found under the statue of war, along with Mariano Jiménez, José Antonio Torres or Víctor Rosales.

Biography

The full name of this insurgent was Pedro Moreno González de Hermosillo. He was born in 1775 in Santa María de los Lagos, a town in Jalisco. He was part of a family of certain economic power and his parents were even Spanish: Manuel Moreno and María del Rosario.

His childhood was spent among the comforts of the wealthy families of the time. The Moreno family owned some properties, including Hacienda de la Daga, where Pedro was born.

Pedro's training was in charge of the town's school, although when he grew up he followed in the footsteps of many sons of wealthy families and entered the seminary. In Guadalajara he began his training in law, an education he abandoned when his father died.

Then Pedro Moreno took over the family's land and began his activities as a merchant. He showed quite a prowess for business. He was known to his contemporaries as El Toro, a nickname he received especially for his remarkable strength.

Marriage

At the age of 24, he married Rita Pérez Jiménez, originally from Jalisco. Together they had several children. The entire family became involved in the independence movement and suffered the punishment and revenge of the royalists.

Joined the revolution

In 1812 Pedro Moreno began to help the insurgents. The royalists had some doubts about Moreno and began investigations to discover his relationship with the revolutionaries. It is at that moment when he decides to leave the city, assemble a group of people with the same ideology and begin his fight against the royalists.

Moreno managed to rally many families to his cause. Especially peasants and the workers of their hacienda themselves. He settled in the fort of the hat with his wife and children. From that place he fought different battles for a long time.

Fort the Hat

The problems for Pedro Moreno in the fort began in 1816. By then, the insurgent had already managed to repel some attacks by the Spanish on the fort. One of the advantages that Moreno had was the location of the fort, located on the top of a mountain.

In the fort, other insurgents joined Moreno, the most important perhaps was the Spanish Francisco Xavier Mina, who assumed the leadership of the troops and became Moreno's superior. In June 1817 both had to leave the place before one of the attacks of the Spanish troops.

There were several realistic characters who tried to capture Pedro Moreno during his years of struggle. Among the most important, and that failed in their attempts, were Revuelta, Negrete and Orrantía.

Alliance with Mina

Francisco Xavier Mina was younger than Moreno, but he still assumed the leadership of his troops. When they met in the fort of the hat, Mina was only 27 years old, 10 years younger than when Moreno joined the independence movement. Their first battle together was against the troops of Ordóñez and Castañón.

Mina was so important that he was appointed as the head of the insurgent troops, a decision that had many detractors since he was a Spaniard who had just arrived in America. To fight against this alliance, Spain continued to send representatives to battle and it was Pascual de Liñán's turn.

The Spanish military man managed to enter the fort of the hat, although Moreno and Mina had managed to escape, this time with the jousts. The insurgents in the end were only four months together, because in October 1817 they suffered a last attack from the Spanish when they were heading to another area.

Suffering from your family

The family of Pedro Moreno and Rita Pérez suffered all kinds of problems during the independence movements. One of the couple's sons was killed in a pro-insurgent battle when he was just 15 years old. At the same time Pedro Moreno lost one of his brothers.

One of Moreno's daughters, Guadalupe, was kidnapped when she was only two years old. For a long time it was believed that she had been murdered, at least that was what the family had been led to believe for Moreno to surrender. Guadalupe really was in the care of a Spanish family. She was reunited with her mother when Mexico achieved independence.

Rita Pérez, Moreno's wife also suffered mistreatment from the Spanish. She lived in the fort with the hat and was in charge of various tasks in the fort. In one of the enemy attacks Moreno managed to escape, but his wife did not. She remained a prisoner and Moreno was offered her freedom in exchange for her surrender, but she never accepted.

Death

In October 1817 the last lines of Pedro Moreno as an independentist would be written. The royalists located him in Guanajuato, on a ranch called El Venadito. Historians affirm that Moreno only had at his disposal a sword to confront the Spaniards, a weapon that was not enough to stop the attack of bullets against him.

As was customary with some insurgents, Moreno was dismembered. Several Spanish soldiers were recognized and awarded for the capture and death of Moreno and later of Mina. Moreno's head was exposed for months in public.

Moreno Lakes

One of the greatest honors Pedro Moreno received, although not in life, was that the place where he was born was named in his honor. The Villa de Santa María de los Lagos was founded in 1531, but in 1829, a few years after the independence of Mexico, it was cataloged as Lagos de Moreno.

It is currently a Cultural Heritage city of Mexico, located in Jalisco in the central part of the Republic. The inhabitants of this city had a very important participation in the libertarian struggle, with Pedro Moreno as one of its main protagonists.

References

1. Anderson Imbert, Enrique. History of Hispanic American Literature. Economic Culture Fund, 2003.
2. Esposito, Matthew D. Funerals, Festivals, And Cultural Politics In Porfirian Mexico. University Of New Mexico Press, 2010.
3. Hamnett, Brian R. Roots Of Insurgency. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
4. Katz, Friedrich. Riot, Rebellion, And Revolution. Princeton University Pres, 2016.
5. Van Young, Eric. The Other Rebellion. Stanford University Press, 2002.