Ignacio López Rayón (July 31, 1773 in Tlalpujahua, Intendancy of Valladolid (present-day
Michoacán
Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...
),
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
– February 2, 1832 in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
) was a general who led the insurgent forces of his country after
Miguel Hidalgo
Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican Wa ...
's death, during the first years of the
Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...
. He subsequently established the first government,
Zitacuaro Council
The Zitacuaro Council (Spanish: ''Junta de Zitácuaro''), also known under a variety of names such as the Supreme National American Meeting or Supreme Governmental Board of America, was a council established by insurgent leaders Ignacio López Ray ...
, and first constitution of the proposed independent nation, called
Constitutional Elements
The Constitutional Elements were a set of guidelines in the form of a draft constitution for Mexico (then still Viceroyalty of New Spain), written in April 1812, during the Mexican War of Independence by general Ignacio López Rayón, and circu ...
.
First years
López Rayón was born in Tlalpujahua, Intendancy of Valladolid, the first son of
Andrés Mariano López-Rayón Piña
Andres or Andrés may refer to:
*Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US
*Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France
*Andres (name)
*Hurricane Andres
* "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7
See also ...
(1742–1805) and
María Josefa Rafaela López-Aguado y López-Bolaños
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
*170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
*Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...
(1754–1822). He went to the
Colegio de San Nicolás in Valladolid (today's
Morelia
Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and larg ...
) and in Mexico City's
Colegio de San Ildefonso
The Colegio de San Ildefonso was an educational institution run by the Society of Jesus in Cebu City, Philippines in the then Spanish Captaincy General of the Philippines. It was established by the Jesuits in 1595 thus making it the first Europe ...
where he became a lawyer in 1796. He lived in Mexico City but when his parent got sick he had to go back to Morelia to take control of the family business (agriculture and mining) and the post office in the town.
In August 1810 he married
María Ana Martínez de Rulfo
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
*170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
*Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...
.
Mexican War of Independence
During the first months of the Mexican War of Independence he got in contact with
Antonio Fernández, an independence soldier. Rayón sent him a letter with the idea of creating a group of people to represent the power of
Fernando VII
, house = Bourbon-Anjou
, father = Charles IV of Spain
, mother = Maria Luisa of Parma
, birth_date = 14 October 1784
, birth_place = El Escorial, Spain
, death_date =
, death_place = Madrid, Spain
, burial_pla ...
to try to stop the waste of resources.
Miguel Hidalgo
Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican Wa ...
was in agreement with the idea. The Spanish tried to capture Rayón but he escaped and joined Miguel Hidalgo's troops in
Maravatío
Maravatío is a municipality in the Mexican state of Michoacán, representing 1.17% of its land area, or 691.55 km2.
Etymology
The modern word Maravatío comes from the Purépecha word Marhabatio, meaning a precious place or thing.
Hist ...
. Later on, he became Hidalgo's private secretary.
Miguel Hidalgo
In
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
, Hidalgo named him Secretary of State, and as such, he signed the emancipation of slaves on December 6, 1810.
He organized the provisional government with
José María Chico as president,
Pascacio Ortiz de Letona as ambassador and
Francisco Severo Maldonado as chief editor of the first newspaper of the rebellion: ''El Despertador Americano'' (in English: ''The American Watchclock'').
Miguel Hidalgo's army was defeated in the
Battle of Calderon Bridge
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
and Rayón escaped to
Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...
to join
Rafael Iriarte. They went to
Zacatecas
, image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg
, map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico
, coordinates =
, coor_pinpoint =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type ...
to join the rest of the army that had escaped from the Battle of Calderon Bridge.
The army moved to
Saltillo
Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and highwa ...
,
Coahuila
Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico.
Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...
. The insurgents' chiefs tried to travel to the United States, while the army remained in Saltillo with Rayón as the army chief; because of this Rayón became general. In this travel Miguel Hidalgo,
Ignacio Allende
Ignacio José de Allende y Unzaga (, , ; January 21, 1769 – June 26, 1811), commonly known as Ignacio Allende, was a captain of the Spanish Army in New Spain who came to sympathize with the Mexican independence movement. He attended the secre ...
and the others were captured in
Wells of Baján
Wells of Baján ( es, Norias de Baján) are water wells located between Saltillo and Monclova in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. The small community near the wells is called Acatita de Baján. In the first phase of the Mexican War of In ...
and sentenced to death.
Battles after Hidalgo's death
On March 26, 1811, Rayón moved out from
Saltillo
Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and highwa ...
to Zacatecas. At that time his army comprised 3500 soldiers and 22 guns.
The Spanish army found Rayón's army in the way of Agua Nueva, and Rayón lost 77 men (prisoners). On April 1, the battle of los Piñones began, which Rayón won after six hours.
On April 13 Rayón sent
Pedro María de Anaya
Pedro Bernardino María de Anaya y Álvarez (20 May 1795 – 21 March 1854) was a Mexican soldier who served twice as interim president of Mexico during the Mexican-American War. Inbetween presidencies, he directly participated in the fighting as ...
and
Víctor Rosales
Víctor Rosales; (1776 – 20 May 1817), was a Mexican military officer born in Zacatecas, in the central Viceroyalty of New Spain. Rosales was a field marshal in the Mexican War of Independence.
In the Mexican War of Independence, Rosales ser ...
to recognize the
Zacatecas
, image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg
, map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico
, coordinates =
, coor_pinpoint =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type ...
army, while he took position in the "Los Misioneros de Guadalupe college". On April 15, 1811, the battle for Zacatecas began. (nicknamed "el Amo Torres") won "del grillo" hill where all the artillery, ammunition, food and silver was. With these actions Rayón's army won the battle.
Once in Zacatecas, Rayón spent most of the time with his army, training, getting uniforms and improving his war techniques.
Rayón chose to move to
Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...
because a big Spanish army was going to Zacatecas. While Rayón's army was traveling, Colonel
Miguel Emparan intercepted them, but Rayón won and kept moving toward the Intendancy of Valladolid. On May 3, close to
La Piedad
La Piedad is a municipality located at in the north-west of the Mexican state of Michoacán, bordering Jalisco and Guanajuato. The municipal seat is the town of La Piedad de Cabadas. The original colonial name was San Sebastián. It is borde ...
, the battle of
El Maguey took place. Rayón lost the battle and his resources. In La Piedad he tried to get more resources and move out to
Zamora. Here he organized some troops and sent them with Torres to
Pátzcuaro
Pátzcuaro () is a city and municipality located in the state of Michoacán. The town was founded sometime in the 1320s, at first becoming the capital of the Purépecha Empire and later its ceremonial center. After the Spanish took over, Vasco de ...
. Torres was attacked in the Tinaja Hill. Rayón went to help him and they both won the battle against the Spanish army.
Rayón tried to attack Valladolid (today's
Morelia
Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and larg ...
) but because the Spanish received reinforcements he ceased the attack. He went to
Tiripitio to change the war flow; from this very moment he began the group war. He sent Torres to Pátzcuaro and
Uruapan
Uruapan is the second largest city in the Mexico, Mexican state of Michoacán. It is located at the western edge of the Tarascan Plateau, Purépecha highlands, just to the east of the Tierra Caliente (Mexico), Tierra Caliente region. Since the colo ...
,
Navarrete to
Zacapu
Zacapu (''Place of Stones''), is a city and surrounding municipality in the Nahuatzen mountains of Michoacán, Mexico. It is located at . The municipality has an area of . Geographic features in Zacapu include the Cerro del Tecolote mountain ran ...
,
Mariano Caneiga to
Panindícuaro and
Muñiz to
Tacámbaro
Tacámbaro is a municipality located in the central region of the Mexican state of Michoacán. Its largest city and municipal seat is Heroica Tacámbaro de Codallos.
The city is located at . In the 2020 census, the city's population was 81,105. ...
. Rayón went to
Zitacuaro to prepare the defense.
Emparan left
Maravatío
Maravatío is a municipality in the Mexican state of Michoacán, representing 1.17% of its land area, or 691.55 km2.
Etymology
The modern word Maravatío comes from the Purépecha word Marhabatio, meaning a precious place or thing.
Hist ...
to attack Zitacuaro on June 22. Rayón had fewer men than Emparan but better artillery. Rayón's army attracted the attackers to town. Close to the artillery range, the battle lasted the whole day. The Spanish could not take the town, with heavy losses for both armies.
Zitacuaro Council and the Constitutional Elements
Rayón conceived the idea of creating a central government to unify the independence leaders. He wrote a letter to
Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon; Morelos agreed to become a member of the group and sent
José Sixto Verduzco
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...
in his representation.
From August 19 to 21, Rayón,
José María Liceaga
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...
, Joaquín López, José Sixto Verduzco and others created the
Supreme National American Meeting. Rayón was the president. They created the first revolutionary newspaper, the ''
Ilustrador Nacional'' edited by
Andrés Quintana Roo
Andrés Eligio Quintana Roo (30 November 1787 – 15 April 1851) was a Mexican liberal politician, lawyer, and author. He was the husband of fellow independence activist Leona Vicario.
Quintana Roo was one of the most influential men in the ...
and
José María Cos. Because the importance of Rayón, the Spanish sent an assassin
J. Arnoldo but he failed and was killed.
On January 1, 1812,
Zitacuaro was attacked by general
Félix María Calleja
Felix may refer to:
* Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name
Places
* Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen
* Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...
. The revolutionary army resisted a long time. Finally Calleja saw that taking the city was hard and changed his plan and left it. While Calleja was leaving the revolutionary army also left Zitacuaro. Calleja was too far from Zitacuaro to catch the revolutionary leaders. When Calleja knew that the city was open he took it.
After the Zitacuaro events Rayón took part with
José María Morelos
José María Teclo Morelos Pérez y Pavón () (30 September 1765 – 22 December 1815) was a Mexican Catholic priest, statesman and military leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming its leadership after the execution of ...
in the first National Congress at
Chilpancingo
Chilpancingo de los Bravo (commonly shortened to Chilpancingo; ; Nahuatl: Chilpantsinko) is the capital and second-largest city of the state of Guerrero, Mexico. In 2010 it had a population of 187,251 people. The municipality has an area of in ...
.
Four years later, he was arrested by
Nicolás Bravo
Nicolás Bravo (10 September 1786 – 22 April 1854) was a Mexican soldier and politician who first distinguished himself during the Mexican War of Independence. He was Mexico's first vice-president though while holding this office Bravo ...
for refusing to acknowledge the
Jaulilla Council and sent to prison until 1820.
[Zárate, Julio (1880). ''La Guerra de Independencia''. En Vicente Riva Palacio. México a través de los siglos. III volumen (México: Ballescá y compañía). Consultado el 25 de marzo de 2010..]
After the war
After the war, he became the state treasurer of
San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...
.
In 1828, he ran for
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
but lost to
Manuel Gomez Pedraza
Manuel may refer to:
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* Manuel (name)
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* Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies
* Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire
* Manu ...
.
López Rayón died on February 2, 1832, in Mexico City.
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
See also
*
History of Mexico
The written history of Mexico spans more than three millennia. First populated more than 13,000 years ago, central and southern Mexico (termed Mesoamerica) saw the rise and fall of complex indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous civilizations ...
References
External links
Short biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez Rayon, Ignacio
Mexican independence activists
1773 births
1832 deaths
Military personnel from Michoacán
People from Tlalpujahua